The snow pounded against the warm material of our hats that hugged our heads securely. It was below ten degrees out. The sun shinned bright but it did nothing to warm our bodies. I was in Vermont at Okemo Mountain, trying to get a national certification to teach snowboarding to others. There were two examiners, one a gentleman in his late fifties, and a woman in her early twenties. I was only sixteen at the time, the youngest in my group of six by ten years. To pass the two day certification test I had to talk in front of the group multiple times a day, sometimes by volunteering and other times the examiners would choose. The first day I had my hair had my hair straight down, between my neck warmer and my beanie hat, some falling to cover a fraction of my forehead, the rest flowing down my back. I talked quite a bit that day. I was outgoing, volunteered as much as possible and made friends with everyone in my group. At the end of the first day the examiners told me that they could not believe that I was only sixteen years old, and that I could speak better than most adults.

 I love having my hair done nicely, straight or curled, it gives me more confidence. When my hair is don nicely I can wear it down and use it like an accessory. I will whip it around, let it fall over my shoulders of part of my face to emphasize a point I am trying to make, or use it to hide my face when I get embarrassed. Sometimes I will even use it to keep my neck warm.

The second day my hair was frizzy and curled into knots. I had pulled it back into a ponytail; trying to keep the mess I call hair out if my face. That day I was quieter than the day before, I continuously tried to fix my hair with no success. I did speak in front of the group when I was asked by one of the examiners, not by volunteering.

With my hair pulled back into a ponytail, I had taken away one of my accessories that I had used the day before. There were times during the day when someone would make a joke about my age and I would go to hide behind my hair, yet it wasn't there to use. I was uncomfortable the entire day. My hair was forced against my back warmer by my beanie. Being uncomfortable the entire day had a severe impact on my confidence level.