Ever think about shaving your head? Imagine having almost two feet of gorgeous hair. Could you do it then? On June 1, Eastern Michigan University music therapy student, Mary Rose Nieman, did this very courageous thing.
Nieman had wanted to shave her head for a few years after being inspired by someone else that had done so for cancer awareness. When she heard about St. Baldrick’s Foundation, she decided to make the change.
St. Baldrick’s is a childhood cancer research center that raises money to support patients and their families and cancer research. If you decide to be a “shavee” your job is to set a goal of how much money you want to raise and then advertise the cause. Nieman beat her $1,000 goal by more than $600 dollars. She made videos on YouTube, (see “Goldie Goes Bald: Help Mary Rose and St. Baldrick’s”) blogged and announced her cause at public events.
Although she does not have cancer or have anyone extremely close to her fighting cancer, she wanted to spread awareness and help the fighters and survivors feel less alone and isolated when in the process of losing their hair. On her 19th birthday she and her family and friends gathered around to chop off her long locks of hair that she braided into two braids. She donated them to
“Children With Hair Loss,” which is a local foundation that makes free wigs for children dealing with hair loss for any reason. For more information on donating hair to this charity, visit childrenwithhairloss.us.
Her sacrifice has changed many attitudes and lives. She, however, does not necessarily see it that way.
“I don’t see it as a sacrifice,” Nieman said. “I see it as the least I could do.”
A few weeks after Nieman made the brave decision to shave her head, a 19-year-old girl named Audra, who was in the midst of battling liver cancer since being diagnosed last December, contacted her. She heard about her campaign and was extremely impacted and emotionally touched.
Audra wanted Neiman to come with her when she shaved her head once her chemo started. Last Sunday, Oct. 13 was the day Audra shaved her head and not only did Nieman accompany her, she shaved her head once again.
Now that she has experienced quite a few months being bald she said, “It has changed my life because instead of getting compliments on my long hair, people compliment me as a person.”
Her baldness also sparks conversation. Nieman went to a graduation party and was introduced to a woman fighting breast cancer who wore a wig. After talking with her and hearing her story, the woman felt like she did not even need the wig anymore, so she took it off for the rest of the party.
This bold decision has inspired many to take a look at their privileges that they take for granted and realize that that’s all they are – privileges, not necessities.
“Sometimes I miss it but it is done and I think in so many ways, I don’t worry about beauty anymore,” Nieman said. “My confidence shows more and confidence is more beautiful.”
