Muss Up Your Hair

A friend from Puerto Rico sent me the following essay. I translated it with very few "indulgences"... I couldn't find any reference to when or where it originated, but it came with a cartoon of Mafalda ... a cartoon character from Argentina and very popular and well known throughout the Spanish speaking world. I don't know if Mafalda is known in the States. The original author is apparently a woman who is mandated by Feminism to write this essay, but frankly I feel like it's a pretty good admonition to men too. Of course, some of us take it a little TOO far, but what the heck!


Muss Up Your Hair


Today I learned that you have to let life muss up your hair, so I have decided to live life with greater intensity. The world is crazy. Definitely crazy. If it tastes great, it’s fattening. What’s pretty is exprensive. The sun that warms your face wrinkles it too. And everything that is truly good in life musses up your hair.

· Making love musses up your hair.
· Laughing till your gut hurts musses up your hair.
· Traveling, flying, running jumping in the ocean musses up your hair.
· Taking your clothes off musses up your hair.
· Kissing the person you love musses up your hair.
· Playing musses up your hair.
· Singing till you’re out of breath musses up your hair
· Dancing till you wonder if wearing high heels was a good idea leaves your hair unrecognizable!

So, from now on every time you see me my hair is going to be mussed up. And you can be sure that I am living the happiest time of my life. It is a law of life: the woman who rides in the first car of the roller coaster will have hair that is more mussed up than the one who chose not to take the ride.

I may feel tempted to be impeccable, combed and pressed inside and out. Life’s ‘help wanted’ ad demands a good appeareance. Brush your hair, put on, take off, buy, run, loose weight, eat healthy, stand up straight, get serious.

And maybe I should follow the instructions, but when will I be told to be happy? Hasn’t anyone figured out that to look pretty I have to feel pretty? The prettiest person I can be! The only really important thing is that when I look in the mirror I see the woman I should be. So, my recommendation to all women:

Throw yourself into life, Eat with abandon, Kiss, Hug, Make love, Dance, Fall in love, Relax, Travel, Jump, Go to bed late, Get up early, Run, Fly, Sing, Dress up, Be comfortable, Admire the view, Have fun…and above all, let life muss up your hair!!!!

The worst that could happen is that you look at yourself in the mirror and see that you have to comb your hair again!








This is an example of Mafalda ... by the cartoonist Quino. Mafalda is saying " Mom! What kind of future do you see for this woman's rights movement? Never mind."