The 5 o'clock Shadow

I started shaving when I was 12 years old, and have basically hated doing it ever since then. It's time consuming, tedious and no matter how much practice I got, I could never seem to avoid cutting myself on a regular basis. Finally last year, I asked my family for an electric razor to minimize the annoyances of shaving. My brother granted my wish and got me one. My good ol' electric is the kind of razor which cleans your face up enough to get rid of any itching or discomfort which may be caused by facial hair, but it doesn't cut all the way to the skin like a traditional razor would, thus leaving me with a 5 o'clock shadow everytime I shave.

Now I never did mind sporting the scruff because I'm a 20 year old college guy, so looking a bit rugged works toward my overall goal of looking like I'm hardcore. However until recently, the 5 o'clock shadow of which I have become so fond, was never really the most popular look. I have no idea what has changed but all of a sudden, scruffy is apparently what most guys are going for. And how do I know this? It isn't my strangely vast knowledge of popculture or my embarrassing enjoyment of MTV's programming. It's girls. That's really how we as guys decide if things are popular or not right? It's whether or not girls like it. If girls like the way we dress, that's the cool way to dress. If girls like the way we dance, that's the cool way to dance. When I talk to a girl that I am interested in taking out sometime, I almost always ask what kind of facial hair they prefer on guys. The girl probably thinks I am asking so that I can prepare my face accordingly, depending on their answer, but really this question has the potential to be a deal breaker for them. I basically am going to show up to the date with my standard stubble no matter what their answer is, because aside from weddings, I don't show up baby faced anywhere. Luckily, the answer recently has always been, I like a guy with a 5 o'clock shadow.

So what does it all mean? Probably nothing important to tell you the truth. Girls change their minds about what they like more often than guys change their boxers. And even when a girl says she wants one thing, its usually a 50/50 shot at best that that's actually what she really wants. I don't mean to criticize the female population, I just have noticed their overall fickle nature lately. But for now at least, I've got the "in" look working for me. And I'll probably still have it when it goes out of style, and I'll still have it when it comes roaring back. Just a warning for the ladies out there though, I hope you like my stubble for a while because I am more likely to get rid of you than I am my 5 o'clock shadow . . . just kidding . . . but seriously.