“Hey Ali, how does a blonde try to kill a bird?” someone calls out to me. “They throw if off a cliff.” My eyes roll into the back of my head as I ignore the lame joke. Now someone else has joined in, “Ali, what do you call 10 blondes lined up ear to ear? A wind tunnel.” Obnoxious laughter fills the room as I inwardly cringe and outwardly sigh.

These are situations I’m used to due to being a blondie, which is something I can’t control. Anytime I say something even remotely dumb, I can expect to hear a blonde joke and some taunting. Blonde females are often faced with adversity, no matter how intelligent they truly are.

I’ve always resented this stereotype because it is seldom accurate, and I make sure it doesn’t apply to me. Studying, doing my homework and making good grades in school are fixtures in my life.

I’m not the only blonde trying to break the stereotype, and I can name many others with golden locks known for their smarts. Hasn’t anyone else seen “Legally Blonde”?

My hair is more dirty blonde, not the platinum color that many girls dye their hair. My freshman year, I decided to spice things up by coloring my hair. Young and naive, I believed it would be a positive change.

First, I used a spray that made my hair lighter. Tired of having to spray my roots every day and do all the work myself, I decided to make a drastic change with hair dye. But I wasn’t staying blonde. I chose to cross the uncrossable line and go from blonde to brunette.

The brown hair wasn’t bad necessarily, it just wasn’t me. It slowly faded away until my blonde tresses were present once again. I decided never to dye my hair again, and my mother so kindly helped make that decision by telling me highlights were too expensive to continue anyway.

Being blonde isn’t something to be ashamed of, and it certainly doesn’t make someone dumb. Changing my hair color from its natural blonde isn’t something I will be doing in the foreseeable future. The jokes and teasing are something that can be ignored, because no other hair color fits me better.
My name is Ali Richter, and I am not a dumb blonde.