Originally published by Heather Elias on LinkedIn: Creative Reinvention, or Personal Discontent?

Recently, I was at the salon with my longtime stylist, Dwight, getting a refresh on my hair. Dwight is the only person that has touched my hair for the last 17 years, so he's seen me through many phases, including the growth of my family. Now that I'm solidly into my 40's, we have had a lot more discussion about style than when I was in my early 30's. The one thing that hasn't changed, though, is my trust in Dwight and the confidence to pretty much let him do what he wants with my hair.

For many years, in fact most of them, I've worn my hair long..sometimes shoulder length, sometimes to the middle of my back, but most of the time somewhere in between. I can attest that this has been, in many ways, a declaration of my youth, a Peter Pan-like refusal to grow up and cut it into some boardroom acceptable 'do. This has also meant that I've spent hours and hours taking care of this long hair, styling it, and coloring it. (Hours and dollars, let's be real.) Dwight, to his credit, would listen to my explanations for wanting to keep it long, and just shake his head.

A few months ago, just before the twins left for college, I pulled the trigger and let him cut it to a length that just dusted my shoulders. The amount of hair on the floor was astounding...it could have been a small animal. As shocking as that was, I was immediately happy with the resulting length, even before he had finished shaping it up. Not only that, I went back four weeks later and took another two inches off, so it's hardly even brushing my shoulders now.

The result has been kind of amazing to me. My morning routine is now to just throw some salt spray into it, and let it curl as it air dries. I am now wandering the planet with semi-short, curly hair, instead of the long, straight mermaid hair that I spent so many years tending. It's not just the hours I have back from the simplicity of care, but something much deeper. I believe this new look is more of a manifestation of who I am at this point in my life.

Control...Ceding control, showing a bit of a wild streak, letting it go and seeing what happens. My husband Michael says he's always known I was a wildling, but this is the first outward indication so that the rest of the world could catch a glimpse of it. It's freeing to look out into the world with a different frame around my face, a different look. I'm not a different person, but I am presenting an alternate version of myself, in a way.

So it certainly doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the parallels of the stage of life I'm in and this need for reinvention and creativity. August was the beginning of a totally different chapter of life when my twins, my oldest, left for college. I am a mother of adults instead of little people. And at the same time, I am still me.

As Dwight was shaping my hair, we talked about re-invention. Appropriate, as I had gone from a beachy, summer, blonde-streaked look to richer, deeper, autumnal red shades. He was remarking that so many younger clients were willing to take chances with their style, changing hair color and cuts frequently, morphing between looks in a short period of time. While I feel like I can be less conservative as I've progressed further in my career and am more in control of my own destiny, these clients are more unafraid and more creative in their youth than I ever felt I could be.

The question Dwight posed, which I'm still thinking about, is do they morph between these looks, these outward presentations of themselves, out of creativity, or out of discontent? Are the changes because they aren't happy with their life, their situation, their world? Or are they truly just being creative in the way that they express themselves through personal style?

This translates into career choices, the average time spent in one company being so much shorter than generations that preceded us. Reinvention of look, of career, of location...no matter the point in your career, it's much easier to find another job across the country if you desire it. Tattooing your body in visible places is much more socially acceptable. Completely wild hair color choices, numerous piercings, more casual work attire. We are living in an age that is so much more supportive of personal re-invention.

My curly hair, which has always been with me and never allowed to show, is an outward representation of inner growth. I'm not going to say I'm a new me, but I will say that I'm more myself than I've ever been. Amazing what a good haircut can do.