Middle and High School Parents, FYI

I hope you saw the joyful and wonderful Olympic performance of gold-medal winning figure skater, Alysa Liu. That she did it with a Donna Summer medley made a big smile appear on my face. I've been watching figure skating for a long time and I have almost never seen someone perform so loose and happy. 

She's the first U.S. woman to win a gold medal in 24 years. As well, Alysa became the first skater to win a gold medal in her 20s since a 24-year old Japanese skater in the 2006 Olympics. 

Her athletic story is interesting as she won the U.S. title in 2019 when she was 13 (she's now 20). She was in the Beijing Games where she didn't medal and then she shocked everyone and "retired" at 16. She wanted sleepovers and more time with her family. 

But slowly she made her way back and now has done herself proud. (I will say that in the 60 Minutes interview with her, it was shocking to hear her father say that he has probably spent about $500,000+ on her career. Most parents cannot afford that.) 

I tell you all this for three reasons. 

Hers is a good story for other kids about a talented girl who grew unhappy and stressed despite her abilities. Sometimes it feels like kids are being pushed harder and harder and she sends a good message listening to herself.

Another reason? Her hair color. Below is an explanation of the "halo" look. She says that she is a tree and the stripes represent growth in her life. I suspect it may be very popular soon and you might be asked to let your kid try it. 

From Wiki:

Halo is an alt-grunge hairstyle that became noteworthy when Alysa Liu used the style. Liu, an American figure skater, was awarded the women's single figure skating gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina. 

The style takes 5 hours to finish in the case of Liu. Kelsey Miller was the hairstylist who dyed platinum stripes in Liu’s dark hair initially. Liu's style is referred to by Cosmopolitan as her "signature". Behind the Chair, an industry publication, describes it as "iconic." 

Lastly, when she smiles she has a flash of metal in her mouth. I thought maybe she had braces but no, it's a metal half-hoop with small balls on each end. What's unnerving is that it goes through an opening in her upper gum. 

The small piece of jewelry visible on Olympian Alysa Liu's upper teeth is a frenulum piercing, commonly known as a "smiley" piercing. It is inserted through the thin tissue (frenulum) connecting the upper lip to the gums and is designed to hang over her front teeth when she smiles.

Thing is, she did it herself with help from a sister. She said it wasn't painful. 

I suspect that some kids would like to try this as well.

You've been warned.