Is there something that you do that always makes you feel better after a bad day? Perhaps it's eating junk food or shopping online. Maybe it's going to the gym and running as fast as you can on the treadmill. My good mood booster happens to be dyeing my hair. It's an expensive habit, but it's my own form of therapy.

Middle school is around the time I first remember not liking how I looked. Being a girl is especially difficult when you don't' have a lot of money. I never had the fancy clothes, the expensive purses or the most colorful eyeshadow. Everyone was sure to point it out to me. I felt ugly and boring. The biggest thing I really didn't like about myself was my hair color. I am a natural brunette, but the shade is horrible. It's basically the same color as dirt. Yuck. I decided to make a change.

My freshman year of high school, I met one of my best friends. She was obsessed with hair, and I became her test dummy. We tried all kinds of styles and haircuts. She taught me about makeup and showed me videos of all these beauty blogs she watched. I watched the videos all the time and learned how to do simple things to make myself feel prettier. It still wasn't enough though. I still hated my hair color. I explained to her how I felt about my hair, and she understood. She felt the same way about her hair sometimes. She told me that I was beautiful just how I was, but if I wanted to try something new she would certainly help me. After some serious debating about colors, we decided to try red. I was (and still currently am) obsessed with the band Paramore. Their frontwoman, Hayley Williams, had this fire red hair that blew my mind. I was so excited to try this new look.

As soon as I saw myself in the mirror, I knew this is what had been missing from my life. I felt so beautiful. The red color complimented my pale skin and green eyes. I was amazed that just a color could change how I felt about myself so greatly. All my other friends loved it. My parents said it looked beautiful. I felt more like myself than I ever had. It is now 10 years later, and I have continued to dye my hair ever since. I have tried many different colors, but red is still my favorite. My friend still tries out new colors on me from time to time, and I'm forever grateful. Without her encouragement, I probably would have never had the courage to dye my hair. I have become so much more confident in myself since then. Changing my hair was just the first step.

I hope that this article can give readers the courage to try something new or find your "thing" that makes you feel better about yourself. It may not be a physical thing such as trying a new haircut or changing your diet. It could be a mental health thing such as trying your best not to talk negatively to yourself when you're upset. Regardless of what it is, I hope that you realize you are special just as you are. If you feel like you need a touch of hair dye to give you a confidence boost, so be it!