I lost all of my hair shortly before my first year of high school and now, here I am today with short hair. Sure, it is falling out again but who would have thought that after four years of treatment with no results that without anything, hair would grow? It amazes me. Anyways, as I was thinking about my one year anniversary with hair, I started thinking about what I am going to do once I have lost it again and what my new college friends, who know but do not understand Alopecia, will do in response. I learned from high school that the true friends will be unaffected and help keep you positive, however, I can't help but worry still. And I came to realize that this is why people with Alopecia tend to suffer. It is not the actual hair loss but the way other people and society makes us feel because we are different. And that is what my new friends don't seem to understand quite yet. My childhood friend would always say, It is just hair! Because to them, I am more than my hair. But when my new friends say the same thing, it is because they think I am turning something 'small' into a bigger deal than it needs to be.

But it is a big deal. It is a life altering, big deal. Having it in high school, I have been bullied and people have said cruel things about my appearance. I used to feel ugly because they constantly told me I was. (Although, that lasted a short period of time and I understand now that we are all beautiful!) People mistake you for cancer patients, which makes me feel really guilty. People stare. People are ignorant. It is not the hair loss, but the response by others that hits the core.

After thinking about this for a very long time, I realized that I am blessed to have such good friends and family and support from the community, however, I also looked at people who have Alopecia as well in a whole different light. I thought we were strong and beautiful before and now I view us as even stronger and more beautiful than ever. We are tough cookies and we should be proud of ourselves! Because despite of all the poop that comes with this (and there are days when I am not very positive, I'll admit), we are able to stay true to ourselves in the end!

And I really think that is something to admire.