i love my hair

When I was little, I used to gaze in amazement at the teenage girls in church as they ran their fingers through their long, silky hair and put it up in a ponytail without a brush and made it look so great. At the time, I would never have believed my hair could do that. I was at the shoulder-length, kid, "i'm outside all the time and don't have time to brush or condition my hair" stage. There's no way I could run my fingers through my hair, let alone put it up-- with or without a brush. My mom could put pigtails in it, but that was the extent of my hair styles. I went through a time in my later-kid/pre-teen years when I would brush it back into a ponytail almost every day. Always. I couldn't stand to have it down. I always go through stages like that with my hair-- when I either wear it solely up or solely down or solely in a half-ponytail or something. If I went to school with my hair down, it usually ended up in a ponytail or bun by the end of the day. As I've grown older, I've gotten better at dealing with my hair. I've found the way to put just enough hair in the half-ponytail so it won't hurt my head and won't look weird and won't accent my flyaways or frizziness. I've found a way to put up my hair in a ponytail without a brush and make it look loose and the ponytail part curl in just right. I've found the exact right way to work the hair band so the bun has a good messy-to-functional ratio. (So it looks cute but also stays in for a while.) Most recently, I've found how to make my hair look cute-ly sloppy (if that makes sense.) At least I think it looks cute. It's my favorite kind of hairdo. I'm wearing a sloppy side-bun right now. It's comfy and matches my long shorts and t-shirt look. So I am indeed like the girls I used to look up to at church.

I've always gotten compliments on the color of my hair. People always comment on the fact that it is such a pretty red, and that nobody else in my family has it and how weird that is. I used to get so mad when people called me strawberry blonde, because that would mean my hair is mostly blonde, which it is not. I'd correct them, saying that it was of an Oak-colored variety. It truly is Oak colored most of the time. In the winter, my hair looks auburn/brown most of the time. I worry if it's going to change forever and I will have lost my only claim to fame. (I like to be dramatic sometimes.) But then summer comes around, and I spend all my time in the sun and my hair does start to turn blonde. Especially the hair in my bangs-- my mom once asked if I had gotten it highlighted. It becomes very vibrant and alive in the summer, and that's when I like it the best.

I feel weird talking about how much I like my hair, but it's not like I have anything to do with it. It's there, and I happen to like it. I think the reason I haven't been turned off by my red hair like most redheads tend to do is because I didn't get the entire package. I don't have the skin of a redhead in the summer. Sure I get really pale in the winter, but I don't get sunburned and tons of freckles in the summer. I actually get a little bit tan. Sure, I have my share of freckles, but not nearly as much as would be expected.

So, the moral of the story today is that I enjoy being a redhead.