So i know you all know how i feel about alopecia now but here is a little about when and how I reacted when I first found out I had alopecia. I was in first grade….so around 6 years old (lucky for me I didn’t have lots of time to become attached to my hair). I was already a competitive dancer and my mom was doing my hair in a tight bun when she noticed a bald spot about the size of a quarter. My mom didn’t think much of it until she slowly started to notice more and so did I. We quickly found out I had alopecia. It started with the hair on my head and ended with my eyebrows and eyelashes. Of course I cried when I found out because a lot of thoughts went through my head. I didn’t want to be made fun of, I wanted to wear my favorite pigtails, and I wanted pretty hair like all of my friends where my initial thoughts. I quickly realized being upset would do nothing and this would just be something I would have to deal with. I wasn’t sick and could still be the same old me. My mom told me hair was just an accessory and that is what I kept with me. Personality and confidence is what makes you beautiful. If you believe you are beautiful then so will others. I believed I was just like everyone else and that is how they treated me. Of course I had people stare and kids make comments but I understood I was different and not everyone is able to accept that. There were moments were my alopecia bothered me and i just wished i could have my hair back, but thats because I’m human and we all get down on ourselves from time to time. The more I loved who I was the stronger I became. I learned to love my alopecia because that is how I dealt with it. For a period of time I wore skull caps to hid my hair loss when I didn’t want to cut the wisps I had left. The thing is you don’t have to love your alopecia and walk around bald like I did, but you do have to deal with it in your own way. Instead of becoming depressed and hating who you are, make the realization you have alopecia and it may or may not go away so make the best of it. Wear wigs, hats, skull caps, or bandanas if that is what you like. Don’t feel like you are hiding who you because you choose to wear a wig. That is your way of dealing with your hair loss and if that what it takes for you to feel like you than that is fine. Stop dwelling and find your way of handling it. Do what you need for your personality and confidence to shine through. Life is always throwing us obstacles but all we need to do is figure out how we can overcome them in our own personal way. We are all different(which is what is so beautiful) and will all have our own reactions and emotions to life. So be true to yourself and stay strong and determined to have the happiness you deserve!