It's no shocker that I picked the essay "Returning to What's Natural" by Amelia Baxter-Stoltzfus. In her essay, she used dying her hair as a metaphor to describe the growing process. I could personally relate to her message because I too have had purple, red, and black hair, and I, like everyone else in the class, am faced with growing up.
Honestly, I still feel like I'm twelve, and it sucks that now I have all of these responsibilities that I didn't even want. A few weeks ago, I celebrated my 18th birthday, and that's when it hit me: I can actually go to jail now. The thought of going to jail was pretty depressing. There have been a few nights where I've awaken in a cold sweat after having a nightmare about never seeing the light of day.
But anyways, I really liked the way the author compared dying hair (with semi-permanent dye) and growing up. What I extracted from her essay is that growing up is basically a trial and error process. In order to "find yourself," you experiment with different things to determine what fits you best, just as you would experiment with different hair colors. All the while you are trying to venture out, you develop a longing to hold onto some things from your past.
A personal example of this is when I was 15, I HATED going to the mall with my grandma; she wasn't cool enough to hang out with me in public. But now, I practically have to beg her to come to the mall with me. I miss being able to spend one-on-one time with her. Although I want to hold onto the past, I also want to be independent and give this "adult" stuff a go. I definitely don't miss having someone telling me what to do and when to do it.
Concisely, this essay tells you to go out there and try living life as a big girl/boy. Know that you will always have your family behind you, as well as the morals and values they raised you with, so it's okay to take a leap of fate. At the end of the day, you can very well turn around and take a leap back.
*p.s. If you didn't read this essay, you should. I think it's fitting for us as young adults.
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