Most of the adventures I’ve had in my life have been with my hair. It’s been short and it’s been long. It’s been dyed almost every color of the rainbow. It’s been styled in a variety of ways both flattering and not. Most of my self-expression in high school was done through my hair, and it seemed that no matter what I did with it I always ended up going back to blue. Of course, there was a black period, a red phase, and even a purple moment, but my blue expressionism stayed strong.

Then came the dark times. This is what I refer to the three year period between August 2013 and now as, because The Captain wanted to see what I would look like with natural hair. So the only dye that touched my hair in that time was some highlights and lowlights. It was nice for a while, but with my upcoming graduation and major life decisions on the horizon it felt like it was time to get back to my roots. So I made an appointment, sat down in the chair, and enjoyed almost three hours of transformation.

With each step of the process I felt a little bit more me coming back. As the bleach pulled the color out of my hair, I felt like my anxiety and self-consciousness was being removed too. When the blue was slathered onto my scalp and hair, it reminded me of all the times I’d been blue before and how much fun I had with my unusual hair. And finally, when it was all dried, styled, and perfect, I felt like a tiny piece of my soul had come back to life.

I’m excited to go back to school with my blue hair, to regain some of that old confidence I used to have, and to experience life the way I used to. Life with blue hair really isn’t that different from life with boring brown, but it does add a little excitement every time I catch my reflection. I like to imagine that my hair says something along the lines of, “This girl’s different, comfortable in who she is, but she does enjoy some attention every now and again.”

I can’t say for sure how long the blue hair will last since I’m a broke college student trying to gain financial independence, but I’m definitely going to enjoy it for as long it will last. Eventually, when I’m wealthy or old (whichever comes first) I’ll be able to afford getting my hair dyed blue more than just occasionally. I’ll be that eccentric person you see at the supermarket, pondering over which kind of meat to buy. Until then, I’m just the babe with the blue hair, and I’m happy to say that that is good enough.