For years I grappled and fought with the bird's nest that sat on top of my head - my Medusa mane, a composition of frizz and giant ringlets that in no way could be tamed.

多年来，我一直在同我那矗立在脑上形如鸟窝的一头卷发进行着艰苦卓绝的斗争——我那美杜莎的发鬃，硕大的一团圈圈卷卷的综合体，从未被驯服过。

Growing up in a Russian-Jewish home with parents who thought North American styling products were akin to illegal substances such as heroin, I was never allowed to put them in my hair.

我生长在一个俄罗斯犹太人家庭，父母都认为北美的造型产品属于海洛因一类的违禁物品，从不准我往脑袋上涂抹这些东西。

"Why buy gel? Your hair is so beautiful naturally," my mother would say.

“为什么要买发胶呢？你的头发那么自然漂亮。”我妈妈就会这样说。

The tweens at school did not agree. From boys not wanting to kiss me when we played spin the bottle in Grade 7 to being called "the mop," I suffered for my unruly hair.

学校里的孩子们可不这么看。七年级玩转瓶子的时候，男孩子从不肯吻我，大家都叫我“拖布头”，那一头难以驾驭的卷发没少让我吃苦头。

People always say that you want the hair you don't have, but having unmanageable curly hair goes deeper than that. It's like being in a war with more than your scalp - it's your self-esteem. You feel messy and disorderly, with your curls reflecting that attitude.

人们总是说人人都不太喜欢自己的头发，拥有一头如此难以打理的头发更是如此。这就如同是在同你的头皮作战，不仅如此，是在同你的自尊宣战。你总是感觉自己脏兮兮，乱糟糟，你的一头卷发恰恰如实反映了你的想法。

When I got to university, I believed my frizzy hair was a wedge that stood between me and everything - finding an internship, getting a boyfriend.

上大学以后，我开始确信这头卷发是我人生的巨大障碍，因为它我找不到实习机会，因为它我没有男朋友。

If only I could find a way to police the frizz and put it behind bars, I told myself, I would feel secure and sexy. I tried everything: rollers, hairspray, gels and, at one point, an iron.

要是我能够抓住这些卷卷，把它们监禁起来该多好，我曾对自己说，那样我就可以安心地做个小尤物了。我试遍了所有的方法：卷发器，定型剂，发胶，曾经，连熨斗都用上了。

Then, in my second year, a miracle happened. I was asked to be a hair model for Japanese hair straightening, a process by which the molecules of my curls would be shattered and reset in a bone-straight position.

大学的第二年里，奇迹发生了。有人请我给日式直发做广告，就是打乱卷发中的粒子，让它们重新笔直排列的一种方法。

I was the perfect "before" and "after" candidate, the hairdresser told me.

发型师告诉我我的前后效果对照是堪称完美。

Although there are rumours about how hair relaxing can damage the scalp, for the next five years I didn't find them to be true. All of the hairdresser's promises were fulfilled: With my strands straight and smooth in a stylish bob, I was no longer Medusa but a distant cousin of Jennifer Aniston.

虽然之前有传言说做直发会损害头皮，但是之后的五年里，我的头皮安然无事。发型师的所有承诺都成为了现实：我时尚的波波头笔直而柔顺，我不再是美杜莎，而是詹妮弗·安妮斯顿的远房表妹。

However, there was extreme damage done to my wallet. To keep up the straightening cost $700 every six months, and that was considered cheap. While some people thought I was crazy, I was willing to do anything to never again feel like that frazzled, frizzy-headed girl in Grade 7.

不过，做直发对我的钱包造成了毁灭性打击。为了拉直头发，我每半年就要花费700美金，这还算是低价呢。有的人认为我疯了，为了不再变成过去的那个疲惫的顶着一脑袋卷发的七年级女孩儿，我愿意做任何事情。

But when I moved out of my parents' house at age 26 and rented an apartment, the upkeep of my sleek image became too costly.

二十六岁那年，我搬出了爸妈的房子，开始自己租住一套公寓，这时保持顺滑的发型对我来说已经是相当高的一笔费用了。

I couldn't hide from my inner Medusa any longer. It was time to embrace her and let her fly.

我也掩藏不住隐藏在我体内的那个美杜莎了。是时候拥抱她，让她自由飞翔了。

Seeking an alternative to my high-end habit, I turned to the oracle that always has answers: Google.

告别了先前高端昂贵的打理方式，我不得不开始寻求新方法，于是我转而求助无所不知的圣人：谷歌搜索。

After hours of searching, I stumbled upon a "curly haired" salon, a place designed for girls like me who were at their wits' end.

经过数小数的努力，我终于发现了一个名为“卷发”的沙龙，这是一个专为像我这般黔驴技穷的女孩设计的网站。

I doubted these so-called "Curl Ambassadors" could do anything without using a contraption of some sort, and though I bought the service called the "Curly-Doo," I suspected I'd have the same unruly mop at the end of the appointment.

我觉得不使用点高端设备，那些所谓的“卷发大使”根本就对付不了我的头发，虽然怀疑处理过之后还会一个完全失控的拖布头，我还是买了一套名为“卷毛豆儿”的服务。

I dragged my feet so hard getting there that I arrived 45 minutes late. I secretly hoped they would turn me away and give me the excuse I needed to justify the expense of relaxing again.

拖拖拉拉不太情愿的我为此迟到了四十五分钟。我甚至暗自希望他们会将我拒之门外，这样我就有理由再做一次直发了。

Instead, my stylist simply said: "You are very late. Flip your head over."

然而，我的发型师只说了句，“你晚了。翻转一下。”

At that moment, my world and beliefs about myself were turned upside down along with my hair.

“此时此刻，我的世界，我的信念，已经和我的头发一样完全颠倒了。”

As my head was dunked in a tub full of freezing-cold water, then generously slathered with a jelly-like substance, I wondered what I had got myself into.

我的脑袋被浸入到冰冷的浴盆里，之后有厚厚地涂抹上一层胶状物，真想知道这到底是些什么东西。

"Do you really think this will work?" I asked the stylist, Jacquai. "My curls are a lost cause ."

 “你真的觉得这管用吗？”我问起发型师雅基。“我的卷发真的是无药可救了。”

"No curly hair is hopeless," she replied. "They just haven't found a way to work with it, that's all."

“没有无药可救的卷发，”她回答道。“只是人们没有找到有效的方法，仅此而已。”

After the hour was over, Jacquai had completed her mission. She had styled my hair using only her hands, water and a mixture of organic potions.

几个小时过去了，雅基终于大功告成了。她只是靠双手用水和一种有机混合物在为我打理。

I couldn't believe what I was seeing in the mirror: a naturally curly, Medusa-free me. You could argue that hair is just hair. Yet, it is just such physical features that have such a large sway on how we view ourselves.

我简直不敢相信镜子里所见的一切：自然的卷发，那个告别了美杜莎的自己。你可能会说那只是头发罢了。但是它的自然特征可以如此强烈地影响我们对自己的看法。

According to Jacquai, 75 percent of the population have a wave or curl in their hair and don't know what to do with it. Men cut theirs short. Women flat-iron theirs to death.

据雅基说，75%的人都会有不同程度卷发，也不知道该如何处理。男人干脆剪短。女人就会烫一辈子直发。 

When I browse through a beauty magazine or take the subway to work, it makes me sad to see so many people repressing their natural beauty.

每当我翻阅时尚杂志或是乘地铁上班时都会难过地看到许多人压制了自己的自然美。

Since I tamed my locks, my world has changed. I have always been outgoing, but these days I seem to be more outspoken and self-assured than ever. On top of that, the compliments haven't stopped coming.

自从驯服了那道心锁，我的世界开始发生变化。我一直都很开朗，不过最近我更加坦率，比以前更加自信了。除此以外，赞美之词也开始源源不断地走进我的生活。

Friends and co-workers tell me I am looking better than ever, but they can't pinpoint the source of the change.

朋友和同事们告诉我他们觉得我比以前漂亮多了，但是他们说不出我到底是哪里改变了。

I don't need to tell them. My Medusa mane sways and speaks for herself.

不需我自己多言，我那美杜莎的发鬃正在摇摆着为自己正名呢。