Last week I attended the annual Hair For Hope event organised by Children's Cancer Foundation, where they came up with the idea to shave your head in awareness of those fighting cancer. This year is HFH's 12th year running, which has grown to 7316 shavees in 2013 from a mere 9 since its inception. Inspired by my brother's attendance at the event two years ago, I decided to attend this year. Furthermore, I was compelled to do so as two of my friends decided to go as well. Well, the day came and it turned out that both my friends ditched me, leaving me to face the event solo.
There are two reasons why I decided to attend the event. One was because I have a friend who is battling cancer, and thus I decided to attend the event in support of him. Another reason is because I wanted to validate the effectiveness of willpower. I successfully fulfilled both reasons in my attendance.
I hold pride in my hair. Before I shaved, I used to spend some time in front of the mirror experimenting with varied hairstyles to see which ones best suited my face while being low maintenance. I often used wax to hold up complex hairstyles. I disliked going to the barber because I loved it when it was relatively long. This, as you can see, is the main challenge that I face when deciding whether or not to attend the event.
One thing that I've learned about shaving after having relatively long hair is the fact that it does not just affect you, but everyone else around you. Everyone immediately recognises it, and decides to pop in a friendly, yet utterly repetitive and stupid question or statement like "Oh Eugene, you've cut your hair!" or "What happened to you? Did you shave bald?" or "Did you go for Hair For Hope?" Once or twice would be sufficient and more often than not, it is perfectly understandable and easy to dismiss. The only issue is that every single person you meet who knows you personally brings it up. So much so that I start to wonder if sharing about my participation online would have done any help. I must admit, to my shame, that I have contemplated giving equally ridiculous answers like "No, I have cancer." but that would be totally insensitive and nullify my every good intentions of participating in the first place. Sometimes, even muddle-headed people go "Army ah?"
Oh and not to mention, you instantly become everyone's pet. Expect someone ruffling your non-existent hair every five successive minutes.
Contrary to popular belief, I do not feel too much of a difference between having hair and having no hair, other than the fact that your hair does not fall into your eyes anymore. Many people think that it feels more "airy" or cooling. Of course, your scalp is exposed to the elements, which is why you feel more "airy" or cooling, but only under a breeze. The opposite also applies. This can serve as a timely reminder that under no circumstances do you take for granted the shelter that hair provides to your head.
Overall, being bald is not too much of a bad experience. You do get to play sports without having any problems with pulling your sweaty hair back up and out of your face. I do want to let my hair grow for in the name of beauty though, but I do not regret shaving. Furthermore, I will be better emotionally and mentally prepared at the loss of my precious hair when I do get conscripted.
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