Jennifer Galm | Arts & Life Blogger

When it was all over, after every strand of my hair was swept up off the floor, I had one question float into my mind like the soft cool breeze I could now feel on my scalp. Why do I let other people’s insecurities influence how I make decisions and live my life?

I walked into the St. Baldrick’s event with a lot of doubt and fear, where none existed when I had made the decision to participate in the head shaving event a few months before. Several people, whose opinions I value, were not as supportive as I had hoped. Some were shocked that I would want to participate; others told me things that left me completely dismayed.

“I don’t think you will look good bald.”

The excitement I once had about doing something good was now like the three month old party balloon, shriveled and lifeless in the corner of my dining room. I let these irrational fears of being an outcast and being unlovable overpower my desire to help kids with cancer feel better about themselves.

As time waned, I knew it wouldn’t be long before it was my turn in the chair. I had made the commitment, and I was going to stick to it. I sat down on the beige folding chair with a black cape wrapped around my shoulders. After the stylist took her first stroke from the base of my neck up the back of my skull, I joked with her that I had changed my mind. But for the rest of our five minutes, I sat quietly and listened to the buzz of the clippers and watched as large clumps of hair slid down my cape and onto the blue tarp-covered floor. I’m not sure if it was the drone of the electric razor or just knowing that my stubborn cowlick was laying on the floor, but something inside me felt better, felt lighter. It was like all the weight of doubt and fear that I had trapped inside my head had been shorn away.

Did it take having a Britney Spears moment to shed all of that unnecessary fear? I’m not sure, but it may have helped. I don’t know if any of the other shavees feel this way, but I feel lighter in spirit and mood than I have for I don’t know how long. So, maybe I will keep my hair like this for a while. One benefit of a shaved head is time not spent lathering, rinsing, and repeating means more time to enjoy my last year at Buena Vista University (BVU).

And what of my looks, anyway? I’ve had a number of people tell me the sweetest things.

“You look gorgeous.”
“You look elegant.”
“Simply beautiful.”

All of the non-supportive remarks that people had said before didn’t really matter anymore. In fact, some of those people that had said discouraging things are now in the “bald is beautiful” camp. Really, the only person who should care what my hair looks like is me, and I actually kind of like it. I am really glad now that I continued with what I really wanted to do and didn’t let a few naysayers stop me from participating in this great event to help kids with cancer.

Photo by Tyson Domingo