Hi. Hello. My name is Lauren. If you know me in real life, you will know that my hair is a boring shade of mouse brown. Or at least, it was until last Friday.

Last Friday I went to the hair salon here in the lovely city of Waco. I met my stylist Bre'anna (who is amazing and does an amazing job, might I add) and sat down to do my hair.

And by the time I left, my hair was blue.

Now, I'm sure you have questions, such as: Why did you dye your hair blue? Did you want to dye your hair blue? What about what other people think? Aren't you afraid that you're going to be judged? And the simple answer to these questions is that there really isn't a simple answer.

Whenever I go to a hair salon, I go in and tell my hair stylist a vague idea of what I might want, and then I say that they have complete creative control over my hair. I've found that that is the way that you can get the best haircut of your life because the hair stylists get to use their talents to make you look FLAWLESS.

Anyways, back to my blue hair. The short answer is, yes, I wanted blue hair. When I went to my salon on Friday morning, I mentioned that I would like to have some blue put into my hair. Did I want a full head of blue hair? Yeah, but I wanted to see what Bre'anna would do with my hair, and she did exactly what I wanted without me having to tell her. I love my hair. It makes me feel like a mermaid (which is kind of my new aesthetic, so that's a bonus).

But onto the most pressing question that I have gotten since I've had blue hair: Aren't you worried about what others will think about you and your hair?

No. I don't care what people will think. In the past few days, people have been staring at my hair. I've gotten honked at on the street by passing cars and I've passed by people having whispered conversations. But I don't care. Because one thing I've learned in my 18 years of life on this planet is that you need to do what makes you happy. You don't need to answer to anyone else.

I wanted blue hair, so I went and got blue hair.

I didn't get anyone's approval before going to the salon. In fact, I only told one person I was going to get my hair done, and I didn't even tell her I was going to have some blue when I left. I just went and did it.

My hair color matters to me, and it shouldn't matter to you unless you like it. If it matters to you, you might want to check your priorities. Because in the grand scheme of life, my blue hair is not affecting you. It's affecting me, and I love it. I'm so glad that I got it done, and I would totally go back and do it again.

Now, this is not me telling you to go dye your hair the color of the ocean. This is me trying to tell you a few things.

1. Please don't give people a hard time about their hair.

2. People's hair color isn't your concern.

3. It doesn't matter what people think of your hair.

Honestly, my hair has become an unintended social experiment on society's expectations, and it was a welcomed side effect. The real question now is if you will be someone who succumbs to society's expectations, or if you will go against the norm.