Let's back up for a minute…

I was born with a very bald head. Pink clothing and decorative bows became familiar accessories after many strangers asked my mom, "How old is your son?" My thick curly blonde hair decided to make its appearance around my third birthday. As each subsequent birthday passed, my hair became much thicker and slightly darker. Before I knew it, I was no longer the blonde that I used to be, and my hair had transformed into a boring light brown.

For my 15th birthday, I decided to highlight my hair. Aside from my one "rebellious" phase where I dyed my hair dark brown, blonde became an expensive addiction.

This process became exceptionally damaging. Not only was my hair broken and dead, but my bank account was too. Upkeep became unbelievably tedious — purple shampoo every other wash and a thick deep conditioner as often as possible. Split ends evolved into a form of entertainment, and I found myself picking at them constantly. I have to admit, I loved the look of my blonde hair and the thought of switching to any other color scared me.

I guess the big drop in temperature was all that I needed. The cold weather yielded a surprising hankering for warmer colors and shades, and I was eager for a seasonal switch. Blonde was no longer an option due to the heavy damage and breakage that I had accumulated over the years, and brown seemed too prevalent, overdone and mundane. As I ran my left hand through my lusciously dead locks, my right took a scroll through Pinterest under "fall hair colors." After about 10 minutes, my hands were tired, and my eyes drooped from boredom after observing too many and marginally different images of brown highlighted hair. I gave up on the whole idea for a little over a week.

One trip to Starbucks later, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Pumpkin spice lattes are to blame for my "red revolution." I took to Pinterest yet again—this time with a much more specific search. I filled up a whole new pin board with various red-haired images.

Two weeks later, I found myself at the hair salon. I described the exact look I was going for, and had my new pinboard to back me up.

Deciding to dye my hair red was remarkably liberating. I cannot think of the last time I decided to make a major change. I was bored with my blonde, and the damage had become too overwhelming. So far, red hair has been fresh and fun, and I can hardly wait to see what else I will do to it throughout the years.