Redheads are too numerous to be ignored, too rare to be accepted. It is so festive to be red. But it isn't always festive to be red. At any rate, at about age 19, if memory serves, my red hair became extremely beneficial, as though someone had flipped a switch. Either that, or maybe people just finally found enough sense to be afraid.
Fear is such a healthy emotion.
Visit this page for some more harsh truths about being red. A problem for redheads is remembering people. Non-readheaded people, that is. People almost always remember us, because of our hair. But we don't have that advantage with the rest of the hair color population.