Day 30

Day 30. November 30, 2012

It seems right that I'm home tonight. I live 2 and a half hours away from where I go to school, so being home for even a few nights is an oddity outside of vacations, but, through an odd turn of events, I'm here. As I type this, my computer tells me it is now December. The beginnings of months are always interesting in my mind, but this one is much more than that. I learned a lot over the course of this month. I've grown a lot, and my facial hair isn't far behind. As we approach the holiday season, my message to you, the reader, is to just love as much as you can. The holidays have become so much about material objects and thinking about oneself, and it's hard not to get sucked into that, since we're only human. But my challenge to you is to tell someone close to you that you love them once a day. It doesn't seem like a whole lot, but it means the world to people, trust me.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away." - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Happy December. Things are about to get very interesting. :)

Day 29

Day 29. November 29, 2012

I love Thursdays. So much has been accomplished throughout the week and you have a chance to pat yourself on the back for a job well done, while also having only one day left until the end of the week. Thursday is the embodiment of hope, I think. People don't just pull hope out of thin air, and oh yes I know we all wish we could sometimes. We get it from looking back and finding a reason to move forward. If I can look back and clearly see my body of work throughout three days this week, who is to say I can't finish it off with just as much, if not more, panache as before. We're no longer tired, but just so hopeful, and I love that. I wish every day could be Thursday. I try to live my life like it's Thursday every day, always trying to make that push to the end of the week. The point of all this? Not sure if there is one. This was my excuse for looking so smug in this picture. Happy Thursday. ;)

Day 28

Day 28. November 28, 2012

Yes yes, please enjoy the chest hair today. I immediately realized after posting this picture to my Facebook that I may have gone too far, so I'm most likely gonna keep a shirt on from now on. Anyway I am extremely burnt out after a long day. I was in a great mood again all day, which I thank the beard for. Went to the gym for a much needed workout session, then I watched a couple episodes of Doctor Who, which I am falling in love with very quickly, but I'm not too happy about it, since another distraction is the last thing I needed with finals week quickly approaching. Anyway, I just want to give a little advice tonight. Take every chance you can to do the right thing, even if it's not what you originally planned. Maybe there's another plan out there that turns out with you being happier in the long run. All you can do is live like there's no tomorrow, because who says there has to be one?

Day 27

Day 27. November 27, 2012

So remember how I said my beard was taking over my face? Yeah it's interesting that I noticed that because now I'm noticing that the normal jaw-line hair is slowly connecting to odd patches of hair I have under my eyes. It's like trying to solve a 10,000 piece jigsaw puzzle of white kittens in the snow, and, after a couple of months of working on it, you finally understand that you wasted your time doing something utterly meaningless. Okay it's absolutely nothing like that. It seems that I've been using this blog to express life lessons I learned that have nothing to do with beards, and I feel like continuing that pattern today. I read a quote or something on someone's Facebook that talked about how the past is just a story, and it's the present and future that matter, how the past shouldn't determine who you are. I think that's pretty cool, especially if you think about it like I have been. People grow up in history class with the idea that history is made up of the great things that happen in life, but as you grow up, you realize more and more that history is being written right now, and those unattainable things that you read about, those historical figures that have always been like legends in your mind, that could be you someday. Pretty cool stuff. Thanks again to all of you loyal readers. I couldn't do this without ya. :)

Day 26

Day 26. November 26, 2012.

I realized today how tantalizingly close, and yet how far away we are from Christmas. Yeesh. I have said before (yesterday) that a good emotional day may make the beard grow more, and now I'm going to make the claim that cold weather also makes the beard grow more. The difference between that claim and this one is that this one makes a little more sense; it's basic survival skills. I looked at this picture and looked back at the first picture, and it's like a different person, like the beard kind of takes over my face. It may be a Samson effect, because I'm just feeling much more positive now than I was feeling at the onset of this journey. Here's to 35 more days of growing (and many more).

Day 25

Day 25. November 25, 2012

Please excuse my tardiness in publishing this post. A lot of stuff was going on and a lot needed to be done. Trying to take advantage of my time at home before heading back to school for the remainder of the semester. Since that time, I have made my journey, and I am back for the push. I'm feeling good about how things are going, and the beard is a good indication of that. I'm a firm believer that the beard grows more after a good day. There may be some science behind that, with something about endorphins or something, but I'll leave that to you to figure out for sure.

Day 24

Day 24. November 24, 2012

So Thanksgiving is over. Black Friday has come and gone. This is the day that the entire country takes a day off and tries to work past this eating and buying hangover we put ourselves into. I think it's even comparable to December 26 in that vein. Most of the day was boring, but tonight was bowling and late-night steak night, which is a new tradition that I may bring back to school next week. You will note that the neck hair is growing back quickly, which means another trim is on the way very soon. The hair is working its way up my face, and I'm excited that the hair is continuing to grow, even if it seems like very little every day. December is going to be a very hairy month. ;)

Day 23

Day 23. November 23, 2012

Before I say anything else, the outfit can be explained like this. The hard hat was for protection from insane Black Friday shoppers, and the rest of the ensemble is just straight up stylin'. There were four guys in our group today that all wore matching construction hats, ugly blazers, and ugly ties, and we do this every year just to get crazy looks, which I personally love and embrace. We had a great time today just being nuts, but in a good clean way (I need to differentiate, because the older I get, the more people assume "being nuts" entails things that are dangerous and illegal). All I know is that I have been up for about 17 hours now and I am beat. In beard news, I trimmed my neck and it's already stubbly after about two days. Now I need to trim again soon. Hair is funny sometimes, huh?

Day 22

Day 22. November 22, 2012

Ah yes. Thanksgiving. It was pretty awesome getting to see all of my family in one place, which rarely happens anymore. It's a sad process going from childhood where the relationship with your extended family is pushed and stressed to when you get older and everyone goes their separate ways, but it makes those moments where you're all together again that much more special. People often complain about how holidays have all been so commercialized to the point where that's "all they're about anymore," but I like to look at the positive and notice that we Americans still use holidays like Thanksgiving as excuses to all come together, because we need excuses to see our loved ones (idk). Either way, I'm thankful for thankfulness. In beard news, my stache is connecting to my beard, which normally happens after a long process of growing, so I am excited.  :)

Day 21

Day 21. November 21, 2012

I will say that today I officially have a beard back, just in time to get a bunch of delicious food stuck in it; yes, Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Today went well. I went out with some friends and went bowling and played cards, while most kids my age are drinking and getting high. I enjoy the alternative route, regardless of what it might be. A picture was taken of our shenanigans cosmic bowling, and the shadow cast over my face, making it look like a had an incredibly dark and vivid beard, which is exciting, and I am looking forward to the future, because when my beard grows in, it is extremely dark. Mmmmm. Delicious.

Day 20

Day 20. November 20, 2012

Greetings loyal blog enthusiasts! Proud to say that the blog is doing quite well, and I am very glad to welcome readers from South Korea and Germany. Thanks for the support of hairiness. :) So yes you may have noticed that a lot of hair has vanished, or at least moved. After my haircut yesterday, I decided to trim up the neck, and I'm glad to say things are looking much better. The clean neck makes the hair on my chin look that much more impressive, which it really is. I'm glad with how things are going this month, and I may just continue this into December. Who's with me?

Day 19

Day 19. November 19, 2012

I told you there would be a surprise on the 19th, and here it is. Ah yes, I got my haircut. I've had better, I've had worse. I'm just glad there's one person on this planet that can cut my hair and not make a total mess of it (I can't say the same for the floor though).  With the back of my neck finally feeling the breeze, I feel like the front needs to feel the breeze as well. I have made the executive decision to trip up the bottom of my neck for the family gathering this Thursday (Thanksgiving, to the late man). As soon as tomorrow you'll see a cleaner neck area. The scruff will stay up top though. If you want to ostracize me for "selling out," please save yourself the trouble. I wish it could be different too, but the show must go on.

Day 18

Day 18. November 18, 2012

The times, they are a-changing. Yes my beard is getting longer, and yes you have the pleasure of seeing it happen little by little, but there are those moments when you see someone that you haven't seen in a long time, then you realize that not everything progresses as slowly as that beard you're seeing posted on Facebook and this blog every day. I went to my home church for the first time in a long time, since I have been at college for awhile, and it was so interesting to see all of the changes. Whether they're good, bad, or lateral, big changes over time always leave you kind of shaken. I think it's cool that that's what happens. You see someone you haven't seen in awhile, give them a big hug, then, in mid-hug, you mutter to yourself, "who am I hugging?" Obviously that wasn't the case today, since I had only been gone for a little while, but the point here is that change is a huge part of life, and the sooner you embrace change as an inevitability, the better time you'll have. :)

Day 17

Day 17. November 17, 2012

Different locations, same old story, same old song and dance, says Steven Tyler, back before he was a sell-out. Low blow? Most likely. He can't grow a beard, but his massive lips make up for it. The lighting in this shot makes it look like I have less hair than yesterday, in my opinion, but I assure you that the facial hair is going strong. Less and less chin is visible every day, and that's good, because, as you know, I have an extremely weak chin, thanks to my father, who has had a beard since he was 18. I'm gonna join the Brothers of the Brush soon. It's a secret society, but you don't know that. It's whatever.

Day 16

Day 16. November 16, 2012.

Well here's a change of scenery. I don't like how this is the first shot that isn't like the rest, and I'm sure you're not too ecstatic about it either. I am glad to be home though. Tonight's picture was posted late due to the fact that I was out playing Magic like an awkward teenager. My beard is back and thriving. Be afraid... Be very afraid.

Day 15

Day 15. November 15, 2012

Well, the official consensus amongst my peers is that my beard is back, which also means I am back. No longer will I go to stroke my beard and instantly burst into tears at my thoughtless whiff due to lack of chin hair. Definitely feeling more like a man than I have all month, which makes sense, considering this is the longest my beard has been (durr). I'm looking forward to going home in about twelve hours and seeing my family, and watching their reaction to my hairy arrival. It's all downhill from here... or uphill... the good one. :)

Day 14

Day 14. November 14, 2012

Oh dear, I am feeling scruffy (and prom is tomorrow! jk). It is official; the blog post for day 19 will feature a curveball, but I will not say what it is yet. You'll have to tune in to find out. Anyway, today I started getting into the backhand upward scratch (a la The Godfather). Pretty bad hair day today, and I think people are starting to notice how truly unkempt I am becoming, since I'm getting a whole lot more stares from strangers than I am used to. I'm at the point in between scruff and beard, and now I'm seeing bald spots pop up that I hope fill in soon, like the one right under my chin, but I am notorious for that always being bald, so that's probably not going to change. Gonna head home for break in a few days, and I'm looking forward to the disappointment when my mom sees how awful my neck hair is. Teehee.

Day 13

Day 13. November 13, 2012

I took a good long look at my beard in great detail today, which I hadn't done in a long time. I actually believe that each and every one of you see more of my beard than I do on a daily basis. I just kind of ignore it, then I have little bouts where I notice significant change, then laugh at how ridiculously I grow hair. Maybe you can't tell from the picture, but it's getting longer, to the point where it's no longer sprouts of hair, but rather long strands all throughout, so my skin is getting more and more covered. It's cool just watching the outline grow into an actual beard. I miss the beard a lot. I want it back. I might take that growth hormone I previously mentioned, because I wanna be rolling like ZZ Top by Christmastime.

Day 12

Day 12. November 12, 2012

This post needs more twelves. 12 12 12 12 12. I think I'm over it. Psyche. 12. Anyway, today went well. I can see a significant darkening from yesterday. I think people are being nice telling me that it looks okay around the neck area, but I can't help but think that it just looks ridiculous. 12. Luckily, I don't have any big performances or job interviews coming up, so it won't be a big issue. I will probably get a haircut soon though. The scruff will make my barber want to call Ralph on the big white phone. 12. I'm not the creator, just an innovator of the craft. I legitimately believe that if I took some sort of growth hormone, I would die from suffocation from my own hair. Think about that and try to sleep tonight.

Day 11

Day 11. November 11, 2012

All right. My sincerest apologies for my tardiness and lack of length in my last post. Risk is a heck of a drug. Now then, I noticed today that I'm past the 1/3 point, at least through November. This is the point in time where I'm starting to see my face get eaten by my hair. Also, I'm gonna have to start explaining to people that I'm not shaving for a reason, and my awful facial hair isn't just due to lack of interest in razors, or some sort of boycott of Barbasol. We're making the transition from bum to drifter, which is pretty interesting. I keep making references to this beard scale in which "bum" and "drifter" are levels. I decided that the highest level of that scale is "ZZ Top," which I don't see happening this month, but you never know. ;)

Day 10

Day 10. November 10, 2012

Sorry I'm late. 7 hour game of Risk. Need sleep. Beard got longer. That is all.

Day 9

Day 9. November 9, 2012

My neck is disgusting right now. Up top here is a good shot of how awful my neck is getting. The itch is on and off, and it's definitely manageable. It's just funny how I'm realizing more and more how much of a female repellent I am becoming. The neck beard certainly isn't helping, that plus the card playing and the whole trombone major thing I have going on. It's fine though, I don't mind. Being who you are is absolutely worth it no matter what, even if you're a repellent. I have a lot of fun with it.

Day 8

Day 8. November 8, 2012

Now I know what you're thinking. "Wow, that beard is looking funky-fresh and stylin'," so I thank you in advance. Yeah I had a pretty fun night. I can kind of see the bum look reaching a peak and starting to form into something almost beard-like. I'm starting to get over the rash I had on my neck yesterday, and I thought the collar tonight would be the worst thing ever. It turned out okay. Not a lot of scratching, and I'm glad I didn't cave and trim the neck like I wanted to.

Special thanks to everyone who is keeping track of my progress every day. I'm so grateful to have so many loyal supporters, and my page views are shooting up more and more every day. Thanks again. Stay classy. ;)

Day 7

Day 7. November 7, 2012

Ouchkabibbles. We've come to the first big dilemma of this ordeal. I've developed quite the rash on the bottom of my neck. It itches quite a bit and there are a lot of red spots forming, which you might be able to see in this picture. My wanting to shave the neck hair off led me to the realization of what this whole thing is about. It's not about just selling my image or bragging about how hairy I am (quite hairy). It's about setting my mind to something long-term and sticking to it. Everyone has their problems in life and one of mine is not sticking to long-term projects and things. It's pretty cool that things are going this well. I challenge all of you to figure out your weakness, and strengthen it as much as you can. You may learn a lot of lessons along the way and learn a lot more about yourself.

Day 6

Day 6. November 6, 2012

Amongst the craziness of all the Obama lovers romping throughout the hallway, I found my solace for a few seconds to take this shot. Imagine me thinking here, "please shut up, we knew he'd win anyway." I'm not going to get into politics here. I'm just a little upset that I didn't think to wear a white wig for this picture. Wig Party 2016. The sad thing is that you think I'm kidding.

P.S. My beard got scruffier since yesterday, of course you knew that.

Day 5

Day 5. November 5, 2012

People are finally starting to notice that I'm growing my beard back, but it's like my beard's backwoods evil twin, who lives on my neck (the trailer park of my body). It's pretty funny when a person you used to go out with, who hasn't seen you in awhile, sees you and immediately goes, "ewwww," and touches your scratchy face. This is the crucial period in between clean-shaven and actual beard. Yes, boys and girls, we're talking about the homeless man stage. This beard is making me lose my mind, I swear.

Day 4

Day 4. November 4, 2012

On a scale from 1 to "dirty old bum," I'm at about a 13. We're making the awkward leap from, "oh look how cute his scruff is," to "dear God, he needs a shave." It's the kind of look that the ladies usually love, but all the hair is on my neck, so absolutely no one likes that. I swear I had a lot less hair on my face this morning. All things being said, I never claimed to be someone who grows a lot of hair very quickly, but it's actually getting very interesting.

Day 3

Day 3. November 3, 2012

I'm feeling a little smug today, as you can tell from my photo. It is obvious now that there is something hairy in the state of Denmark (a la Hamlet). The itchiness is not subsiding, but rather continuing at an alarming rate. I'm at that awkward point where if I rubbed my chin on someone's face, I could seriously injure someone. From past experience, I know that this won't last long, so the chin-fueled killing spree has to happen soon.*

*Google has no affiliation with the writing of this blog and does not support killing sprees of any kind.

Day 2

Day 2. November 2, 2012

Today went a little better. The shock factor of a formerly manly man losing his facial manhood seemed to subside, and I'm hoping for more days of monotony ahead. Monotony, over long periods of time, breeds surprises. All of a sudden it'll be like, "Crap, dude. You have a beard again." Also, my face is itchy. Meh

Day 1

Day 1. November 1, 2012

Today went just about how I expected. People were all shocked to see the beard on my face to which they had become accustomed had been thrown aside like a cheap suit. I told people to get the "you look like a little boy" blows in while they could. I can feel the stubble coming in furiously, even though it might not be apparent by the photo. The baby-face would be impossible for me to maintain for a long period of time, it seems. And some people wonder why I rock the beard at all. Fools.