The Pink-Haired Republican

Spring quarter, my senior year of college, a little group of us girls completed what we dubbed the “Too Much Princess for One Boy Shuffle.”

This would be the last of our collegiate bar-crawls, so it had to include all the bells and whistles;   including crowns and customized t-shirts.

The back of each t-shirt had a moniker that the other shufflers had crafted.  You know, something personal, funny and endearing.  The description for the back of my shirt?

“I’m not boring, I’m just conservative!”

Obviously this didn’t make me sound like the life of the party, but for someone that made it through Ohio University in 4 years, with a whistle-clean academic record, no arrests to my name and a body free of ink and piercings, well, it wasn’t entirely off-base.

Oh, and my membership to the Young Republican Party.  I guess that alone could have justified the t-shirt.

Soon after college, I became employed with a pharmaceutical company, and enjoyed a great 7-year career before becoming a home girl.  But working in corporate America with 2 very conservative companies left little room for creative expression through fashion and accessories.

Polished make-up, pantyhose with a skirted suit (black-or-brown-or-grey-oh my!) and a pair of pumps:  this pretty much sums up my “uniform” for the duration of my 20’s.  I took a chance one winter and polished my nails with “Lincoln Park After Dark.” (Soo risky, right?!?)  I still remember one physician giving the head nod toward my hands and remarking “Black nails are for Halloween.”

Because let’s face it – when you’re dealing with the white coats, settling on the boring side is a bit better than being gossiped about once you’ve walked out of that waiting room.

Which all leads me to this.

As I was planning Lake’s birthday party, I realized: holy cow – I’ve been unemployed (well except for working for the [little] man) for 2 years. . .and I’ve had to answer to absolutely no one.

I can wear "Lincoln Park After Dark" any damn day I please.  And I can wear skirts, sans pantyhose!  And I can do this with my hair!

But come on, I’m a republican, remember?  I would never do that!  But I did do this:

Yes, my friends, those are pink streaks you see.   Call it a quarter-life crisis if you want. (Because yes, I do plan on living to be 124 years old, duh!)  Bottom line is I did it simply because I could!

So the t-shirt was correct!  I’m NOT boring!!

And considering what I could have done with my hair, looks like - in true Ashlea fashion-  I executed the pink highlights in the most conservative way possible .