On January 3rd, 2009, I realized I hadn’t shaved yet this year and opted to continue the trend. It lasted until today.
My reasons for growing the beard in the first place included:
– look/feel older
– the experience of having a beard in my mid-twenties
– looking similar to old photos of my dad when he had a beard in the early 1980s
– seeing what it felt like to be Samson (shaggy!)
While I enjoyed having a beard for all of these reasons, I became hard-pressed by two primary reasons to make a change:
1. Summer comes soon. Long hair/beard in summer = hot, sweaty, yuck.
2. A woman asked me to cut it because she wanted to see what I looked like without a beard.
Results: “You look younger,” “you look like a different person,” “you look so much better,” and “you look great.” I will not complain about these responses. Photographic evidence below.
The Before Photo (upon awakening this morning)
The After Photo (upon shave and a haircut this afternoon)