June 25th 2011, I shaved my head for the St. Baldrick's Childhood Cancer Research Foundation. With the help of my mother, family, and friends I was able to raise $4,000 to this amazing organization, and donate 4, 12" ponytails to Locks of Love. In the weeks leading up to my donation I was just simply excited. When I was having my head shaved I was all smiles, from ear to ear. It was my hair dresser that was nervous and my dad who couldn't watch. It all hit home when an elderly woman spoke up from the corner and told me that she was a cancer survivor, and really appreciated what I had just done. In that moment I realized the magnitude in what I had just done, and the beautiful opportunity that St. Baldrics gives everyone.
"Beauty is in your heart, not your hair." Some may call it a sacrifice, but I call it an honor, a pleasure to give that little thing, my hair, to give the incentive for people to learn about St. Baldrickís and to donate to this incredible cause. If there was one thing that I could say to children who have cancer, I would tell them that they are beautiful, and that no matter what happens, always keep your head up and stay strong because there is hope, and you never know what tomorrow may bring. They can find true beauty within their heart, not a mirror. Children are our future, being a part of St. Baldrick's is for them.
Who I am isn't about who I am with, or what I look like, but it is who I am inside, and that I am sick of people judging me for that outside mask that we all have. We hide what's inside with the vain mask that everyone sees, our superficial selves. But once we start reading the book that is our core, we realize there is much more than just the cover. It's sad to think that in our society hair is a symbol of beauty, of authority, or status, vanity isn't everything, it's what's inside that really matters. True beauty is so much more than skin deep.
