Whether a loved one, a close friend, or even yourself has experienced the disease Cancer, many are aware that the treatment can be just as devastating as the disease. One common side-effect of treatment is hair loss.

     Surprisingly, there is a very simple way that many can help. By donating only eight to ten inches of your hair, you can allow someone else to feel beautiful and confident within their own body. Freshman, Libby Roche cut off fourteen inches of her hair.

     On a normal day, we as humans do not realize as we wake up to prepare for school and or work that there is someone who wakes up having to start radiation or continue their treatments in chemo. Realizing the privilege you are given of good health and sharing a sign of that health – strong, shiny hair – can mean a world of happiness to someone who is not as fortunate as you.

     Freshman, Kelly Lam, states “I didn’t really feel like I was doing a good deed at the time, but now that I think of it more often, it’s crazy to know my hair is going to be given to another child who currently doesn’t have any.” This proves that doing good deeds are not always acknowledged by you yourself, but will be by another.

When allowing someone to share a piece of your beauty it not only changes the patient’s life but your life as well. Emily Rebel says, “I think donating my hair was one of the most morally rewarding things I have done.” This makes you realize the meaning of helping another, and allowing you be part of the reason they are happy during a hardship in their lifetime. But freshman Bianca Naples states, “You are able to give motivation to a cancer patient to keep on fighting, and in my opinion I would like to know who my hair goes to.” Although these girls may never know who their hair goes to, the action of donating your hair is so important

     Donating your hair not only makes a Cancer patient feel beautiful, but it also allows them to know that they are recognized and not forgotten. Sophomore, Meara Jones, states ” I was kind of sad at first because I had grown attached to my hair, but in the end it felt good because it was helping other people.” Donating a piece of yourself allows some acknowledgement in the lives of people who feel alone in fighting this dreaded disease. Make a brighter life for someone who needs it the most. Change a life and share your beauty.

     Lakeview Mathematics teacher Heidi Monroe brought this donation idea to students to encourage them to see the brighter side to life. Monroe quotes, “It is an easy, painless and temporary act of kindness that can positively and permanently impact someone’s life.” Whether it is making a difference in the lives of another or passing along your beauty, it is the compassion that counts.

     In society today,  individuals are sometimes blinded to the misfortunes of others but they are clear to recognize their own. Donating a part of yourself – you hair – allows you to recognize another’s story and to become a part of bettering someone else’s life. While they are wearing your hair, you will always be a part of their healing. 

     This is your chance to make a difference, donate your hair. The American Cancer Society recommends two organizations for donating your hair; Pantene Beautiful Lengths and Wigs for Kids. You can visit the organization’s website for more information about your donation.

Ralph Waldo Emerson states, “The purpose of life is it to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” The purpose of life is to be happy and to live it to the fullest extent, but not everyone can. Being useful and compassionate about helping another allows your life not to just be lived, but lived to the fullest. Being happy does not always come from within, but it comes from the sharing of another.

When sharing a part of yourself, it is allowing that part of you to be altered into something that someone else can use and make their own. Being selfless is an act of kindness to not only to yourself but also to someone else.

Give someone else a reason to be happy, and share your beauty.