Be brave. Think pink.

Fact.

Yesterday I dyed my hair pink. Well not my whole hair, but a small section of tips located in the back, under a layer and only visible from the front if I pull my hair forward. It's no doubt a wuss's version of brightly colored hair, as subtle as putting pink in your hair can be, but you cannot deny... it's pink. 

Ever since I was caught coloring my hair with washable markers in the elementary school bathroom (true story), I've dreamed of having the courage to dye my hair a bold color. Colored hair is on my bucket list I suppose. So yesterday I finally just said "why the hell not!?" and went for it. I felt nervous the entire time, knowing I would love it, but worried beyond belief about what others would think. "Am I too old? Is this unprofessional? Will it seem silly?" The list of doubts went on and on even as my stylist blew out my hair to reveal a bit of pinkalicious fabulousity that made my insides sing. Isn't it funny how much you can intimidate yourself worrying about the thoughts of others? 

My bold stand against conventional hair color will fade within the next few weeks, but just like the last time I took my hair out to play, I couldn't be happier that I finally stopped stressing about "supposed to" and allowed myself a tiny slice of "just because I want to".

We the people...

Voting. So hot right now.

I've spent a lot of time debating whether or not to get political on SeektobeMerry. As you might imagine, this girl (a Washington DC university attending (go GDubs!) poli sci major, who digs a good constitutional conversation and crushes on George Washington) is acutely focused on the current Presidential election and has some well researched and highly opinionated thoughts on all things Obama v. Romney. However, I have made the executive decision (a "Blogger Executive Order"!?) to make this a non-partisan space. Politics can be very divisive and with a mission to make you merry, I don't think my political opinion should be part of our conversation. 

But the fact is, I care. I care deeply and I think that you should too. Are the Democrats or Republicans a perfect embodiment of all your political beliefs? Probably not, but at the moment they're what we've got. Are either of these candidates going to make dramatic changes to your everyday life? Again, unlikely, but their actions will impact you and the actions they each intend to take are VERY different. I think you should be informed and you should exercise your right to have an opinion and cast a vote (a right which people fight to the death for in other nations). Your vote isn't going to fix the economy, end discrimination or stop terrorism, but it is a tiny piece of the puzzle that you get to be as an American citizen (and we all know that puzzles with missing pieces are the WORST). So this fall, take a moment to educate yourself on where these two candidates stand on issues that you feel passionately about. Few of us will have time to know every detail (lord knows I'm trying!) but we can think about things that have meaning to us (education? financial reform? gay rights? the environment? student loans?) and cast a vote for the candidate who comes closest to representing our beliefs on those issues. We the People must always believe in the possibility of a more perfect union, and we must do what we can to achieve it. VOTE!

* To check your voter registration status, find your local polling place or request an absentee ballot, click HERE.