I have had long hair for my entire life except for the time that I cut my hair for charity in sixth grade.

Aside from those few months, I have been fiercely attached to my long hair. The first time I cut my hair for charity I cried. I am not surprised by this since I was cutting my waist length hair to my shoulders and I had never had hair that short in my life. I was also 10 years old at the time so I think I should get some slack for that, too.

This time was different. I have donated my time to various charitable organizations, I have donated money and resources but what else could I do to make an impact? I had been saying I wanted to cut my hair for years but I always had an excuse. I had been competing in pageants and wanted my hair long or I knew I had a photo shoot coming up or I complained that I would need new headshots for auditions if I cut my hair drastically. Well the pageants are done, no more photo shoots, and using an old headshot for a few months while my hair grows out does not seem like a huge deal to me anymore. In reality, there is a girl out there that is fighting for her life and wants to feel beautiful too and the way that I can help is by donating my hair.

I selected the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program because they donate the wigs they make to women over the age of 18 (and they require the least amount of hair for their donation at a minimum of 8 inches). When my sister was diagnosed with cancer one of my first thoughts was if she was going to lose her hair. She was fortunate enough to not lose hers but if that were the case I would hope that she would be able to receive a wig that she loved thanks to all of the hair donations from across the country and because she was over the age of 18 at the time her option to receive a wig would have been through Pantene's program.

Another reason I wanted to cut my hair was that I was so attached to my long hair. So attached. To me, my long hair was what made me pretty and that is absolutely not the case. For so long, in my eyes, my hair defined who I was and part of me just wanted to break away from that. I wanted to be able to find my own kind of beauty no matter how long my hair was.

I cannot say that I love my hair as short as it is but I absolutely do not regret cutting my hair for charity. With all things, I am sure I will learn to love my shorter hair and with that, it is hair and it will grow so there is no reason to worry! I hope that whoever receives my donation loves it just as much as I did and I hope they grow more confident and full of joy and know that there is hope on the horizon.