Growning up with Alopecia was not easy for me or my family. I used to sit on the end of my grandmother's bed and cry to her because I was afraid that my baldspots would progress from the size of quarters to cover my whole head. I was given the response many times over that my hair would grow back and that I shouldn't be crying. At fouteen my older brother cried as he cut what little hair was left off of my head as I clutched my stuffed cat Mystery with silent tears sliding down my face. Some time that summer my uncle cried as he told me how he wished he could give me my hair back. No one in my family expected my hair to fall out like it did. My whole life my Alopecia was a subject no one talked about and then one day it was there, like a violent slap in the face that your too stunned to react to.
After four long years in high school where I was tormented for being different, for being unique, I finally didn't care that my hair was gone. It was just a natural part of me, my image of who I was. I have been out of high school for two years now and my hair is growing back in full force. I let it grow and it got about an inch and a half before a thought occured to me, it came from talking to my grandmother about my hair. "In two or three years no one will remember that you were bald. Its human nature."
I don't want peopleto forget about the fact that I have Alopecia. It has been a big part of my life. After being teased for years it is something I am proud of. My little sisters are very used to me being bald and when they see someone who if different they ask the person questions instead of judging them. I have learned myself the meaning of 'Don't judge a book by it's cover' is something that is so very true. I have made many friends that I might never have known if it wasn't for the fact that I have alopecia.
During the summer of my freshman year in high school I went to the fair in Marshfield Wisconsin. A boy named Chris walked up to me with a smile on his face and said "So how long does it take you to get your hair like that?". I smiled and ran my hand over my smooth scalp and responed with what I though was a witty comment, "About three hours and half a can of hairspray.". Four years later we dated for the second time. After several breakups and being ingaged he is still the only boy I have ever wanted to marry. If not for my Alopecia I would never have met the boy I gave my heart to.
Great things come from being unique. I treasure my life and the people in it. I have hard good times and bad, and because of my Alopecia I have what I feel is a somewhat unique understanding of the world. I think about my Alopecia and I realize that my children might have it too. I want them to have the strenght to get through life like I have. I know how mean childeren can be.
I made the decision last week that even though I can grow my hair out I won't. Not because I am ungreatful that my hair is growing back but because I want to set an example for the childeren I plan to have. If they have Alopecia I want them to know that I have gone through it too. If they are healthy and get my boyfriends luck to have a full head of hair I want them to have an understanding that some people are different. I want them to realize that it is wrong to be the kind of person who has to be mean to others to feel good about themselves. Everyone one is beautiful in their own way and should be proud of who they are. If I am lucky and a good mother I will hopefully be able to pass this on to my childeren. Not for my sake, but for theirs.