Platinum Blonde Life

I always want to change my hair...but I've wanting to bleach it blonde for a long time now. I've asked some people's opinions, and most people say it wouldn't suit me, and a couple people saying it would be sexy as hell. I've sort of just gotten to the point that I feel like raising my middle finger to everyone and just go for it.  I've been looking at hair porn for the past three weeks...and I only want to do it more. The only thing holding me back at this point? I'm scared to death of damaging my hair. I've been doing my research, and heard horror stories of hair snapping mid-shaft. Snapping. But I have heard that bleach and peroxide affect different hair differently, and what I really need to do is go to a salon and have an assessement of my hair done. Here are some pics of what I have in mind...minus the slutty vibe that you'll probably get from a couple of them...