I keep having the urge to do something crazy with my hair – dye it purple, chop it into a pixie cut, or (the craziest option) bring back the bangs that plagued me as a child. It’s always been in the back of my mind, but before I was too concerned about what others would think of me, or how it could affect my professional life. But now all I can think is that the time is right. I live in Capitol Hill, where I stand out because I don’t have colorful hair or tattoos. I’m in grad school, where even some of my professors have dyed their hair bright colors because it’s no big deal. I’m young and it’ll grow back, so why not do something fun with it when I’m still in my 20s?

But then I can’t help but think…are people going to interpret this as “Oh no, Jen is having a crisis and going wild because of her mom’s death!”

I guess I’m still too concerned about what others would think of me.

If anything, my mom would have liked it. She was always telling me how I’d look cute with short hair. And while my dad could only grumble at all the rainbow-haired people when they visited Capitol Hill, my mom just smiled and said:

“Reminds me of art school!”