Alopecia Areata

You may think that Alopecia is a very simple disorder. Your hair falls out, you buy a wig, you're good. Wrong, in every use of the word. Going bald means struggling to find yourself beautiful. It means wanting to look at yourself in the mirror instead of avoiding one. It means being able to run your hand across your head without cringing. It means going out in public with a smile as a replacement for a wig. Having Alopecia forces you to choose between being strong or being weak. No matter what you choose, you are forced to come out strong in the end. How can you not be? When the children run away from you and refuse to touch you because you might infect them. When the ignorant girl with the long blond hair takes pictures of you, making sure you catch the disgust that fills her expression like rotten milk. When passerby stare and point at you shamelessly. When the first thing that people will forever notice about you is your lack of hair. When you have to force yourself to smile; ignore the people that refuse to stop staring at you. When your eyelashes fall out, and you have to pick yourself up because you're the only one who cares enough to do so. When your hair falls out and your friend tells you to get over it, expecting sympathy the next day when she comes to you in tears over her bad haircut. When people remind you that nobody wants a bald girlfriend. When people tell you you're beautiful even though you're bald, and you wonder why you can't be beautiful and bald at the same time? When you wear a wig out in public, and people are surprised that you can be pretty. When the children that you love can't be forced by their parents to smile at you. Having Alopecia forces you to choose between being strong or being weak. The countless hurdles you must jump to feel beautiful and loved ensure that you become strong. Alopecia cannot be classified as simple, no matter the medical process. The physiological pain that one with Alopecia must endure is trying and often times confusing. From the children to the elderly, all those who have Alopecia, I congratulate you. You are all strong and underestimated human beings. Bald is Beautiful. *Had to rant somewhere, I'll make it better later*