This was my cousin Kelly & me a year ago right after the big give!
“Somewhere something incredible is waiting to happen." -- Carl Sagan
It was a year ago today that I stood in front of friends, family and supporters as I read the letter that I had written to a very special young woman, Mikayla.
"As I started to think about the things that I could give I began to get pretty discouraged as I came to the realization that I was no millionaire and I didn't have the resources to help either of these people in need. Instead of getting discouraged and giving up I began to think of what I could give; my hair. After that it was no longer a question of what can I do but how do we do it?"
It is with great pride, honor, admiration, respect, humbleness, humility and most of all gratefulness that I can write this today; we have made a difference. Thanks to i have. i give. and all our wonderful supporters, we have changed history for the better.
Looking back over my own growth in this past year (and I don't just mean my hair) I truly have changed in many ways. I have come to better recognize and respect what true beauty really is and what it truly means to be beautiful. I also know now that as an individual you are the first person who has to wake up every morning and say to yourself; you are worth it and enough; just as you are. As you stand in front of that mirror YOU must look beyond the mirror and inside yourself and not only say "You are Beautiful" but you must believe and know that you are beautiful; for if you don't who will?
I have also come to understand the meaning of humility. I have been through a lot of difficult struggles over the past 12 months; luckily I'm standing even stronger because of those struggles that I had to overcome. Because of those lessons I have been able to be vulnerable, allowing myself to be the fool, giving myself the chance to experience failure at the price of seeking greatness. (This will continue to be a great work in progress) I've had to have somebody even out my neck hairs, wax my sideburns; I've worn a scarf around my head in public so terrified that others were staring, concerned about those that I was with afraid they would be embarrassed when in reality I was the only one who was embarrassed. I gripped a teddy bear in a public mall like I at the doctor’s office when I was four and they were bribing me with toys, all to get my ears pierced. (come to find out it doesn’t really hurt; all the worry for nothing!) I rocked a hideous mullet (on more than one occasion during the growth stages). I’ve had to look past the image of myself and look into the inner aspects of myself. I had to have my mom undress me as I got into the shower, and I have to swallow my pride as I pack up my things to move back to my mom and dad’s; I’ve listened, and often times cringed, when I listen to people tell me how long my hair has gotten (I’ve had to bite my tongue multiple times before the words, ‘Compared to what?’ slip out.) I have to stifle my jealousy when I see a girl walk by with her shoulder length perfectly combed hair, or even worse when I see a guy with thick and luscious locks. As I said, I have learned a lot about humility. At these times I have to remind myself why I put myself through this pain and struggle; it really puts things in perspective when I think about how I gave my hair away for someone who deals with these struggles, and many even worse on a daily basis; a child who had no choice to do this to themselves, a child who would probably be grateful to have neck hair, sideburns, or a mullet. So it’s time to pack my bags of humility and catch the train for the next stop to the town of Blessing and Gratefulness; it awaits me.
I’ve come to realize that sometimes it takes you losing something to understand the impact of the loss and this past year has been a great testament of those feelings of “Remember When”. As I look back over the past year I am grateful beyond words for the life lessons I have been able to experience. I am so grateful for the girls of the i have. i give. team and all of our supporters over this past year. i have. i give. is much more than I ever could have dreamed it to be and I have grown so much from the experience of it all. I know someday we’ll look back many years from now and we’ll say “Remember When…” I hope that that day reminds everyone how blessed we are to have but how much more blessed we are when we are able to give.
“The beauty of memory is how it allows us to look back at the events of our lives through the lens of different contexts and to see the meanings over-looked before – revealing even more riches then we first suspected.” – Sidney Poitier “Life Beyond Measure”
"As I started to think about the things that I could give I began to get pretty discouraged as I came to the realization that I was no millionaire and I didn't have the resources to help either of these people in need. Instead of getting discouraged and giving up I began to think of what I could give; my hair. After that it was no longer a question of what can I do but how do we do it?"
It is with great pride, honor, admiration, respect, humbleness, humility and most of all gratefulness that I can write this today; we have made a difference. Thanks to i have. i give. and all our wonderful supporters, we have changed history for the better.
Looking back over my own growth in this past year (and I don't just mean my hair) I truly have changed in many ways. I have come to better recognize and respect what true beauty really is and what it truly means to be beautiful. I also know now that as an individual you are the first person who has to wake up every morning and say to yourself; you are worth it and enough; just as you are. As you stand in front of that mirror YOU must look beyond the mirror and inside yourself and not only say "You are Beautiful" but you must believe and know that you are beautiful; for if you don't who will?
I have also come to understand the meaning of humility. I have been through a lot of difficult struggles over the past 12 months; luckily I'm standing even stronger because of those struggles that I had to overcome. Because of those lessons I have been able to be vulnerable, allowing myself to be the fool, giving myself the chance to experience failure at the price of seeking greatness. (This will continue to be a great work in progress) I've had to have somebody even out my neck hairs, wax my sideburns; I've worn a scarf around my head in public so terrified that others were staring, concerned about those that I was with afraid they would be embarrassed when in reality I was the only one who was embarrassed. I gripped a teddy bear in a public mall like I at the doctor’s office when I was four and they were bribing me with toys, all to get my ears pierced. (come to find out it doesn’t really hurt; all the worry for nothing!) I rocked a hideous mullet (on more than one occasion during the growth stages). I’ve had to look past the image of myself and look into the inner aspects of myself. I had to have my mom undress me as I got into the shower, and I have to swallow my pride as I pack up my things to move back to my mom and dad’s; I’ve listened, and often times cringed, when I listen to people tell me how long my hair has gotten (I’ve had to bite my tongue multiple times before the words, ‘Compared to what?’ slip out.) I have to stifle my jealousy when I see a girl walk by with her shoulder length perfectly combed hair, or even worse when I see a guy with thick and luscious locks. As I said, I have learned a lot about humility. At these times I have to remind myself why I put myself through this pain and struggle; it really puts things in perspective when I think about how I gave my hair away for someone who deals with these struggles, and many even worse on a daily basis; a child who had no choice to do this to themselves, a child who would probably be grateful to have neck hair, sideburns, or a mullet. So it’s time to pack my bags of humility and catch the train for the next stop to the town of Blessing and Gratefulness; it awaits me.
I’ve come to realize that sometimes it takes you losing something to understand the impact of the loss and this past year has been a great testament of those feelings of “Remember When”. As I look back over the past year I am grateful beyond words for the life lessons I have been able to experience. I am so grateful for the girls of the i have. i give. team and all of our supporters over this past year. i have. i give. is much more than I ever could have dreamed it to be and I have grown so much from the experience of it all. I know someday we’ll look back many years from now and we’ll say “Remember When…” I hope that that day reminds everyone how blessed we are to have but how much more blessed we are when we are able to give.
“The beauty of memory is how it allows us to look back at the events of our lives through the lens of different contexts and to see the meanings over-looked before – revealing even more riches then we first suspected.” – Sidney Poitier “Life Beyond Measure”
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