Archana's Blog

Currently listening to: Five for Fighting – World

I stared at my keyboard for a good 10 minutes before writing this post. How do I begin to tell the story of my time here at UT Austin?

Then I realized that this is just my first post and I needed to calm down. We can get to the thought-provoking material later. For now, let’s just get to know me – Archana.

3 Basic Facts:

• I am an Austin-bred lady, having lived here for 13 years and attended elementary, middle and high school in northwest Austin. Home was quite literally a 20-minute drive away until my parents moved and I realized doing my own laundry isn’t brain surgery.
• I am a senior in the College of Communication double majoring in public relations and communication studies. I love both of my majors, which has made the classroom side of my university rather enjoyable – what a concept, to enjoy what you’re learning!
• I am fully determined to make the most of my last year at the university, and for me, that means a shift in priorities. I spent the better part of my time here engrossed in my studies – without regret. But with just 8 months left between now and graduation (excuse me while I panic for a minute), I realize that I have so much left to experience as a Longhorn.

That’s actually one of my favorite parts of being a UT student: no two students will ever have the same experience. I mean, how could they? There is a seemingly endless amount of opportunity and your pick of paths to take – classes, organizations, the joys and obstacles each student faces. As I pretend to wax wise, I can only allow myself to enjoy each remaining day I have left at UT.

So I definitely reverted back to the scary, big picture stuff just now. But this philosophy is what has guided the last month of my life. And so far it’s worked pretty well! I’ll keep you posted on the specifics at a later point.

Something you should probably know about me is that up until a month ago, I had ridiculously long hair. I mean really long.

Archana Ramachandran had really long hair.

It would get caught in car doors, I’d wake up with masses of it in my face, and it took more time than I’d like to admit to take care of. Was it a vanity thing? A little. Having long hair is a cue for femininity. Women take pride in it, invest money in its upkeep, and spend time making sure it looks good.

But keeping my hair long was part of a bigger goal – I decided at the end of my sophomore year that I wanted to donate my hair to charity. I felt the confidence my hair gave me, and I wanted to share that confidence with someone else. And I am all about paying it forward, folks.

So six trims and a year and a half later, I chopped off 10 inches and donated my hair to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths project. It was a terrifying yet liberating experience – and totally worth it. One of the coolest things I’ve ever done and something I’ll always remember about my college life.

Check out the video – and that high pitched sound in the background? That’s me squealing my head off.

So stay tuned for my senior year adventures!