There's a lot of identity tied up in your hair — which is why cutting or dyeing it can be pretty terrifying. Gina Rodriguez, who recently got a killer undercut for the film Annihilation, understands that all too well. Over the weekend, she Instagrammed a major new haircut. Turns out, she shares a lot of our hang-ups — but her big chop has helped her get over them.
In the photo caption, Rodriguez acknowledges the liberation of cutting her hair. "I cut my hair for a film and there is nothing more freeing [than] realizing your beauty exists from within," she wrote. "I am not my hair. I am not my weight. I am not my skin color."
It's a beautiful, simple, sentiment that really resonated with me. After years of believing that I wouldn't be beautiful without my brown hair, I recently dyed it platinum blond. And while it did take a minute for me to start recognizing myself in the mirror, I have come to embrace the change. I now realize that I am beautiful regardless of my hair color. Rodriguez's message truly hit home for me — and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
So let's all take a page from Rodriguez's book. "Let go of what you think would make you more beautiful and discover you have all you need already inside," she wrote. It's a worthwhile lesson to remember when you're feeling down about your looks.