Vanity. Vanity is the first to go.
If I were walking the Camino for solely religious reasons, this entry would be far more introspective and philosophical than what I’m going to share. I would hope I could even write something inspirational, transcendent.
Instead, I’m writing to share the startling realization I had last weekend. An epiphany based on a very practical and real-world issue:
I will not be able to touch up my roots while on this trip.
Do you understand? Even if I color my hair the night before I leave, I will have stark, noticeable roots within three and one half weeks of starting the walk because of how fast my hair grows.
No, my natural hair color is NOT the cool auburn brown I have been using for the last five years. It’s not even close! It is light brown to dark blonde with very white grays. Or at least it was five years ago. I’m not really sure what it will look like in 2018. IT’S BEEN THAT LONG.
And you know what? I am OK with this. I now realize that even though I always thought of myself as a tomboy, I really haven’t embraced my tomboy side since before the age of 11… when I woke up one morning with the body of a grown woman (I was 5’8″ in the 6th grade and grew a C-cup chest overnight, so yes, body of a grown woman). Despite the fact that I always scoffed at the idea of primping, I’ve quietly been doing it my whole life. Just in 2017 alone, I probably wore more makeup, bought more dresses and shoes, and had my nails done more often than I care to admit.
Vanity. I can say it outloud now. I too am guilty of vanity, and this walk is going to force me to give up this flaw FIRST.
- When I leave, my nails need to be bare and short (I get manicures because they make me feel more feminine and less like I have man-hands).
- I cannot take any jewelry with me, even my wedding ring and the cheap studs in my ears.
- I must bring clothes that are practical. Function over fashion. They also need to be fairly frumpy for personal safety reasons.
- I will most likely wear a hat most days. My Commodore family will be SHOCKED by that since they all know how much I HATE wearing hats!
- And, God help me, I need to embrace whatever my real hair color is now and turn my back on my good friend L’Oreal.
I have not even left Seattle yet, and I already identified a major personal flaw to work on. This is going to be an interesting year.
(The picture is from 2012. Think that color is ever coming back naturally? Yeah, I don’t think so either.)
Camino Jen 
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