There are many ways that students express their uniqueness, and North Atlanta has no shortage of ways for students to do just that. Some wear funky clothes, some do funky dances and others – those who are really brave – sport really funky colored hair. What causes some students to dare to go for bright colors? The answers are as varied as those who opt for Technicolor locks.

Sophomore Nia Ballard first colored her hair in September. She followed a predictable path for opting for her blue-toned look. “I decided to keep on doing it after seeing how many people reacted positively to it,” she said.

She said all of her friends have been wholly supportive. “They tell me they enjoy seeing me do something different,” Ballard said.

There are many important steps for those who go all in with color. You have to choose the color or just the right color combinations. You also have to be aware that changing the color of your hair goes way beyond changing a hair style. Those queried gave varied answers about what prompted them to take their unorthodox paths. “Well, I was going to color it red but it turned out green, so I decided to go with purple,” said sophomore Cassandra Spiegl.

When she returned from winter break, Spiegl changed from purple to a bright red hue. She concedes that it takes a lot for a person to undergo such significant appearance changes. “When I first saw the first color job in the mirror I thought: ‘Oh my gosh! What have I done?’” she said.

The first thing to look forward to after a weekend of appearance-altering hair work is the reactions fellow students give. Sophomore Ian Longley, who dyed his hair blond and then pink during fall semester, said the first thing people said to him was that his new look was really different and unique. His motivation to dye his hair is rooted in a simple rationale. “I just don’t like having plain hair,” he said.

Before receiving peers reactions, those who color their hair first have to receive opinions from those who might really matter most – their parents. Sophomore Kamryn Johnson said her parents expressed approval after she first dyed her hair light brown. Longley said his parents liked his colorful hair but expressed concern that so many color changes could be damaging his hair. “It wasn’t that bad convincing them to allow me to color it, but their concerns were clear,” said Longley.

Colored hair is a way students express their personalities. While colored hair isn’t something new, it’s a pretty new trend at North Atlanta. If you haven’t colored your hair, Spiegl, Longley, Ballard and Johnson could always use fellow passengers on the train of uniqueness that is the multi-colored locks contingent at our school.