What I See When I Close My Eyes
November 2, 2021 — the day I chose to make a revolutionary change to my appearance.
I always wanted to dye my hair platinum but never had the opportunity due to the accelerated recruiting process that the finance field had. However, with an early return offer and no upcoming interviews until next Summer, I decided to give it a try.
I arrived at the RF Hair Studio to get my hair done. I was excited yet nervous — what if I made a terrible mistake doing this to myself.
About RF Hair Studio
Normally when people think about a hair studio, there’s usually a business owner who may or may not also be a barber/stylist. Under the owner, there are employees — admin, barbers, stylists, etc… The hair studio probably has a desk where customers pay for their service at and the revenue is used to pay down costs, pay employees, and eventually becomes profit after taxes are paid.
RF Hair Studio is a bit different. First, there is no administrative desk, and second, the old-fashioned revenue - costs = profit model is gone. When customers have finished receiving their service, they e-transfer the barber/stylist that did the service and that’s the end of the transaction. Each barber/stylist has their own clientele that they bring to the studio and conduct their own business. The expenses that the studio incurs such as rent or equipment are split evenly among the people who use it.
To put it simply, it was just a bunch of friends who pooled money into renting out a place and equipment so everyone can work on their own craft. It was unique, simple, and lucrative.
The Ephiphany
I took a seat in the usual chair that salons are expected to have and the stylist started bleaching my hair. As I talked to my stylist, I started to realize that there was one important topic that was never discussed — career or academic prestige. We briefly went over how we got to where we were, why we are interested in our specific fields, the schools we went to — the usual “networking” questions. The profound part of our conversation addressed topics outside of these “networking” prompts. Late-night journies with friends, exotic foods that we ate, TV shows that we watched, music that we listened to. These were the topics that were brought up with genuine interest.
Once the stylist was done applying the bleach, there was a waiting period of about an hour before the bleach was washed off. During this period I was enraptured by the conversations. It felt relieving and refreshing to talk about the simpler things in life.
When the waiting period was over, the stylist washed the bleach away. As my hair was being washed away, a new wave of thoughts started appearing in my mind. I was always cognizant of these thoughts but never shined any light on them until now.
Thought #1: Prestige is Relative
Over the past two years in university, I always prioritized academic prestige, career prestige, and looking/being productive. Essentially, anything that’s found in a self-help book, I prioritized. However, in this salon, I realized that none of those priorities mattered to the people around me. Nobody was a hyperproductive academic animal striving to achieve what they call a fulfilling career. The concept of entering the workforce to provide socio-economic value didn’t seem to be intensely valued. Instead, everyone was there because they enjoyed the art that they were doing and that was simply it. The prestige that I was chasing didn’t matter in that environment. Prestige is relative to the environment that you’re in — half the world could care less about your grades or your job, they just want to live life the way they want to.
Thought #2: Oblivion
When I close my eyes and visualize the life that I have been living, all I see are grades, homework, spreadsheets, word documents, and company logos. My mind was immersed in the grit and grind productive lifestyle that every overachieving student pursued. I thought that was cool and prestigious, I felt empowered by this lifestyle, however, I forgot something that was so ubiquitous — memories. I forgot how important my memories were and I forgot what I wanted my memories to be made of. Although I enjoyed the grit and grind process, I became unsure of whether I wanted these experiences to consume the entirety of my memories, forcing the memories of my leisure into oblivion.
The Power of Nothing
Two years ago, my friend was enlightening me on how entertaining it was to sit in your bed, watch Youtube, and do absolutely nothing. To be frank, I thought that was a terrible activity. As time went on, I started to realize what he meant. The serenity that accompanies doing nothing, the reflection that it prompts, it all flew over my head.
As the stylist started putting on a light lavender coating on my hair to neutralize the yellow color that bleach produces, I tried to sit and do nothing. It was during this moment of nothingness that brought me to my epiphany.
When I close my eyes, I didn’t want to see the exam grades, school buildings, and company logos, I want to see the smiles on my friend’s faces, the beautiful city skylines, and the mesmerizing sunsets. It was here when I realized that doing nothing really meant a whole lot of something.
