For most of my life, I was under the strict dress codes of private schools. Best believe as soon as I graduated high school, I started experimenting with hair color. I'm a natural ginger, so I couldn't dye the whole thing, but I've dyed a large side section of my hair multiple colors. I've cycled through purple, teal, green, blue, and now red.

Being as shy as I am, the first time I dyed my hair a bright color was terrifying. I remember that when I was 14, I dyed my hair bright (Ariel) red during the summer. I went a little overboard with the dye and I remember people staring very blatantly. They didn't even try to be sneaky about it; they just turned around in chairs and stared right at me. It was mortifying; I wasn't prepared for all of that. I did everything I could to get it to fade out faster.

Fast forward to the past few years. I stopped caring what people thought about my hair, even after a while forgot that I have crazy-colored hair. Sometimes you wonder what people are looking at and then you think "Oh! Yeah, I have green hair."

You get all kinds of reactions from people when you have unnaturally-colored hair. Little kids appear shocked or in awe. About a month ago I was pumping gas and a couple of kids in the next car were just staring with dropped jaws like they've never seen bright hair before. Once a little girl said to her mom that I had mermaid princess hair. There's also the occasional elderly person who hates it and feels compelled to say something about it, or people who don't think I should ruin a rare natural hair color with dye. I get a lot of compliments though, mostly from fellow students or teenagers/young adults. Sometimes it makes people feel more friendly towards you because they think you must be a fun person. At least that's what I think when I see people with bright hair. It's becoming more popular because of social media trends. Professionals like Guy Tang show their unique color combinations and processes on YouTube, prompting lots of people to want to dye their hair. It's amazing what people can do with hair dye.

I suppose you have to be a little brave to dye your hair bright, unnatural colors. It's not extremely common, and it's definitely a conversation starter. It could interfere with jobs or intimidate people. Most people associate colorful hair dye with the alternative crowd. I don't dye my hair for attention, though. I see dyeing your hair as another way to express yourself, just like makeup or clothing styles. I'm also in a band, so that's my excuse when people ask why I did this to my hair. Lots of band members I admire are rocking dyed hair.

I can honestly say that having dyed hair has helped me break out of my shell. I challenge myself by doing things outside of my comfort zone. Years ago I would've avoided anything that didn't help me blend myself into the background. If you dye your hair a strange color you have to wear it with confidence. It actually builds confidence. Don't worry so much about being able to pull off the color, other people liking it, or standing out. If you like the color and it makes you happy, you should do it. That's all that matters. Own it. Just be yourself. You only live once, have fun.

"Life is too short to have boring hair."

(Disclaimer: Not that natural hair is boring, because it's not. I'm just trying to end the stigma against unnaturally colored hair. It's not "trashy," it's expressive.)