In all humility, I must admit that I have some great qualities about myself.
I'm pretty easy to get along with, meeting new people brings a totally fulfilling energy-high, and as a Disciple of Christ I constantly try to exude the fruits of the Spirit. I feel that I have a great sense of humor, and honestly I'm pretty good at Halo.
But most of all, I have a beard.
Let's be honest, one of the first thing you notice about new people is their face, right? It doesn't have to be some judgement thing, but you subconciously memorize outstanding qualities and features of that person, so you can recognize them in the future. I will wager that people meet me for the first time, and later say, "Oh, it's that one guy with a beard! He's so ruggedly attractive and perfectly combines a charming humor with a humble attitude."
Don't lie to yourself. You SO thought that, didn't you?? ...I'm pretty much the most humble guy EVAR.
Anyway. To be serious, I really am proud that I have a beard. Today I wanted to talk about the weird but special kinship that most bearded men share. Honestly, my dad has always had facial hair, and part of me has wanted to be just like him. So when I was finally old enough to grow some substancial facial hair, I started right away.
Go ahead and say it. Awwwww...
Okay that's enough. In the past couple of years I've really experimented with my facial hair, going through the journey that every beardly young man must someday face. LOL I made a pun! Was that punny, or do you consider this punishment??
I need to freaking stay on track, or this post will go on FOREVAH.
As I was getting on my campus shuttle today, I greeted the driver as usual. This particular driver has this wonderfully kept reddish beard, and as I mentioned earlier, that's how I remember him. So as I got on the shuttle, he's greeting everyone like he always does. He sees me, and I can see this semi-different attitude about him when he says hello to me, like some spark in his eye. He had noticed my orderly legion of facial hair. And that's when I fully realized:
Even if you don't know someone very well, your beards can bring you together in perfect and glorious harmony.
I reflected on this, and began to notice this phenomenon in all my beardly friendships. In fact, many of the guys that I'm now good friends with where met with a simple, "Hey, nice beard!" There is some special, unspoken kinship that forms between us as bearded men. I believe it stems from several things:
1. Growing a beard takes time, patience, and some good ol' TLC. Some guys grow it faster than others, of course, but I think we recognize the work that was put into it.
2. I don't why or when THIS started, but if a conversation lasts longer than a few minutes, 93% of bearded men will absent-mindedly groom their face. They will transform their hand into some manner of brush, and proceed to tidy themselves. I catch myself doing this all the freaking time! We bond over this.
Oh and real quick, many (if not ALL) guys will do this sort of motion: they touch their forefinger and thumb just below their nose, in the middle of the mustache. Either finger will go the opposite direction, circling the mouth, and coming back together at the bottom of the chin. They will repeat this action for up to an infinite amount of times. Watch for that, you WILL notice if you pay attention.
3. Finally, we bearded few are joined by a glorious line of famous furry people before us. Just to name a few: Every freaking man from the Bible (search your feelings, you KNOW this to be true), Abraham "Broham" Lincoln, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Sean Connery, Russel Crowe (in most of his movies), John Lennon, Albert Einstein, Gandalf, oh and who's that one guy? oh yeah, JESUS CHRIST.
Yeah, he had a beard too. It was heavenly.
Of course, I have to include this disclaimer. You don't HAVE to have a beard to be great or successful, but it sure helps. I know plenty of solid guys that either are not capable of producing proper facial hair, or choose to go bareface. That's totally alright, and I'm not saying a bad thing against them.
Also, OBVIOUSLY, girls are really not included this post. Don't get me wrong, ya'll are AWESOME, but you just can't understand the bond between a man and his beard. You have things you can bond over that guys will never understand, like painting the exposed keratin on your extremities, or wearing colorful powders and chemicals on yo faces.
So, to my beardly brethen, keep up the good fight! Remember to support your furry brothers, and greet them often with a mutual respect and understanding. Good day, and may the Force be with you...and also with you.
