I've been dying my hair red since my freshman year of college when my friend Ava dyed my hair in the community bathroom. It was the start of a hair love affair that I think will last me my whole life. The change from a brunette to red has been an interesting one because its made me learn a lot about myself and other people. I never expected to learn anything from dying my hair except if it was a good idea or not, but here I am entering my senior year with some new perceptions on life.

Dying your hair a bright red or any vibrant color is going to bring attention to yourself because people notice-- you don't blend in with everyone else. It has forced me to come out of my shell and be less people-shy. I have people constantly asking me when I'm at work or in class if my hair is natural (obviously not) or who does my hair (no one). You could be a jerk and ignore all these people but it's just better not to. Anytime someone approaches me about my hair I hear nothing but good things so it's also a huge confidence boost.

The funny thing is, my mom has always said she was shocked that neither my sister or I was born a redhead since it is prevalent on both sides of my family. Maybe that's why people assume my hair is naturally red, I was meant to have red hair all along.

I have found that I feel I am more attractive with my red hair than my brunette. I'm immensely pale, so when I dyed my hair red I never expected it to bring some color into my face (literally puts color on my face when I'm in the process of dying it because I am not an expert stylist. I look like I've been at a murder scene). I look less ghastly pale with the dyed hair. So this has made me feel more beautiful and confident, even though I still cannot find a foundation shade light enough for my vampire skin.

You learn that men are very creepy about red hair. Honestly the amount of lewd comments I've received online has increased ten fold since I dyed my hair. These comments are usually along the lines of "I hear redheads are better at sex." I always like to burst the bubble by saying I'm not a natural redhead, but they say their comments still stand. I have no idea who came up with this correlation but I would like to give them a swift kick in the knees for making it. I am so sorry to all the natural redheads who have dealt with these kinds of comments since they hit puberty.

I never imagined that one color change would make me become a more confident person, but here I am three years later with more happiness and confidence than I've had my whole life.