I have always loved hair accessories. It began in elementary school with my admiration of everything that could become a headband.
However, my love slowly chipped away during middle and high school and not one of my classmates really wore hair accessories.
Even though I thought they were all so pretty, I honestly felt childish for wanting to put something in my hair. The last thing I wanted was to be called weird and up until this year, I genuinely felt like this, despite being a soon-to-be junior in college.
But, I still love my hair accessories. I currently have quite the collection of bandanas, hair scarves, and hair ribbons, ranging from literally any color of the rainbow. I wear what I want now and honestly, I feel so confident when I do because it is when I feel most myself.
Nowadays, people are loving what used to be something I felt like I couldn’t wear.
I know how this may sound, you’re probably thinking, “It’s just a hair clip, I don’t get the deal.”
In reality though, the problem is not the hair clip, it’s what the “hair clip” means.
For me, and many other girls who have faced insecurities of any kind, that hair clip pushed away my face-framing locks hiding my circular face. It pushed away a comforting veil, and made me feel like everyone could see every insecurity I tried to hide.
I wanted to fit in so badly, that even when I felt sincerely pretty, wearing a harmless sparkly hair clip my mom picked out, I would tell her I’d wear it another day. This fear really persisted because the worst thing in my mind for many years was being different from the other girls my age.
But currently, we have reached about seven years since my middle school days, and large claw clips, butterfly clips, and neon snap clips, are all in style.
This past year for myself, I have taken a lot of time to become comfortable with myself and this manifested in me buying every hair product I liked because I didn’t let myself in the past.
Now, I wear velvet ribbon holding back my hair, amber butterfly clips, and bright red bandanas.
I admire my collection now because of the great deal of trouble I had admiring myself in the past.
So, while it may not be a hair clip for you in particular, it might be a ponytail, or a kind of shoe you think makes the rest of your leg look weird, we really do need it in our lives.
Cover your cheeks in the blush you thought you couldn’t pull off, try out that new space bun trend that you think would look stupid on you, buy those chunky platform shoes your mom hates!
Take pride in what you like and own it. Make the effort to love what you feel most yourself in, regardless of the little voice that tells you you shouldn’t.