I knew from a young age that my sister and I were unique. Everywhere we went, sweet older women would dote on us, complementing my mother on our radiant red locks and porcelain complexion. Being a ginger is much more than having a rare hair color though, it's basically a lifestyle. This life, however, comes with many pros - and cons - that most people probably wouldn't even expect, such as:

1. Going to a doctor's appointment is stressful

As you have probably heard before, redheads feel pain differently than others, therefore we tend to be more sensitive to it in general. What you may not know is that many health professionals believe we also bleed more quickly, making surgeries slightly more dangerous for us. Another (not so) fun fact it that we tend to burn through anesthetic at a faster rate due to an unusual trend of red heads having speedy metabolisms . In my personal experience, I once burned through general anesthetic so quickly while having an impacted canine tooth exposed via laser that I started to feel it burning halfway through the procedure! So seemingly normal health-related activities, such as donating blood, are basically guaranteed to leave all sorts of bruising, and let's not forget the extra shots we need in order to have even simple procedures done.

2. You share the glorious details of your genetic history almost daily

With red hair comes a great number of fans, and they always ask the same question - "who do you get your hair color from?" Thankfully, my paternal grandparents have given my sister and I the nitty-gritty details of this, which can be traced from my father (when he still had hair) all the way back to my great-great-great grandpa Adolfus. I'm almost certain I have told this story more times than the amount of Pokémon Go addicts currently trekking across the world. Also beware: there are people in this world that believe it is socially acceptable to stroke a complete stranger's luscious mane. It is completely weird and unbelievable, but it typically only happens about once a month so it's slightly manageable.

3. Shopping for clothes is a constant struggle

Even in the middle of summer, where pastels and whites can be found around every corner, you can be sure to always find a redhead rocking some dark tones. It is a constant struggle to find colors that don't wash out our pale skin, or conflict with our bright hair. Looking into my wardrobe, you will see four basic colors: dark green, navy, brown and black, with very little else in between.

4. Your celebrity look-alike actually looks nothing like you

Since our most notable feature is our carrot top, it is assumed that we look exactly like every other ginger ever born. I've been personally told that I look like Lindsay Lohan, Emma Stone, etc., which anyone who knows me well will tell you that we share no resemblance. We also always seem to look "exactly" like that single, out-of-placed redhead that literally every family has but no one actually knows how they ended up with the ginger genes to begin with. I will say, I've been told I look like Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones several times, and I definitely plan on milking that resemblance for the rest of eternity.

5. Growing up was a whirlwind of nicknames and slightly offensive jokes

Whether you were (or still are) called Ginger, Ging, Carrot Top, Red or something else, you pretty much didn't know what your real name was until you got to college. Also, people love to talk about your nonexistent soul (shout out to South Park for starting that never-ending trend), or tease you about the inability of your skin to be any color other than pasty white or lobster red. The good news is that we've not only learned how to take a joke lightly, but also how to not take jokes too far to the point of becoming annoying. You could probably say that redheads are some of the most chill people you will ever meet.

In the end, being a redhead is a glorious thing. We will never have to worry about going gray, we only make up two percent of the world, and overall we are simply beautiful creatures. As the saying goes, those who aren't us want to be us. So rock the red and be proud, you're a part of one of the most unique groups of people in the world!