The Student News Site of Malvern Preparatory School

Friar's Lantern

The Student News Site of Malvern Preparatory School

Friar's Lantern

The Student News Site of Malvern Preparatory School

Friar's Lantern

It’s Not Easy Being Red

I remember that fateful day when I read the Atlantic Wire article titled “No One Wants A Ginger Baby”. Ouch. As a proud redhead, I highly resent such an assumption, but it is nothing new to me. Situations like that basically define the ginger lifestyle. I’ve come to recognize most of the negatives of the redhead life, but more importantly, I’ve been able to find the positives, which quite often are parallel to a negatives.

One such example of a negative/positive of red hair is the constant attention directed towards our fiery locks. I can’t remember the last day that someone didn’t make a joke about my hair. Most of the times they simply say ,”Hey, you have red hair”, and then they laugh. What am I even supposed to come back with for that? Then of course there are the no soul jokes. Those ones are actually pretty funny, not gonna lie, but still, they get annoying. It’s tough to be subjected to this daily, but eventually a smart ging, such as myself, will learn to utilize the attention for their own comical gain. Instead of fighting it, I’ve just started to join in, and I’ve learned one of life’s most important lessons; never take yourself too seriously.

Everytime I see a horribly sunburned redhead, I immediately can relate to them. It’s painful to give up any hopes of ever getting a tan, but I know that there are so many others who share my sorrow. Sometimes when I find myself making eye contact with a red-haired brother or sister. We both subtly nod our heads towards one another. We do not do this to simply acknowledge each others presence, but instead to show that we truly empathize with each other and that we are not alone. This connection is truly a powerful force, and I’m not sure if it is solely rooted in our joint understanding of the “ginger” lifestyle, or maybe there truly does exist a higher connection, either biological or supernatural.

Being a ginger is huge part of my identity at this point in my life, and although you might not think so, I love it. My redhead brothers and sisters and I are subjected to countless ginger jokes daily, we can’t get a tan for our lives, but we still go on loving life. In the end all we are is unique, and in life, what more can you ask for.

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