Introduction and background

   For a while now I've had a variety of facial hair styles. My tendency to change my mind about what exact look I wanted has prevented me from ever growing a truly spectacular beard, but facial hair of some kind has been nearly constant. I just hate the way I look without it. In fact, I think I look downright stupid when I'm clean-shaven. It just seems right that men should have beards of one kind or another, and my specific interest in the beard has increased over time. I have, at various times for various reasons, cut off short to medium length full beards that I have grown. But starting this winter I resolved, once and for all, to let my face become the dense forest that nature intended. And what better way to kick off this new chapter in my life than to start up a blog? Well ok, there are plenty of better things I could do instead, but this is the one I picked, so that's that.
   While I'm on this "new chapter" subject, I should point out that my decision to let my beard grow is really just an external expression of a very real change in direction for me. A few years ago I left school in Nevada without getting a degree, and I eventually found myself working a soul-crushing job in a factory in northeastern Ohio. Well, long story short, when the auto industry collapsed I found myself unemployed, living in my parents' house, not in school, and gradually sinking into a pit of lethargy and depression. Eventually I got back on the horse, so to speak, and went back to school to get my life on track and try to make something of myself. And that's where I am today. These past few months have been almost like a rebirth for me, and despite the fact that I'm mid-way through my twenties, I kind of feel like it's only very recently that I've really made that transition into an actual adult. Thus, as the beard has historically served as a primary symbol of a boy's transition into manhood, it now feels appropriate that I should finally let mine grow freely.That's enough with the autobiographical musings for now, though. Welcome to my blog.