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Lindsay Adams was a senior at Nevada Valley High School last May when she was invited to write as a special correspondent for TheUnion.com about her experience as an alopecian. Here is a selection from her piece:
At a time in a child's life when "fitting in" is of utmost importance, and appearance is really that by which your peers judge you, losing your hair can be devastating.
When a person is just beginning to develop who they are and deciding what they want to be in life, losing hair seems like losing your identity.
What 12-year-old girl has the confidence and self-esteem to lose half the hair on her head and still "fit in" with the other kids at school?
Well, when I was a seventh-grade student at Seven Hills Middle School, all those feelings, concerns and challenges came into focus for me.
It was precisely at that time that I was diagnosed with Alopecia, an autoimmune disease that results in the loss of hair on the scalp and, for some people, the entire body......
Kayla has had alopecia since she was 10 years old. But she hasn't let her lack of hair translate into a lack of confidence. There is a essay by Kayla on the websiteTeensHealth.organd here is an excerpt:
The presentation was called "Hair today, gone tomorrow."
The fragile, marshmallow-white girl stood up in front of the class. "I woke up one day to the surprise of drool on my cheek and a bald patch on my head," she said.
Although only 11, she gave her presentation using terms that only adults or medical students would understand. "My project is about the autoimmune disorder I have: alopecia areata."
Her classmates needed no explanation since it was obvious that the girl had lost her eyelashes, eyebrows, and hair. She frequently had to leave school for doctor appointments. Teasing was never an issue for her because people saw that she had not let her condition affect her life; confidence was her key. Her peers frequently asked her why she chose not to wear a wig, and she would merely reply, "My hair may be short enough to cause worry, but life is too short to allow it."
That girl is me. And today she is winning beauty pageants....
Well, well, who knew? The creator of the Alopecia Boy website, fellow alopecian Nathan Paul Prince, put together this entertaining and (we strongly suspect) autobiographical photo story about Ken's experience with alopecia.
Ken seems to go through a denial period, visits doctors, goes through treatment, and has other adventures. How will Ken cope? Will his Friends still love him? Will he find a way to deal? What does Barbie think?
Washington Times syndicated columnist Marybeth Hicks wrote a really great piece about a girl she met backstage at her own daughter's high school musical. We thought you all might like it, so here is an excerpt:
It's opening night for the high school musical, "Anything Goes." My daughters are among the cast members spraying and teasing their long locks, attempting to re-create 1930s pin-curl bobs from their modern-day layered haircuts.
I'm backstage to assist in painting and primping the actors, though nobody seems to need me. I stand in the corner with a comb and take in the nonstop teenage chatter.
"Your hair is like, so curly," one girl squeals to her friend.
"No, yours is so curly," is the response.
The girls are amazed at the change in their appearance, but then, this is a generation of girls who don't curl their hair. They straighten it. This explains the "oohs" and "ahs" and "oh-my-gosh-you-look-so-cute" comments as each one pulls the rollers out of her hair.
Then I spot Caitlin, a senior who sings and dances in the chorus.
Caitlin's head is bent low over a makeup mirror. She applies eye shadow in a luscious jewel green. Her cheeks are appropriately pink, her lips full and red.
Just now she's filling in the line where a portion of her left eyebrow used to be.....
There is a pretty cool website for teen girls at SmartGirl.org where teens can post questions about issues that they are facing, and the other girls on the site can post suggestions on how to handle them. There was a girl who asked about how to handle telling everyone in her High School about her alopecia and the fact that she wears a wig. She also was concerned about how to handle the mandatory showers after gym class, without damaging her wig or having to remove it. You can click over to the site to see the answers she received.
We are just going to be honest here... We haven't a clue what to do with you guys. We are no longer teenagers {give us a moment while we thank the powers that be!}, so it would be foolish for us to try and design an area that you all are going to like and use. We know that you are cool, and smart (of course), and that you have lost some or all of your hair, and we know that that sucks.
And that's pretty much it.
If you look under the 'Junior Team' menu link, you'll see that we are currently recruiting for teen bloggers. But what else would you like to have here? Perhaps a mentoring program where you can help, council, and advise younger alopecians?
Maybe we could hijack an idea from the SmartGirls site and have a "Sticky Situation of the Month"? We could post a teen member's thorny problem, and let the other teens take a crack at helping them solve it. If you have some other ideas, throw them at us. These pages belong to you. And don't forget to check out the Teen Forums, where there is a special section set aside for the 'under 21' crowd. (The Teen Forums are set to 'private', and can only be seen by other members) Stop by and introduce yourself.
We are just going to be honest here... We haven't a clue what to do with you guys. We are no longer teenagers {give us a moment while we thank the powers that be!}, so it would be foolish for us to try and design an area that you all are going to like and use. We know that you are cool, and smart (of course), and that you have lost some or all of your hair, and we know that that sucks.
If you look under the 'Junior Team' menu link, you'll see that we are currently recruiting for teen bloggers. But what else would you like to have here? Perhaps a mentoring program where you can help, council, and advise younger alopecians?
Wig Site Reviews
