I broke mah beard!

So, I shaved my beard last week... Big mistake. I really don't know why I did it. I think it was more peer pressure than anything. A group of girls asked me to shave it because they thought I would look better without it. Why did I listen? WHY?! Guh... I've spent the past several years being my own entity and not letting anyone tell me who I should be or what I should look like. The beard, although not covering much of my face (goatee), was part of my overall look that I wanted for myself. They said I'd look younger without the beard. Granted I do appear younger, I realize after the fact, that I don't like that look. To me, having a beard gives some sort of perception of wisdom or authority. I don't get why more men don't grow out their beards... Is it because of happenings similar to what I experienced? Are most women really not attracted to a long beard and do they convince their "potential mate" to get rid of it before anything happens? Really... I had been growing that goatee since before the summer in '08. I enjoyed the feel of it being on my chin... the shadow it cast in my silhouette... how it was weighed down when I lifted my face out of the water when I swim. So many memories down the drain... Litterally. But now, what's done is done. I can't glue it back on, so I've started growing it again. Hopefully it will grow more prominant and shapely.