Remember those days in elementary school when we were allowed to put our hair up as silly as we wanted to? Now that we’re in high school, we have the freedom to do pretty much whatever we want with our hair without getting into too much trouble.

Many students dye, cut or style their hair to levels that most people would consider a bit extreme. Some reactions to people’s hair are quite positive and kind. But in other cases, negative feedback comes from students who aren’t fond of an individual’s unique hairstyle.

Those with abnormal hairstyles are often on the receiving end of judgmental and sometimes rude or inconsiderate looks from people who pass them in the hallways. Labeling  is very common.

Sophomore Talisha Carrasco said that because of her short, spiked pink hair, she often gets labeled as being different.

“Yes I’m a lesbian and yes, my style is classified as being scene, but I hate the labeling,” Carrasco said. “I’m just me.”

Many people with interesting hair styles may be prone to receive judgments from their peers.

“I don’t care if people judge me,” junior Ravyn Smith said.

Although not all students judge, some don’t understand why people would dye their hair bright colors or chop their hair super short.

“I feel like some people dye their hair for attention, but others do it because they really like bright colors,” junior Taryn Brown said. “I’ve always wanted to dye my hair cotton candy pink, but I don’t think I could pull it off.”

The reasoning behind wacky hairstyles varies from person to person. One of the most common reasons is students wanting to express themselves through the way they dress and the color and style of their hair.

Freshman Devany Gramly currently has blond, green and red hair.

“I love dying my hair different colors and being individual,” freshman Devany Gramly said.

Carrasco has another explanation behind why people might dye their hair.

“Some people do it for the attention, some do it because they just don’t know what else to do,” Carrasco said. “I did it because I know who I am. I know what I want to look like. I know the style I want.”

16bmathias@usd489.com