The other day, I got my hair cut at a new hair salon in Portland. This was big for me as I rarely trust anyone to handle my curls, not even professionals. Nevertheless, I was feeling bold this day as I parallel parked (somewhat poorly, might I add) all by myself and marched into the brand-new hair salon.

I was first struck by the crowdedness of the room. The place I used to go to only ever contained me and three other people, i.e two stylists and another client. This new place was airy and smelled like vanilla and surely had at least 10 people milling about inside. There was a large clock on the wall that upon further examination, I realized didn’t actually work. I introduced myself to my new hair stylist and took a seat in the heavily cushioned spinning chair that she gestured towards. I’ve always feared the small talk that seeps its way into haircuts, dentist and nail appointments, and doctors visits and since my new hair stylist wasn’t talking to me, I stayed quiet as well. Instead of aimlessly talking about where I want to go to college (undecided), how old I am (17) and if I play any sports (soccer), I took the time to observe my surroundings. 

I sat in between two other clients both of whom were avidly conversing with their stylists. I unashamedly eavesdropped on the conversations around me, and here is what I found out: 

The man to my left told his stylist that he had evacuated his home in LA due to the wildfires and came to Oregon to restart. He explained that he no longer had a place to call home and that he was nervous about finding friends in Portland. He wore a green button-down flannel that mimicked typical Portland fashion, and his long hair was being shaven into a short fade. Perhaps he was restarting on a personal level as well. He was staying in a hotel and hopefully putting a payment down on an apartment soon if everything went to plan. He talked to his stylist about places he could go to potentially meet more people his age and make some friends. He reminded me of a child starting school, fearful of the unknown but excited for the opportunities. He explained that despite what had happened to him, he knew that everything happened for a reason and that he would be able to bounce back. I realized that I could learn a lot from him.

The woman to my right was slightly reclined in her chair as the stylist mixed bleach and dye into her luscious hair. The stylist had trimmed the woman’s hair into a feathery mullet and dyed half of it black and the other half white. The hairstylist had duplicated her own hairstyle on her client. As she raised her chair back to normal, the woman began to tear up. She said that she had never felt more like herself. I learned that the inspiration picture she had come to the salon with was a picture of the stylist herself. With tears in her eyes, she asked if she could take a picture with her stylist to which the stylist of course accepted. As she walked to the counter to pay, she couldn’t stop touching her new hair. She repeatedly exclaimed how she felt so much more like herself than she ever had. I felt like I had watched this woman become a different person and gain confidence in the mere hour that I had been in her presence. Despite the fact that I hadn’t uttered even a word to her, I felt proud that she had stepped out of her comfort zone and found herself. Maybe I could learn from her too. 

Here is my takeaway from this experience: you can learn so much about people and the world around you if you only stop to listen and take the time to observe. Regardless of our different journeys and backgrounds, we can all share similar experiences. The man to my left was recovering from trauma, the woman to my right was finding herself, I was simply attempting to make it through junior year alive, yet we all ended up in the same salon on the same day. Honestly, how incredible is that?

I think it is important that we all take the time to appreciate the little parts of life that we would otherwise skim over thoughtlessly. Since that day, I have tried to encourage myself to appreciate everything more. Even if I have a bad day, I try to focus on the fact that I will end up where I am meant to be, that the universe operates in strange ways, and that surely everything happens for a reason.