If you've ever wondered how to piss off your conservative family real quick, the sure-fire way is to dye your hair an unnatural color.

Claude's mother came to town while Claude was away—Paris, remember? Ugh. And it's not that I'm jealous, I just feel like guys who swoop in and carry her off—who barely even know her—are bad news. Like, obviously it's because she's hella famous. Obviously it's because of her name. Er, not even—it's her stage name. Because no one knows Claude is Claude is Claude is...anyway, so I hung out with her mom.

Her mom is one of those hair people, yeah? And recently, she learned how to dye hair multiple colors. She went to school late, 'cause she had Claude young and all, but she is living proof that it's never too late to achieve your dreams. So, we got drunk the other evening, and she was explaining this to me. "Okay, so how about you test on me? I always wanted to do something a bit wild to my hair." I'd literally never thought of dyeing my hair unnatural colors. I thought it was, like, against the rules.

But Claude's mom, she said, "Whose rules? Who makes up these rules, anyway?"

And I got to thinking. Clarke Griffin dyed her and Madi's hair "unnatural" colors using berries. I mean, first of all—I don't get how it's unnatural if you're literally using the most natural elements of the earth to dye your hair. Second, it looked real cool. Why are there so many rules against "unnatural" hair colors? Why can't we just call it self-expression? Why can't we accept how other people express themselves? As long as they're not harming themselves, or anyone else, what is really so bad about it?

Of course, my mother will have you believing that my hair is harmful to her—her feelings, her emotions, her reputation—somehow more than, say, how great I feel. We're not talking right now because of it, beyond occasional text messages asking me how I am and whether my hair is "fixed" yet. "People are going to treat you badly because of it!" Oh, mother. If people seriously treat me badly because they are bothered by something on or about me that is not harming them beyond their inability to accept anyone who doesn't conform to the norm, then that's their problem. It's them who has the problem, not me.

If anything, the hair experience has taught me about people's true colors: Change something about yourself—anything, sudden or slowly—and you learn a lot about the people around you.

I couldn't choose one color, so I chose three. My hair looks like cotton candy: it's mostly purple, with blue and pink highlights. And I love every bit of it.