I just spent three hours sitting in a salon attempting to get a green tint out of my blonde hair.

I feel a bit light headed at the moment, and it’s probably due to the fact that I sat and read a magazine for three hours straight, and inhaled a good amount of hairspray.

ANYWAYS. Point being, my hair was green. Not like, crazy punk green, but a lightish green tint that was definitely noticeable. If you have blonde hair or know anything about hair, when it comes in contact with chemicals in the pool (chlorine, copper, etc) it changes the color.

And clearly, yours truly either did not realize this fact, or didn’t care, because my hair looked nasty. Like stringy, blue-green streaks.

There was one question I asked myself as I sat under a heat lamp with a plastic bag over my head,

“Was it worth it?”

I’m pretty sure every teenager gets asked this question after they get caught at a party, sneaking out, or partaking in some teenage activity. “Hope that was worth it,” they’ll say as they ground you for a month.

Sometimes the answer is yes, and sometimes it’s no, depending on how much fun you had.

And here the sixteen-year old philosopher goes again, but I want to live the kind of life where I have a solid answer to that question.

Because if the answer isn’t “heck yes” every time, you’re doing it wrong. Take risks, the rewards usually pay off. Now, don’t be silly, use your adult brains, people. I am not telling you to go pull some dumb stunt in public while you’re drunk. You know, the kind of bizarre thing we all hear about on the news and laugh out loud. That is definitely not worth it, my friends.

You know what is worth it though?

Eating a doughnut. You’ll walk off the extra calories eventually.

Going out last minute with friends. You can binge watch the Netflix you missed later.

Talking to that new co-worker that sort of looks like that guy from Harry Potter. I’m sure he’s got something interesting to say.

Stopping to admire the flowers your neighbor planted. They’re probably icing their backs as we speak, but their yard looks nice.

Trying something you’ve never done before. Sushi is good, it’s just that first bite that’s the toughest to swallow.

Complimenting someone. You feel like a better person, they feel better about themselves, it’s a win-win.

Making a change in your life. Be fearless. You won’t be as young as you were today tomorrow.

Swimming so much that your hair turns green.

To wrap this up, I think I answered my question. And hey, my hair is back to blonde anyways, no harm done.

I hope that you keep doing crazy things and creating memories, because in the end, you have to make your time on this earth worth it. Start with today. Go swimming, eat a donut, live a little.

-xoxo, Maddie