卷發

林芬

For years I fought with the birds nest that sat on top of my head—my curly hair.

多年來我一直與頭上的“鳥巢”——那一頭卷發作斗爭。

Growing up in a Russian-Jewish home with parents who thought North American styling products were similar to illegal things， I was never allowed to put them in my hair.

我在一個俄羅斯的猶太家庭中長大，父母都認為北美洲的造型產品與非法物品極為類似，堅決不允許我在頭發上涂抹。

From boys not wanting to talk with me when we played games in Grade 7 to being called “the mop”， I suffered for my curly hair.

從起初男孩子們不想跟我說話，到后來在七年級玩游戲時被人叫“拖把”，我一直因卷發而飽受痛苦。

Then， in my second year in college， a miracle happened. I was asked to be a hair model for Japanese hair straightening， a process by which the molecules1 of my curls would be changed and reset in a bone-straight position.

然后，在我大二那年，奇跡發生了。我應邀成為一個日本頭發拉直的發型模特兒。在此過程中，卷發完全改變了，被重新設計為一個波波頭的直發造型。

However， there was extreme damage done to my wallet. To keep up the straightening cost $700 every six months， and that was considered cheap. While some people thought I was crazy， I was willing to do anything to never again feel like that frizzy-headed girl in Grade 7.

然而，這卻讓我的錢包面臨著“滅頂之災”。為了保持我的直發，每六個月就要花費我700美元，這還算是便宜的了。雖然有些人認為我很瘋狂，可我愿意做任何事，讓自己不再像那個七年級的卷發女孩。

But when I moved out of my parents house at age 26 and rented an apartment， the upkeep of my sleek2 image became too costly.

不過，后來我26歲搬出父母家，在外面租了一個房子之后，要保持我頭發的順滑開銷頗大。

Seeking another way to my high-end habit， I turned to Google. After hours of searching， I found a “curly haired” salon， a place designed for girls like me.

為了給我這個高端愛好探索另外一條路，我開始向谷歌求助。幾個小時搜尋之后，我找到了一家“卷發”沙龍，這個地方專門為像我這樣的人而設的。

I arrived there 45 minutes late. I secretly hoped they would turn me away and give me the