Make something beautiful - by Tara Seshan

I could instantly tell that it wasn’t right. The sweet Japanese hairdresser had nodded vigorously when I was showing her pictures of my ideal cut, but perhaps the sheer volume of my hair overwhelmed her. The big unveiling, where I was finally swirled around in my chair and shown the end product, revealed me looking exactly like I did when I entered the salon. I suppose erring on the side of conservatism is the right approach for a hairdresser. I, however, wanted her to be very liberal. My entire generation has been traumatized by parental attitudes towards service workers, and so, I did not complain. I quietly paid, tipped a standard 20%, and then stomped home in the rain. When I finally arrived home, I looked exactly like a drowned rat. My hair was soaking wet and beginning to frizz, entirely eliminating the smoothing effect of the hairdresser’s blowdry. “Wait, did you get a haircut at all?” my neighbor asked. Something in me snapped, and I immediately dialed the salon. “You didn’t se

I could instantly tell that it wasn’t right. The sweet Japanese hairdresser had nodded vigorously when I was showing her pictures of my ideal cut, but perhaps the sheer volume of my hair overwhelmed her. The big unveiling, where I was finally swirled around in my chair and shown the end product, revealed me looking exactly like I did when I entered the salon. I suppose erring on the side of conservatism is the right approach for a hairdresser. I, however, wanted her to be very liberal. My entire generation has been traumatized by parental attitudes towards service workers, and so, I did not co