The New Normal

 

 

Photo by: Rory M.

Hello Beauty Bloggers! Remember me?

I know it's been awhile, so let me catch you up with what's been going on around here! 

Alysha has been globe-trotting to Senegal and Spain, and I've been taking some time to myself and working on other projects as well. But we're back, and we're looking forward to some exciting guest posts this week! But first, a word from your editors, or just me.


One of my favorite parts of taking a shower is trying the new products that I find there (i.e. sister's shampoo, mom's body wash, dad's shaving cream, etc.). Maybe that's weird, but before you judge too harshly, keep reading. 


Last night, I found a 2-in-1 shampoo for "Normal Hair". Wait, what?! What is normal hair? I asked myself. Then I got angry, and I asked that shampoo-conditioner-hybrid-freak what in the world it knows about normal hair, and where does it get off telling me that there even is such a thing as normal hair? 


Okay, maybe I overreacted, but to me it seems a little silly to assume that "normal" is a concept that is universal, constant, and objective. For instance, it may be considered "abnormal" for my sister to have curly red hair when you look at the rest of my family that has straight brown hair. However, if you were to unravel her DNA, you would find that she is actually wired to have fabulous red curls. 


Like most things, I started to relay this encounter with my life at this point. (It was a fairly long shower.) I began to think about how I interpret normalcy, and if I, like this product, am limiting myself. You see, I came to the conclusion that "normal" is relative to a specific environment. For instance, it is considered abnormal to sing aloud at work. I sing aloud all the time when I'm not at work. However, if my boss began singing aloud at work, perhaps I would also, and then maybe my co-workers would. Then, with time, it could be abnormal to not sing at work. How awesome would that be?


With that example, I began to replace singing at work with other things. These include smiling at strangers, loading the dishwasher when it's "not my turn", and telling friends and family that I love them. Perhaps this is idealist and far-fetched, but maybe if we all took time to establish a better "normal", it could make a difference in how we live and treat other people. At least it'd be a good use of shower time. 


Happy Monday,
Rory