I became best friends with my best friend 2 years ago. We both instantly loved each others families. Due to our friendship I’ve got another mom, another little sister, and of course not only my best friend, but my big sister.

My “Little Sister”, Bug, has Alopecia. Just look it up. It makes her lose her hair. Today my best friend told me that she gave a speech about it in her CAPKids group. It made me cry.

“Hi my name is Hailie and I am 10 years old. I was diagnosed with Alopecia when I was three so I really don’t remember what not having it is like. My Alopecia is slow moving. By the time I started kindergarten the only hair I had was my eyelashes. We had people come up to us in Walmart and wanted to pray with us because they thought I had cancer. I didn’t understand why because I was fine. I always wore a hat to school, I wasn’t allowed to wear bandanas because they said it was a gang symbol. I wore them to church and when we went to the store mostly and my principal saw me one day at Walmart. I had on a spongebob bandana and she told mom that she didn’t think there were any spongebob gangs around so if I wanted to wear my bandanas to school I could. I got to a point I only wore hats and bandanas to church and school. If we went to the store or out to eat I didn’t. I had a lot of people stare at me and a lot kids point and laugh. It hurt my feelings but mom said just smile and wave at them, so I tried that. Sometimes it helped and sometimes they were just mean.
My hair started growing back the end of first grade. I still wore bandanas because because it was all patchy. By the middle if second grade I had short hair all over my head and if you looked in the sun you could see little hairs growing on my arms and eyebrows. My computer lab teacher bought me some barrettes so I decided it was time to try going to school with no hat. Mom helped me get the barette to stay in and when I walked in the school with no hat, the office ladies and some teachers cried they were so happy for me.
My hair is falling out again. When I first noticed it I was really upset. I cried a lot. We prayed about it in church and mom told me that if God answered my prayers that was great! If it was in His plans for me to lose my hair then I knew He was using me as an example to others and that was a special thing, so either way I win.
I haven’t worn a hat to school yet. I don’t know if I will. Sometimes i would like a wig and sometimes I think it would be a pain. This is who and what I am. People still stare and it still hurts my feelings sometimes. I still cry sometimes and think it isn’t fair, but I know that my family and friends love me. The people who matter don’t look at me as a girl with no hair. They see me as Hailie, who likes to play soccer and be silly and that is what matters.”

If a ten year old little girl can love herself that much no matter who makes fun of her or what anyone says.
Why can’t we love ourselves that way.

We should all take a page out of her book.
XOXO