The grass is always greener

Recently I was given the opportunity to change something about myself. It was not to be a permanent change, only lasting about three months but it is a part of me I often complain about. You know, that part of you that you wish were like someone else. If you don't know what I'm talking about then rock on, you are awesome! If you do happen to know what it feels like to wish you had longer legs or bigger eyes or straighter hair, then please read on, this one's for you.

Anyone who knows me, has ever gone swimming with me or been camping with me will know that I have curly hair. I have the kind of hair that is difficult to brush. Not because a brush wont run through it (it’s true) but also because the moment a brush touches my locks, my hair frizzes out to gigantic proportions as if I sat around all day rubbing balloons on my head.

I have always wanted straight hair. I want the kind of hair you can run your fingers through and they wont get caught. I want to be able to workout and not have the frizz created from my sweaty locks become nests for small birds. I want to be able to cut fringe and have it lie across my forehead rather than stick straight in the air. Ok, so now that you know what I have always wanted, you will understand that I was ecstatic when I found out that a friend’s salon did the one and only Brazilian Blowout.

A BB, if you haven’t heard about it, is a treatment for your hair that will give you Jennifer Anniston hair for three months. I’m in, sign me up, do you want my first-born?

Fast forward to me in the salon with super straight shiny hair. “This isn’t going to last", I protest. "I know that the moment I have a shower, my hair will curl again.” The fine folks at the salon reply, “Sarah, it will last, trust us. Your hair is straight, be it in rain, sleet, sun or snow, frizz will no longer find you."

They were right. I have showered and swam and worked out and danced. I have been to the Midwest and back and my hair is straight. It still has some of the messy Sarahness about it (because I don’t own a brush) but it’s definitely straight. And here is what I have learned:

I don’t have very much hair. It’s fine and sparse and when it’s straight, that’s more obvious.

My straight hair is very flat (because there’s not much of it) and it clings to my head more. I bought a volumizing gel last week to try and make my hair bigger (Yes, I get the irony)

For my cousins wedding last week I used a curling iron to make my hair… more curly (wow, there’s a lot of irony here today)

Clips and barrettes just slide out of my hair; there is no nest to hold them anymore

When it’s dirty, it looks really greasy and dirty. When my hair was curly, I could go days without washing it and it only looked better with time.

When I work out now, my hair hits me in the face and pokes me in the eyes. My old hair didn't move very much.

There are obviously some good things too. It’s really easy to put in a pony-tail and it’s super neat to watch it dry without curling and yes, when I sweat or spend time in the Midwest, it does not frizz but ironically as noted earlier I have spent a good amount of time trying to make it more like the hair I used to have.

Isn’t it funny how the thing I hated is the thing I miss?

What do you wish were different about yourself? Do you hate your nose? Your nose is probably perfect for your face and if you had a different one, it would probably look really awful and you wouldn’t be able to smell as well and you might start snoring so much your partner has to sleep in the den. Do you hate your legs? Too short you say? Well if they were much longer you would hurt that much more when you fall, or in middle school you would have felt gangly and awkward or you would never be able to find a bicycle that didn’t hurt your knees. Think your ankles are too big? Tiny ankles are going to break easier and walking on rocky terrain will be difficult.

Our bodies are made for us. This is who we are and I want everyone to take this week to stop hating what they were given and praising it instead. The grass is always greener. That means that whatever thing you spend so much time hating would be the thing you miss when it’s gone. Why not save yourself that hassle and start missing it now. Start loving it and telling it why it’s awesome and promise that even if you try to change it for short periods of time (three months) you will never call it mean names again.

Be Good to your Body, it's where you Live