When I was in high school, I was always dying the bottom part of my hair crazy colors. Pink, blue, purple, and other varying colors of the rainbow occupied the ends of my tresses for years. The summer after I graduated, I decided it was time to really mix it up. I decided to take the plunge and dye my entire head bright red. It was so crazy, I still can't believe I did it. Here are all of the cool and strange things that happened to me in that year of having the funkiest hair color ever.

Note how light my skin looks in comparison to my hair. Yikes, that WAS bright!

It will be hard to find a job.

Right after I graduated high school, it was time for me to find a job that would hopefully last through the summer and until the end of college. In addition to having zero job experience, my hair was making this nearly impossible. I went on over 20 interviews in various stores all over the city, but no one would hire me unless they knew for sure that I would dye my hair back to a 'normal' color. Thankfully, a couple of weeks before school started up again, my local Urban Outfitters took a chance and offered me a sales position. They have absolutely no dress code, so my hair was a total non-issue! Phew!

Little kids will become your new best friends.

Small children have no idea what society expects of them when they get older, so when they see someone with brightly colored hair, they just fall in love. I would constantly see kids tugging on their moms' hands to tell them that they loved my hair---It was glorious. No matter where I went, children were always ooh-ing and aah-ing at my hair, usually to their parents' discomfort. Little girls would come up to me in the mall and tell me I looked just like Ariel, and that they wanted to be a mermaid when they grew up, just like me. There is no better feeling in the world than that.

Old women will become your worst enemies.

My parents didn't love my new look, but to their credit, they understood that it was just hair and that I could always dye it back or cut it off. It wasn't permanent, and they knew that. The older women I would run into at work or whenever I was out and about, however, didn't seem to appreciate that and would usually scowl at me when they noticed my hair. On some occasions, they would even tell me that it looked ridiculous. I understand that brightly colored hair isn't everyone's cup of tea, but keep your opinions to yourself. My hair isn't hurting you.

People will want to hang out with you only because of it.

There were people I would meet that wanted to be friends with me only because of my hair. Sure, it's a great conversation starter, but don't base an entire friendship on one physical attribute. I briefly dated a guy who only seemed interested in my hair. He would constantly tell me that he loved it and wanted to dye his own hair the same color. I saw him a while after we stopped dating and I had dyed my hair to a color closer to my own natural brown, and he seemed so incredibly disappointed. Yikes, glad I got out of that one quickly.

The upkeep is ridiculous.

I didn't realize how much time went into keeping hair vibrant and healthy. It turns out that you can't have both. I put so much effort into making sure my roots never showed and my color never faded that I was totally damaging my hair. At one point, I had to cut off about 5 inches of totally dead straw-like hair. It was such a hassle, and expensive, too.

People will be able to find you easily in a crowd.

Having bright red hair was like wearing a traffic cone on my head: anyone could find me, at any time. I would be in a Starbucks and someone I barely remembered from high school would yell out my name from the back of the line. I would go to the mall, and my friends would be able to find me without calling to ask where I was. My parents loved it, because they knew they could never lose me, but it was exhausting if I was trying to avoid someone I didn't want to see. There were times when I would have to throw on a hoodie and sunglasses to go incognito, like a celebrity hiding from the paparazzi.

Going to Disneyland will be the best experience ever.

My little buddy, Sebastian, and me hanging out at the Happiest Place on Earth.

I went to Disneyland once with my Little Mermaid-esque hair, and it was one of the greatest experiences I've ever had there. Everywhere I went, people were calling me Ariel. Children, adults, cast members, even other princesses. It was incredible. I felt like a true princess that day.

I kept my bright red hair for about a year before it was time to return back to the normal, boring, brunette tresses that I was blessed with. While it was quite the crazy year, filled with ups and downs, I would do it over again. In a heartbeat. Who else can say that they once spent a year like the Little Mermaid, right?