THE TIME THE BRITISH ARMY SHAVED MY HEAD

A story of finding confidence with my Alopecia.

(Flashback to 2011)

College was over.

My big girl job started in July. I had two months off.

All I wanted to do was go to Europe.

My friend Kathy was on board and we were off. We signed up for a 3 week tour that would take us all around Europe by bus with 40 other kids around our age.

My Alopecia was new

My hair had fallen out about 5 months prior to this trip. It was still so new. Any time I was in public I was wearing a wig. I was not comfortable without hair, I was embarrassed, I didn't want any of the kids on the tour to know I had alopecia.

We were the only Americans aside from one other California girl named Olivia. There were people from Mexico, Colombia, Canada, South Korea etc. However the group consisted mostly of Australians and New Zealanders, all of whom wanted to know all about 'American college'

"Is it really like the movies? Are there keg parties?.. HAVE YOU DONE A KEG STAND??"

(Answer to all of the above: a resounding YES)

Amsterdam

I remember doing a bike tour through Amsterdam in the pouring rain. We all had rain jackets with our hoods up covering our heads. I took my hood down after the tour completed and one of the girls said 'OMG your hair is still so perfect, how is your hair still so perfect??'

Kathy just started hysterically laughing.

NO ONE, I mean NO ONE, gets a bigger kick out of reactions too, or questions about my bald head than Kathy.

She LOVES it and I love her for it.

Ireland

In Ireland these two Northern Irish guys were talking to Kathy and I, their accents were so thick we could barely understand them. One of the guys started RANDOMLY talking about how he had seen a bald woman, he was laughing and just thought it was SO bizarre. Kathy and I laughed SO HARD, Kathy was crying she was laughing so hard. You could tell they were taken a back at how funny we thought the story was, so the more we laughed the more he went ON AND ON about this bald woman and how strange it was. "I mean really, have you ever seen a bald woman before??" - Drunk Irish Man. I thought Kathy was going to pass out from laughing so hard. They will never know why we thought they were so hysterical, we will remember that forever.

Switzerland

When we got to Switzerland a big group of British army reserve guys were staying in the same small town as us. Everyone from the tour was laughing, drinking and dancing with them all night. It was entirely too much fun and went into the late hours of the night.

The next morning I was SO hungover and so hot. I just couldn't wear the wig, I couldn't do it. Screw it, I threw my hoodie on, put the hood up and walked to breakfast.

That day I was pretty quiet (due to the hangovers), we hopped on the bus and I slept the whole way to Paris.

Meanwhile, two of the Australian guys come up to Kathy.. they pronounced her name 'coffee' which I found just hilarious

"Coffee, have you seen Colleen today?" - Aussies

"Yeah" - Coffee

"I think she got too drunk and let the British Army guys shave her head last night...." - Aussies

Kathy thinks this is SO HYSTERICAL that she lets them believe that is exactly what happened...

So I am passed out on the bus to Paris and word runs wild..

"OMG, Colleen got so drunk she let the British army shave her head last night"

---

Paris

Upon our arrival to our hotel in Paris, Kathy finally gets around to telling me that every single person on our bus thinks I let the British army shave my head last night. She cannot stop laughing. Therefore I cannot stop laughing. It is things like these that you just have to laugh at.

We are to meet everyone in the lobby before dinner. We are the last to arrive. I have my wig back on. I can still so vividly remember the elevators doors opening, me waking out and everyone staring at me in disbelief.

HOW DOES SHE HAVE HAIR AGAIN???

Even now just writing this I cannot help but laugh.

We soon set the story straight. No the British Army did not shave my head. I have alopecia. 

This ludicrous story was a great ice breaker for me to share my Alopecia with everyone on the trip. After telling my story (what felt like 100 times) with everyone on the bus, and witnessing all of the wonderful reactions I got.. it was the first time I really felt like I could do this. I could be open and confident about who I was. Hair, or no hair.

'I can do this, this is me'

It was a huge turning point. My first confidence booster. I was ready to share my story publicly.

I was done hiding

Once home from that trip I had my friend Noelle take a few pictures of me with no hair. I posted them online explaining my Alopecia and thanking everyone who had gotten me to the point where I knew I was going to be okay. For the first time I let the whole world know I did not have any hair, and it felt AWESOME. It made me wonder how I had not done it sooner. How I hid for so long. But you cannot look back, you can only look forward.

I can be strong

Hair does not define me

I think being stripped of my hair has forced me to put myself out there in a different way. With no hair on my head to blend in with the crowd, I am able to find what makes me... me.

So no, the British Army did not actually shave my head, but I think they helped shave off the time it took for me to embrace being a

bald girl, in a big world.

Kathy and I had an incredible time in Europe. Not only was it the beginning of finding confidence with my Alopecia, but the beginning of my wanderlust that has led me to where I am today. AND the first of many adventures with Coffee (Kathy!)

For more Alopecia stories you can click here .. > Alopecia

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