I believe it is safe to say that I have never exactly been the “rebellious” type. I don’t skip school, go to house parties, push drugs, and my hair is still my natural color. However, these inherently “good girl” habits I have are not all my own. I was raised my whole life to know that if I ever did anything wrong or that would “ruin” my reputation, I would pay for it dearly. If not by punishment, comeuppance would at the very least arrive in the form of some kind of twisted karma or the effects of my actions. God forbid I stay out late, I will get kidnapped for sure, never mind the fact that I am in a large group of friends and have extensive martial arts training. Do not even talk about dying my hair or getting extra piercings, for of course this will result in every friendship and professional relationship I have ever had ending in their bitter disgust.

However, had it not been for my upbringing, I would have been an entirely different person. I am thoroughly enticed by the idea of dying my hair, as I strongly dislike my current color. When I go to college and am out on my own, I will be sure to get my first tattoo. As many readers would think, aren’t these things just wrong for someone to want? Will I not ruin my life with these choices? It is to these things I say, how? I have thought out every aspect of these ideas to ensure that I will not be digging my own metaphorical grave.

For example, hair dye is a temporary fix. Hair is always growing, colors fade, and new, more natural colors can always be applied. If I do not like something about myself and have the opportunity to change it to make myself happier, it only seems fair that I be given the liberties to execute such changes. Furthermore, it is a strong and common argument that if we weren’t born with tattoos on our body, they are not meant to be there. My side of the argument consists of the fact that it takes many years of a life for a person to grow and develop, and to learn what is really important to them. Therefore, of course we are not born with tattoos, because we have not had the chance to grow and learn as human being, or to learn our values. Any tattoo that I would get would not be one acquired on a whim, but rather one with meaning and that I am sure represents me in the best way I know how. As of now, the tattoo I would get would be a small version of the mandarin Chinese symbol for “hope,” something very close to my heart.

My mother and father are most worried about how I will find a stable professional life while looking like a “hooligan.” They are worried that no one will wish to hire me if I do not look professional. However, I wish to devote my life to my own expressions of creativity, not to working in a grey box office, doing something I hate. If an employer for a creative expression job chooses not to hire me for the creative expression I display on myself, I will know that it is not the job I am looking for. It is true that first impressions are based on looks. Many people always say that “it is what inside that counts,” but very few people even bother to look past the exterior to find those things that count. If someone is only willing to see me for what I look like, I do not wish to bother with them. It is up to in individual to prove what they are to the world, not what their appearance is worth to others. I am not a delinquent because I choose to express myself, and it is up to me to prove that.

It is not a parent’s job to shelter their child from the world, but to let them experience it. My own parents are afraid to let me make my own mistakes, not realizing that through mistakes is how a person grows. They are afraid to let me out into the world to make my own decisions, for fear that one mistake will ruin me. I know that my parents have raised me well and want only what is best for me. Yet, they must realize that after raising me so well, I know how to tell a fatal decision from an expression of creativity. If one expression does in fact end in a less desirable situation, I will learn and grow from the experience. Rebellion is not a sign of delinquency; it is a sign of a soul wishing to break free in whatever way possible. Sometimes the soul is so repressed that it will break free in an explosion of irrational behavior, but if someone is free to unlock themselves without repression, they will blossom in the most graceful way possible.