Tales of the barber shop
Picture this; you're a teenage boy in SS2 who is about to resume to school after the long holiday, and you've finally hit your puberty growth spurt. Your voice is deeper, your shoulders are broader, you're taller, and you've successfully 'slim fitted' your school uniform trousers to your taste. Everything is right, and you feel on top of the world.
But then, your father comes home and utters a sentence that shatters your world: "You're resuming on Monday. You'll have to cut this hair.".
Any boy in my shoes at that moment knew exactly what was going to happen next. No amount of protesting or negotiating is helping you escape the dreaded skincut that he claimed made you look very 'responsible'.
But then something that had never happened occurred to me before came to mind. I followed him to the salon and sat in the usual chair I always did, and then I proceeded to ask the barber, "Which style do you think fits me the most?" He took on look at me and said,"Maybe punk" in a seemingly confused voice. I had never asked before and he wasn't sure if my dad had given me permission to do what I wanted, but I convinced him that I did have permission and it only helped matters that my dad was on the phone at the time.
I ended up getting the best cut of my life that day, not because my barber was a wizard with the clipper but because it was the first time I ever had free reign over the hairstyle I carried. My dad eventually had it lowered to his satisfaction, but to the usual length it used to be.
And that really got me thinking, how many opportunities I had missed out on getting my way in because I was too afraid to speak up? And how many other times I would gotten my way if I decided to just ask?
Sometimes, the biggest contender against us getting our way isn't actually those standing in our path, but is actually our minds for limiting ourselves and jumping to conclusions without actually taking a chance.
Have you ever had a similar experience? Tell me about it.