My close friends and family know me by name.
Acquaintances and strangers know me by beard.
My five-year old beard is unique due to its natural gradient from dirty blonde to a fiery red. It’s such a part of me that I base my haircut around my beard. My girl- friend, one of this newspaper’s two feature editors, has threatened to dump me if I ever shave it.
It’s made an enormous impact on my life. 
Starting in high school and changing over the years, it began like a little baby goatee.
Around my senior year, it bloomed into a magnificent man-beard. The length of my beard has come to measure my maturity.
It’s grown up with me.
The history of beards is parallel to the dawn of man.
Facial hair may change within generations and cultures, but beards have always been fashionable and, in some cases, prestigious.
There’s a maintenance aspect as well. My beard isn’t too hard to take care of. Some men go the literal dis- tance of their facial hair.
There’s an annual World Beard and Moustache Championship that takes place in Austria on Oct. 3 for those interested.
These competitions judge beards on style of beard, length of the beard and creativity. There are different tiers.
Facial hair influences and impacts people greatly and can actually change one’s view about another.
In my case, I look much older than I actually am, and if I was to shave it all away, I would look much younger than nineteen.
When asked how people would react if he shaved his beard, Delta student
Arthur Lopez said, “A lot of people would be mad [if I shaved my beard]. I grew it out for a while and there were people watching it.”
Fabulous facial hair can be a sufficient ice breaker.
Delta student Leopoldo Reyes, a fellow beard enthusiast with magnificent chin hair, said his is a conversation starter.
“I’ve gotten more friends because people see my beard and they say ‘ahhh sweet beard,’” he said.
Although beards have heavily impacted the world we live in, beards can also impact the grower of the beard negatively. Some people miss out on job opportunities due to the high standards of employers.
“I think because of my beard, a lot of people didn’t want to hire me because it’s not very business professional,” said Paramjot Sandhu, another Delta student with a great beard.
Despite all of the missed opportunities, a rad beard is always worth it.
Without my beard, I’d feel empty — and very bare.