I asked my mother if she'd noticed the changes in me. "Of course," she said. "I noticed right when I noticed your new haircut."

I told her I'd waited for someone to take me aside and say: "What the hell happened? What a difference!" I hadn't been hoping for it, but I'd been expecting it.

She said: "It's like saying to someone who's dropped 200 pounds: 'You're not fat anymore!' It just doesn't feel right."