My high school was unique in a lot of ways. A minor example of that can be seen with our prom. As our school only had a few hundred people in it, all students are invited to prom. The school still want to give students that classic "senior prom" experience, so Junior girls were encouraged to dress their best and the prom court was chosen from their class. For my Junior prom, I wanted to do something wild, because you only get one JUNIOR prom. The dress I chose was exactly what I wanted; dark, jeweled, tight... My favorite part, though, was the slit up the leg revealing the neon green-almost-yellow interior.
After wearing the dress around the house for a couple days, I decided the eye-catching color wasn't quite as obvious as I wanted. I decided to bring out the color in an extra special way. Inspired by one of my best friends who was dying her hair silver to compliment her dress, I decided to dye the bottom half of my hair that same blinding green color as my dress.
While putting in the dye, to be honest, I was nervous as all hell. Watching my hands covered in a slime labeled "electric lizard" made my heart flutter with so many emotions. I found myself wondering things like: "What if it looks unprofessional?" "What if I decide I don't like it next week?" "What are people gonna say?"
I decided to stick with my guns and rub that slime all over the tips of my hair, and the reason why? Because I wanted to.
I wanted my hair to be neon green, so I did it. And I couldn't be happier I did. I felt empowered by my decision to do what I wanted. It gave me confidence in the same way that wearing a funky tee-shirt or purple lipstick does but in a much more committal way.
In addition to the internal pride I felt, the outside reception helped this even more. Everywhere I went, at least one person said they liked my hair. Some of them said it after careful consideration, some shouted it after I had already passed. It felt amazing. I was talking with my multi-hair-colored friend and she has the same experience. I'd like to think this is because people like to see others pushing their comfort zone. It's not easy breaking the social norm, but it feels damn good to do something you want and not worry about what anyone else thinks.
When I see someone rocking anything out of the norm, I always admire it. It shows that they're making themselves happy regardless of anyone else's thoughts or opinions. Honestly, I think a lot of people just liked the colors. But it didn't matter because the compliments were directed towards me!
When I dyed my hair, I proved to myself that I can be just as fierce as those fashion icons I see around. Doing something bold reminded me that the part of me trying to please others doesn't speak in my best interest. It gave me the confidence to start doing things for me again. Which is why I recommend dying your hair that wild purple or that electric blue to anyone wondering what it would feel like.
Only word of advice, start with a part of your hair you can cut off!
