I've been feeling super self-concious lately with my hair and eyelashes all gone, but I have to realize that my fear of rejection is getting in the way of potential happiness. I'm lucky to be healthy for the most part, and have dealt with alopecia long enough to know what to expect. I was reading a story in Glamour magazine about a young woman's struggle with life after her and her husband became burn victims from a plane crash that also left a friend dead. She judged herself and thought others would judge her, especially her husband. However, she triumphs over the pitied feelings and says something in the article that makes me rethink my situation when I'm feeling down about my own appearance. We can all learn from her attitude on those rough days.
Here is an excerpt from Stephanie Nielson's "I Couldn't Recognize Myself In The Mirror":
"I was afraid to let Christian--who'd also been burned but not nearly as badly--see me. I worried he'd leave me for a beautiful woman who could fulfill his needs. I felt like a beast...I noticed that my husband still looked at me the same way he had when I was his Snow White...I began seeing people for who they really are. I began seeing their soul. The greatest thing we can do as a human race is to see each other the way God sees us: beautiful. No matter if people have a disease, a handicap or a burned face, their eyes say something and most of the time they are saying, 'look at me, not my trial.'"
Her memoir Heaven Is Here will be out in 2012.
Oh Sheena, don't be so self concsious. You're so beautiful! I too often look to others who are battling a lot worse problems than no hair and it gives me a boost. I work in an elementary school cafeteria. You know those statistics you hear about how 1 in so many babies will have X birth defect? Well, I've seen it all. We have a child who is blind, a boy with a deformed hand, others with autism, down syndrome and this year we have an adorable little girl who has no legs and walks on two little stumps. She doesn't use a wheelchair. It's amazing. Every day I count my blessings and thank God for how lucky I am, but I confess that whenever I toss a coin into a fountain, I make a wish that my hair will grow back. :P
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