At a very young age, I was exposed to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. When most children were watching Saturday morning cartoons, I was watching Marlo Thomas, social activist and actress, speak about St. Jude and share many stories within the hospital on the television. Each Saturday was different: a different patient, a different story, and a different ending. Some Saturdays were happier than others, and some were very sad, but either way, I’d tune in again next Saturday because St. Jude fascinated me. As I got older, my fascination for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital along with other hospitals and cancer treatment centers grew. Cancer, in general, became even more important to my friends, family, and me.

Earlier this year I joined an organization at Lynchburg College called St. Jude Up 'til Dawn. When I heard about the opportunity to fundraise for St. Jude, I was ecstatic. For those of you who are unfamiliar with St. Jude, it is a nonprofit children’s research hospital. St. Jude has always been one of my favorite nonprofit organizations. Our organization on campus, Up 'til Dawn, is a nationwide college event, which focuses on raising money for St. Jude.

As I mentioned in the first paragraph, cancer, in general, became very important to my friends, family, and me as I got older. In 2011, my grandfather passed away from cancer. I was 15 years old. His funeral was the first funeral I attended of someone very close to me. It was very emotional, and I remember being sad for a long time afterward. I would always ask myself why cancer is even a thing and why good people like my grandfather have to be victimized by cancer.

Three years later, on March 16, 2014, one of my very good friends passed away after a yearlong fight with cancer. The death of my very good friend completely shattered me. I was devastated. My friend could be described in four words: strong, courageous, positive, and inspirational. She truly embodied the quote by Bob Marley: "You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice." Her strength was apparent every single day when she looked cancer straight in the face with a courageous smile as she fought the nasty disease that is cancer. Her strength, courage, and positivity inspired me more than I could ever explain or even begin to put into words.

Later that year, I received even more bad news. My mommom had been diagnosed with cancer. Her cancer was bad enough that doctors would not let her travel. The first birthday and Christmas that she didn’t come to visit, I was heartbroken. My mommom is probably one of the coolest, sweetest, and most fun women you will ever meet, so her being sick was very hard on me. I was terrified that cancer would take someone so close to me away again and I could not handle that. During chemotherapy, my mommom lost her hair. I know that was very hard for her, but she handled everything with such grace and positivity.

In mid-September, I decided I was going shave my head. With the news of me shaving my head, people saw my just how much this meant to me and how dedicated and passionate I was towards my cause. As a result, donations skyrocketed. One of my best friends in high school, who is a cancer survivor, donated over $130 to St. Jude Up 'til Dawn at Lynchburg College. Another, not-so-positive, result of the news of me shaving my head was the people who attacked me for shaving my head. They accused me of “seeking attention” and told me “cancer patients hate people like me who do stupid things like shave their heads thinking that they’re helping cancer patients somehow.” As a female college student, I can testify that if I were seeking attention, I would take a considerably different approach. The attention I was about to receive for shaving my head was a mixture of positive and mostly negative attention and/or comments.

As far as cancer patients not appreciating me shaving my head, in my personal life I’ve found that to be incorrect. Before my very good friend passed away in 2014, over 15 of her guy friends shaved their heads in her honor, and she was unbelievably grateful for that. If that doesn’t refute the statement of cancer patients hating "people like me who do stupid things like shave their heads thinking that they're helping cancer patients," the fact that I donated my hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, where my hair was turned into a wig for cancer patients, absolutely refutes that statement.

When the day came for me to shave my head, I was super apprehensive. Cancer patients have to deal with the fear of losing their hair along with the even bigger fear of fighting cancer. That is just not fair. So on Nov. 6, 2015, I walked into Great Clips, and I took a leap of faith and shaved my head. I shaved my head to stand with cancer patients and to let them know they are not alone. With or without hair, cancer patients are just as beautiful as they were before they were diagnosed.

The first few days without hair all eyes were on me and people were definitely talking. I have never felt more uneasy in my life, but I knew that if all eyes were on me and if people were talking, awareness was spreading. Many believed I had cancer, which is often a misconception made when a girl shaves her head or has very short hair. Eventually, people approached me, and word spread that I shaved my head for a reason -- many reasons actually.

The reasons I shaved my head are endless. Among them, the most important reasons are: cancer has personally affected me greatly, I wanted to raise awareness and money for cancer, and I wanted to let cancer patients know they’re not alone throughout their battle.

I want to leave you all with a few requests. Please be aware of cancer and its severity; even if it hasn’t personally affected you, you never know when it might. If you are contemplating shaving your head or donating your hair to create wigs for cancer patients, do it! It is just hair, and if you have the ability to grow it back, you might as well share it while you can. You never know when you might be in their shoes. And lastly, please appreciate the little things because the little things like hair might be huge things for other people.