BOLDLY BALD
It was a very quick decision when I was asked if would like to donate my hair. I was told that I could cut it really short, but since I was donating to a cause that I strongly believed in, I decided I’d go all the way. Being bald wasn’t an easy thing to imagine for myself, considering how important hair is to physical appearance. Considering that my entire corporate life is centered on appearance, I’m surprised at how quickly I made up my mind to do what I did.
Once my mind was made up, I began to really look forward to it. I suppose a large part of my exhilaration was because I’d been working with cancer survivors, and I’d finally be able to relate to them in one aspect of their struggle. To me it seemed the best way to feel what they felt while going through their treatment and suffering from hair loss. The loss of hair tends to affect people at an emotional level, causing their self image to deteriorate. I wanted to show them that not having hair doesn’t mean that they’re not beautiful anymore. It just means that they’ll have to hold their heads a bit higher.
I’ll admit that I had my own selfish reasons as well, though. I wanted to work on my own self esteem as well. I knew that I was a little vain when it came to my hair. I didn’t want my confidence to be based on what other people thought of me, or on one single fraction of what made me, me. I wanted to be comfortable enough in my own skin to make my very public, daily commute, be able to post pictures on my social media and feel beautiful even without hair. Someone asked me what donating my hair would do for cancer. The truth is, maybe it might not do anything for cancer. But I know that it’ll do something for me, and I can only inspire people to feel beautiful after they’ve lost their hair if I can do it myself.
Love
Babita Jaishankar
Babita Jaishankar 