This Beard’s Growing On Me.
I am halfway into it. The Novembeard. For those who follow my Twitter feed, you know all about it.
A group of us vowed not to shave for the month of November. Some people do triathlons. For others it’s giving up meat. And then some test their limits by not shaving their face. Trust me, the test of one’s willpower and temptation to throw in the towel is just as strong for Novembeard participants as those in the aforementioned activities. It takes complete focus.
In the beginning, you’re on a beard-growing high. It’s easy. It’s fun. You look like Crockett from Miami Vice and are fueled on beardrenaline. But then, about a week, week and a half in, you begin second-guessing yourself.
Can I really do this? The beard begins to scratch. And hurt. And look like a patchy field of turf you used to play baseball on as a kid. Fine, maybe that’s just me. It would be so easy to turn around and say, next time. Decembeard, instead. But that’s when it’s better to be running with a pack. Fellow Novembeards who understand the struggle, to motivate you to keep going. And so, you give temptation the middle finger and keep forging ahead.
It’s at that point when you’ve been tested, felt the pain, wanted to throw in the towel, but blasted through it and continued on … suddenly you feel the next burst of beardrenaline kick in and fuel you further. It’s where I’m at right now, halfway through. It doesn’t look great on me. It may even have a mind of its own. But it’s my Novembeard. And there’s a sense of empowerment in resisting the urge to go back.
Six months of job-searching, writing countless cover letters and either being sent rejections straight out of the “Rejection Letters for Dummies” workbook or just outright ignored, and I’ve yet to have any success. I do my part, and then have to merely *hope* it works.
But the Novembeard is something I actually have control over. I can persevere and know that in two more weeks, I will have succeeded at something I set out to do. No letters coming back saying, “Sorry, while we appreciate your interest in Novembeard, we regret to inform you that we don’t think your face is a match for this. We will keep your face on file, and if there’s an opening next Novembeard, we will contact you.”
At the end of the month, my bearded brethren are gathering for a Novembeard group photo.
Right now, after the year I’ve had … a year of setbacks, rejection, and constant self-evaluation, the Novembeard has become so much more than just a Novembeard. It’s something I finally can control. Something I can see to completion. Something that I can look back on years later, seeing the pictures of this bad Keanu Reeves/Mark Wahlberg hybrid beard and smile fondly thinking, “That was the toughest, worst year of my life. And despite it all, I never threw in the towel.”
That’s all the motivation I need to keep me focused on reaching the finish line.
This is my blog. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My blog is my best friend.
