This was taken just after I turned 18, September of 1997, during my brief stint with short hair. I've had long hair almost all my life, so I never did quite adjust to that look.

The reason I cut it was because I was trying to restructure my life while my boyfriend and I were apart. This was my "pick myself up and dust myself off" period of life. During this time my atheism firmed up quite a bit, and I became more comfortable with myself and my views. Later on I decided I could still be a new woman and keep my old hair, so I grew it back out.