“I’ve never seen someone make a game-time decision on a haircut,” Community Associate Kit Fox said, as I walked into SportsClips, a haircutting chain that I had never heard of.

This impromptu haircut turned out to be one of the best decisions I made as a Medill cherub.

Emotionally and physically, I was exhausted. We had just cheered, booed, screamed and ultimately, cried at Buffalo Wild Wings during the 2011 Women’s World Cup finals.

Storming out of Buffalo Wild Wings, I was kicking trash cans out of anger, not in the mood to talk to anyone, no matter what they had to say. I knew I had become too emotionally invested in the United States women.

SportsClips allowed me to turn my attention to something else. The waiting room is a locker room. The barber shop is filled with Chicago sports team apparel, posters of the Blackhawks, FatHeads of the Bulls and Cubs, framed pictures of the White Sox. Each haircutting station had a flat screen TV. The haircut glided by.

My amiable barber told me that because it was my first time at SportsClips, I would be awarded the MVP, a prized package usually priced at $22. After my insistence that I was indeed a summer Northwestern student, the price fell to $12.

The MVP consisted of savory shampooing, magical massaging and careful conditioning in five minutes of pure relaxation.

Partly out of spontaneity, partly to take cover from the sun, I made a rash decision. I do not usually consider haircuts to be stress-reducing activity, but the atmosphere, friendliness and relaxation calmed me down.

Though I was still upset about the game, I could take solace in my sleek, sophisticated and impromptu haircut.