Ok, so this isn’t really a question I get normally, but more of a conglomeration of different statements like: “My wife hates it when I grow a beard” “People say I look like a homeless person” “Family/friends tell me I look like crap and need to shave”, and so on. Growing a beard really comes down to one thing - being yourself. Part of the journey to bearded glory is seeing how irrelevant the criticism of other people actually is - becoming more comfortable with yourself. Everybody has an opinion, and people are generally a little uncomfortable with someone that chooses to be their own person – especially people that are insecure about themselves. Expect to be criticized. Some people don't know how to react to pure awesomeness. Most of the time, these people aren’t even trying to criticize you, they are really just trying to validate their own choices and have no other way to do so. There is a reason the Beard Mountain motto is “Live the Beard”. One side note here: You should do what you can to get the Beard you want as well. A little trimming and maintenance will go a long way towards giving your Beard a more presentable appearance - especially once you get past the first few months of growth and it looks like you are actually growing a Beard!