I got my haircut. Something so ordinary and routine, but I was incredibly nervous. I had scheduled the appointment a week before. When I walked in I had fumbled for my phone to pull out my notes on how to ask for an appointment in Italian. I was stuttering and the woman at the desk let me hold on to this embarrassing moment before asking if I spoke English. Relieved, the appointment was booked quickly. The amount of research that went into picking the salon, Wave, and figuring out all the terms for my hair as well as how to end the appointment goes way beyond what I would normally do back home. All I had to do this week was to decide what to do with it. Two weeks ago the answer was simple: a dramatic change, but I was getting cold feet and was thinking the very less bold shoulder-length hair.

The studio seemed different than before. When I came in to book it I think I was so nervous that I didn’t even notice the salon. It was clean white and smelt of lavender and hair spray. A man not much taller than me with the most bouncy black hair shook my hand and introduced himself as Alessandro. He lead me to a closet where he found me a robe and then showed me my chair. He sat down behind me and we started a conversation about my hair. I put my hand up to my shoulder and shrugged. “I have no idea what to do with my hair.” I said. He analyzed my face shape and then he pulled out an iPad and showed me some ideas that were leaning more to my idea of a dramatic change. Then I was my most bold and told him to do whatever he wanted. At that moment he got very excited. He told me I would look fantastic. After a shampoo with a head massage and so much hair falling to the ground my hair that once fell on my mid-back was now up to my chin. Alessandro curled it and I looked like a different person. Everyone in the salon was giving me compliments and I never felt so confident. I gave him a hug and booked an appointment for highlights. By the end of my second appointment, I really got to know Alessandro. He started cutting hair at the age of 14. He used to go to engineering school but found himself wanting to do something more creative and so he gave it up and joined a salon. His dream is to own a salon of his own one day and when that day comes I will fly out to get my hair cut by him. Walking out of the salon I had never felt so beautiful. All I could think about was how much lighter my head was now. After this wonderful experience, five other girls from the program went to get their hair done at this salon. Three went to Alessandro, and one of the three was my professor Dr. Farrell.