I never thought, just like many of my classmates, that there would be so much to learn about when it came to the details of someone’s hair. The man I was focusing on was from that “Weird Bible Men” group, and he had medium brown chestnut hair, and was slightly balding. There was peppered gray throughout. He was an older gentleman, maybe mid-forties at most. I thought this odd, because all of the men in his group had hair and most of them had it covered. It had a wave to it, and was pushed out toward the sides. You could see through some of it when he tilted toward the light. Some of the hair hung in his eyes, and he kept pushing it back over his silver glasses. It looked like it was in good need of a haircut. The reason that I say this is because it was shaggy in the front, and at one point, the back must have been shaved because it was smooth. The beard was also unkempt and not trimmed. It hung down in spots, and the moustache stuck straight out along the sides of his face. Some men obviously do not wear facial hair well at all, and this was one of those cases. It probably would look better after he went to see a barber.
He wasn’t the only guy that I saw that night that was rocking that particular look. Most guys shouldn’t be ashamed of a little pattern baldness, but there are some people that just don’t do the look justice, and this was one of them unfortunately. I have been reading many blogs on the internet that show how sensitive men are over a little hair loss. I am still at a loss to discover what the big deal is. That could also be because I am a woman, and I could not possibly put myself in their shoes. I never thought that I would even be curious about this subject until I was asked to describe a person’s hair in detail for an assignment at school. There are literally 719,000 results when you search “male pattern baldness”.
Part 2: Personal Reflection
I had a lot of inner dialogue dispersed throughout my field notes, but that doesn’t mean everyone else can understand fully how my mind works. This activity to me was simply one of the worst situations you could put someone in that struggles with anxiety every day. It is right up there with public speaking. I love being in class and everything, and I am great with it comes to writing things down, but actually speaking in public and talking to strangers without purpose are against my own set of Ten Commandments. This was on top of the fact that I was already put off because of other reasons, of which I will discuss in my observations for the week.
I loved the fact that I could get the pulse on some of the local drama going on in the space. However, I did not like the way the activity was organized. It was funny because I really didn’t even get that much time to talk to my classmates because the store was closing. My classmates’ findings were quite amusing and entertaining at times. I just have a much harder time approaching total strangers when I have no purpose to do so. The bookstore space is very relaxing to be in, with lots of comfy chairs and low lighting to go around. I would assume this would be to reduce everyone’s stress level but mine. There are certainly a lot of stereotypes that could be enforced just by watching people in this space. There are the club kids, the athletes, the skaters, etc. It’s a little more mature than a high school, but the clique vibe is still very much present. Back to our little discussion group, though. I do not have the easiest time speaking in a group setting, but the people who I am with in this class make it slightly easier to deal.
This activity was a nerve-wracking experience for someone who is not used to doing this on a regular basis, but I got through it the best that I could.
Pit Bull Pride 