My 1.5 Year Long Hair Journey

As most of you know, about a year and a half ago I started growing my hair. The initial reason was because I hated going to hair dressers, and even though I could usually find a friend that was willing to cut my hair, I hated the pressure of trying to figure out when my hair was too long and was in need of a cut. So I figured if I just flat out stopped getting my hair cut, all that pressure would disappear. Of course this meant that there was no stop to the growth of my hair, so one day it would be dragging around on the floor; not exactly the best outcome. So as my hair grew, I decided that when it had reached a length where it was only going to get uglier, that I’d cut it off and donate it to Locks of Love.

Around New Years (the one that just passed) I clearly realized that the end of my hair was near, and I started planning what I wanted to do. By February I had decided that I would raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society, cut off all of my hair, and then send it off to Locks of Love.

So I took out some pastels and began to make cards to encourage people to donate, as well as invite them to a hair party where my hair would be cut off. In total I made 70 cards, which may not sound like much, but each one had a hand drawn picture of someone cutting my hair, which took a considerable amount of time.

I then told my house that if they could raise $50 that I would shave my head. I was surprised to find out that they were very excited about my hair being cut, and that $50 bucks would be no problem for them. So I quickly changed the required total to $100 and threw in that I would Bic my head if they could raise $200.

The hair party was scheduled for February 16th, and I made sure to get snacks and juice so that people would enjoy themselves (I’m a bit of a nerd that way). Donkers was the first to show up, and so we just drew some pastel drawings together. Shortly after that, more people came by, and we started concerning ourselves with the removal of my hair.

The first thing that was needed to be done was for my hair to be combed straight. So Beth and some others (but mostly Beth) started plowing threw my hair. I actually found this experience painful, mainly because I consider myself a wimp when it comes to hair pulling. I also think that maybe Beth is use to combing horse’s hair and figured mine was similar, and so showed me little mercy. Really I just think I was being a wimp, but eventually my hair was well combed and surprisingly massive.

After this, my hair was separated into 4 sections, and then each section was braided.


I’d like to point out how surprised I was that my massive mop of hair fit into 4 rather small looking braids. I would also like to point out that in the above picture, though you can’t see it, I’m working on a pastel drawing. This was because I was [still] finding the process painful, so Vic suggested to give me a piece a paper to draw on to calm me down, which worked quite well.

Of course, this is all leading up to my hair being cut, a potentially sad occasion for me, but as the following picture shows, I seem to have entered some Zen-like state of peace.


Now I didn’t mention above, but my residents were actually able to raise over $200, so I actually had to Bic my head. So after Kate finished cutting my hair, she got out the clippers and removed what hair she could with them.


I would like to point out that I like the above picture because it has both Kai and Chantal in it, friends of mine that I've previously only shown on my blog in separate posts, but now together!

Next came the shaving of my head. This I could do mostly by myself, though I needed Kai and Chantal’s help to do the back. I was actually surprised at how good Chantal was at shaving my head, and then I found out that she had shaved people’s heads before. Of course some of my residents were slightly curious of what I looked like, so they came by to see the result.


And the result was...
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And yes, I partly picked the above picture because it shows that I have less hair than Kai! A true accomplishment of mine I feel.

So there you have it, the story of my hair. So far I’ve raised $403.07*, $210.91 being just from my house. If anyone else would like to make a donation to the Canadian Cancer Society, please give it to me before March 10th as that will be when I will be making the delivery. Also, I will be having a draw for two pastel pictures I drew commemorating the occasion, so get your money in if you want to be part of the draw!

Other than that I would like to thank** everyone that supported me with their donations, as it truly meant a lot to me (honestly, I really appreciate everyone’s support!). So thank you Vic, Jackson, Dave, Chantal W., Angie, Kai, Kate D., Lisa, Suzanne, Brad, Jordan, Tiff, Chantal J., Celina, Josh S., Liis, Pinto, CarolAnne, Steph, Davenport. And thanks as well to all my residents who raised money, which amounts to roughly half of the money raised. Oh, and thanks to the person who donate $20 dollars in an unmarked envelope, whoever you may be.

*I actually have pledged funds of over $500, so there will be many more people to thank, but I will add their names after receiving the pledged money.

**If you would like to remain anonymous about donating money, please email me and I will remove your name.