On boring ponytails

When I was a child, I was impatient to grow up, like many others, because that would give me the freedom to do certain things. For many of my friends, it represented freedom from school and adults who are constantly telling them what to do. My ideas on the subject were neither profound nor grandiose. I only had a modest desire - the freedom to wear my hair loose.

Throughout my childhood, my mom (and school teachers) always insisted that my hair be either neatly braided or tied into ponytails. School wanted kids to focus less on "fashion" and more on education, while mothers wisely avoided tangled hair. My mother and I would argue every day as she tried to get my hair into a ponytail for school, while I fretted and acted like a total diva, because, well, ponytails weren't good enough for me. I would watch Bollywood heroines toss around their luscious locks on TV and yearn for the day when I could break the shackles of boring ponytails and walk around with the wind in my hair. Of course, the thought never once occurred to me that my hair itself could be a far cry from Bollywood glamor.

Just yesterday, as I shook my hair out from a ponytail before going to bed, I realized that I haven't worn my hair loose in a long time. My hair texture and unimaginative hair dressers have both made it somewhat hard for me to let my hair loose often and still look presentable. But more importantly, I cannot be bothered to spend an extra 20 minutes styling my hair every morning before barely making it in time to work. Now if only I could have my mom lovingly comb my hair everyday and make it into a neat ponytail...