I grew up being ridiculed for being one of the few white kids in my neighborhood, and when I moved to Wisconsin I fit in by color standards but stood out because my alopecia had finally taken complete control and took away the hair that made me so special. For most of my life despite the random spots I was always told that I had the most beautiful hair because it was thick, curly, and red. When I moved to what I now consider home I felt like I had lost myself. I started freshman year in a school where I knew no one and everyone stared. I have had my ups and downs in life, being turned down because of a disease that I didn't ask for, being laughed at because I was so different from everyone else.

I spent so many days staring into the mirror wanting to give up because I was so alone. I would sit in school with the few friends I had who were also teased because they were different. At home I would hid in my room wishing for the life that the "pretty" girls in school had, lots of friends and a boy always telling them they were so amazing. I was sitting in my room one day watchin the Miss Universe contest on tv when I saw it. Two of the contestants were bald. It was like a godsend. One of them made it to the top five.

It took me far to long in a world where women are given an obscene idea of what they should look like to acceot what I look like. To have something like alopecia has given me a new outlook on life. You don't have to fit into the ideal of what society has given us to live by. To go against this, somthing that most people live by, and to thrive being the outcast makes you stronger. Being different isn't a curse but I gift. It sounds ridiculous but its so very true. I believe that having alopecia makes you stronger not weak. I look at all the faces on this site and I don't see people that may be having trouble with life, or that deserve to be looked down upon as I have. I see strong, confident, beautiful people that deserve to be told just that. Going through life being so different makes up great people! We are all beautiful, from the tops of our heads to the bottom of our feet.

I think that everyone here deserves to be told thank you. If for nothing else than for being strong enough to live their lives and not let something as little as looks stop their progress into their future. Everyone here should be given a kiss and the cheek and told how amazing they are. Seeing the faces of so many that go through some of the same things I have gives me confidence that I am not alone and that I canbe strong just like they are. Just like they should be.

Thank you. Just for being you <3