I’ve been a redhead my whole life, and only 10 percent of the world has red hair. My parents told me that when I was little, I had the brightest  hair, and it looked like a red bush on top of my head.

I am the only one in my family that has red hair, but my brother has a little hint. I got my auburn hair from my mom’s side. She used to have it when she was younger, but it has grown darker over the years.

I was born with red hair and blue eyes, which is the rarest hair-eye combination. Red hair and blue eyes makes up only two percent of the world population. I was born in February, which is commonly associated red because of Valentines Day.

I never really noticed anything unique about having red hair, but whenever I would go somewhere, many people would comment about it. They would say, “You have the prettiest hair,” and I never really know what to say back to them.

I was the only ginger in my grade for a while, until sixth grade, when Katelyn Meece came to Stratford. At first, I was bothered by the fact that I wasn’t the only redhead, but now I have gotten used to it and realized it isn’t that big of a deal. Now, many new students and teachers get us mixed up, even though the only reason we look alike is because of our red hair.

Having red hair is cool, but sometimes it gets annoying. Whenever someone mentions red hair in class, I feel like the class turns and looks at me. One time, in first grade, my teacher, Mrs. Pat Horne, mentioned red hair, and a kid in my class didn’t know what red hair looked like. So the teacher called on me to show him what it looked like.

Also, in the summer while my hair turns a lighter shade of red, my skin does the opposite. Gingers usually have very fair and light skin, with freckles, so I get sunburn very easily. I get jealous when I’m with all of my friends at the beach and they are all so tan. But then I think about how I would look with tan skin, and I don’t think it would be the best look for me.

Although sometimes having red hair is annoying, it also has its perks.