Silver

I found my first gray hair today.

It's long. It's really long. It's not just one of those "Oh, hey, I'm aging at the root" kind of gray hairs.

It starts at the root, and extends all the way down to the tip of my hair.

It's not just gray, either, and that's how I found it. It was shining. It's a shiny silver hair, thicker than all the rest of my hairs.

At first I thought I was hallucinating. I stopped dying my hair altogether in December, hoping to grow out the fake color and return to my natural (free) color. Since I made this decision, I've been worried that my head will end up being covered in a flat, boring brown, so I've taken to being out in the sun, hoping that I'll uncover/grow some "natural highlights."

Therefore, when I saw this shining strand, I thought I'd grown a highlight spun of gold. I seized it and looked at it in the light. It was then I realized it was silver.

I was going to pluck it out. I've seen others my age do this; yank the first evidence of aging from their scalps, because unlike wrinkles, gray hairs can be eliminated. I wanted to pluck it out.

But it's just so shiny.

I've decided to keep it. I just hope it doesn't think that means it can invite its friends.