When most teenage girls sit in the salon chair, a wave of anxiety overwhelms them. God forbid the hairstylist cuts off an extra fourth of an inch. The thought of reliving the fourth-grade Dora haircut days gives them nightmares. And don’t even think of doing a wet cut. But for me, every summer when I walk in the salon, I get excited. I can’t wait to get rid of my ponytail and leaving the salon with my head feeling much lighter.
This summer was my second year in a row (and third time total) of donating my hair to make wigs for girls with cancer. Last year I donated 12 inches, and this past week I donated 8. The very first time I donated was in the fourth grade. At that time, I had had long hair my entire life and was ready for a change (and to be able to brush my hair all the way through without encountering a knot). But as I got older, it became to mean so much more to me.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become aware of how lucky I am. So what, I got dumped senior year and so what I got my wisdom teeth out? Not only are these ordinary “horrors” to happen to girls my age, but there are much worse “horrors” that often go overlooked. Girls my age, and even much younger, are suffering with terrible, sometimes even incurable, cancers. Sometimes I spend hours doing my makeup, while girls are spending hours doing chemo. Some days I don’t want to get out of bed because I’m so tired, while some days girls can’t get out of bed because they’re so weak.
All of us girls are so obsessed with fitting a certain body image, or even a certain hair length, and they lose focus of what else is going on in the world. As a society, there is this unspoken rule that a girl can't qualify as "pretty" or "hot" if she doesn't have long hair that reaches her butt. It's 2016 here people, girls can be pretty if they have short OR long hair. And while some girls are brushing the knots out of their hair, some girls are wishing they had some to brush.
And so it was decided. I went to the salon and got chopped. Sure, when I see how my friends style their long hair I do miss it sometimes, but I know there are girls who need it more than me. I can always grow it back. Them, not so much. But even if one more girls gives only 8 inches, another sick girl somewhere can not only gain a wig, but also the joy and confidence and healing that comes with it. It seems like a small price to pay, doesn't it? 8 inches. All it takes is 8 inches to help heal.
Learn how to donate to Locks of Love here.
Learn how to donate to Pantene Beautiful Lengths here.
