Driving down Lancaster Ave on EA Day, outside eyes see Spencer Stadium packed with passionate Fords chanting till exhaustion, hundreds of successful alumni gathering as one, and D-I-caliber athletes dominating the field.
Zooming into the stands further, this outside spectator might wonder why the entire student body looks like they just got shipped off to boot camp.
When I was a Third Former, I thought getting my hair cut for EA Day was the stupidest thing ever.
No one was going to touch my hair.
I saw upperclassmen show up to school with mohawks, buzzcuts, dyes, and massive H’s shaved into the sides of their head. What would my parents think? How would I show myself at Thanksgiving dinner? What would my non-Haverford friends think of me?
I wondered why they took pride in looking dumb. EA Day was only one day, so why mess up your hair for the next three months?
Fast-forward to Fourth Form, and I’m sitting in the locker room watching clumps of my hair fall to the ground. I no longer see this tradition as stupid; now I see it as a moment between classmates that helps build bonds deeper than blood.
I’m laughing. I look in the mirror and let out a sigh of resignation for my new haircut, but with a smile on my face. At that moment, I might’ve been the first brown kid to have a mullet.
I’ll never forget Fifth Form, showing up to the breakfast table and seeing all my friends look like thumbs. I couldn’t miss out, so, after school, I got zero-guarded to the dome.
My wacky, terrible haircuts will always be something I remember fondly when I look through my November camera roll. Yes, it’s three-to-four months of looking like an idiot, yet the memories of the haircuts and EA Day are priceless.
To all the underclassmen, buy into the community and have fun with it. Happy EA Day, everyone!
