It is believed that you should not be ashamed of scars because they are there to represent that you were stronger than what tried to hurt you. I strongly agree with this idea. However, in my case, I don't have a scar - I have a bald spot on the back of my head.
This bald spot is clearly visible whenever the back of my hair is short. When I was younger, I hated having short hair and this was one of the reasons why. I would have a good amount of people questioning me and making fun of me whenever I got a haircut. They would think that the barber messed up and left the buzzer on that spot for too long and then didn't bother evening out the rest of my head (why would a barber do that anyway?). I tried to tell these people that this did not happen and that this spot has always been there. The sickening part of it is that a lot of them did not believe me and continued to have their laughs.
This is what a lot of people don't know.
When I was four or five years old, my father set a kiddie pool in our driveway, which was a horrible idea (I'm sorry, Dad). Being the cheerful and playful kid I was back then, I was excited to go down the slide into the small little pool of water. When I got to the top of the slide and sat down, I suddenly fell backwards and landed on the back of my head. I do not want to make this story gory, so, putting it simply, I split my head open and was taken to the doctor to get my head stitched.
Keep in mind, I don't blame my parents by any means. Also, my parents may read this story and tell me there was more to it, but I was very young at the time, so this is based off of as much as I can remember.
I still cringe at the thought of the accident. This is my head that we are talking about, and I hit it pretty hard; the result could have been even worse and I am extremely thankful that I ended up being okay. I don't think I have ever felt anything more painful since then, and it's been at least 15 years. However, what now remains on my head from this event are the stitches in order to keep it sealed together, thus resulting in a lack of hair on a spot in the back, where I landed on the driveway.
Nowadays, I keep the sides and back of my hair short, so my bald spot is always there, and over time, I have learned to accept that it is not going away. It is always going to be a part of me, and while it may not look favorable physically, it will always be similar to a scar to me. It will always represent that I recovered from an accident that definitely could have been more consequential. It will depict my strength from a young age.
I am proud of my bald spot.
