HE DREW ME BALD!!

It’s been a while since I talked about my student “Maiden.” He’s the one who was holding my hands and begging me to stop cutting my hair. He’s famous at ASD for his multiple daily drawings of people – staff, students, family… The other day, we had a discussion about drawings:

Liz: “Are you gonna draw a picture of me bald?”

Maiden: “No!”

Liz: “Why not?”

Maiden: “It hurts my heart.”

Well, he’s moved on since then. A few days after this conversation, he actually painted a picture of me bald, without me asking!

He presented it to me with a smile, saying “it’s you, pelón!” Which means bald, in Spanish.

To give you a little history of the significance of Maiden drawing me with no hair, allow me to present you with some past drawings:

This is me (note the awesome hair):

This is me on my wedding day (note the veil):

This is the whole picture, my husband and me:

The hair is always a big part of his pictures. Here’s another one he drew of me, his second one of me bald:

I had him explain to me why it appeared that I had hair when I don’t really have any hair. Apparently, the red part is my bald head, and when I asked him why I have hair in the picture, he proceeded to walk around me and point to the “AREC” I have shaved into my head and say, sarcastically, something to the effect of “hello, it’s this!” It seems so obvious now, doesn’t it? =)

I’m so happy he did these portraits, because it tells me that he’s taking steps towards acceptance. My other students, on the other hand, continue to enjoy laughing at me! I’m loving this whole thing!

WE HAVE A RENTER!

Alright, so I have my first taker for the rental of space on my head! At the running club last Wednesday night, I received a donation to put the club logo on my head. Shouldn’t be too difficult, right?

Right…

Well I was able to shave the word “ASK” into my head a couple days ago:

Step 1: lay out the design

Step 2: carefully shave around the letters

 Step 3: trace the design with colored gel

Somebody did actually ASK at the coffee shop last Friday. Well he didn't so much ASK as LOOK, and my friend pulled him into a conversation because of this. Eventually he said, "If I give you this, will you leave me alone?"

Well, not exactly the intent (I wanted people to actually initiate the ASKing), but hey, I guess my friend's action "paid" off!

So anyway, I figured that I probably wouldn't be able to get the AREC logo exactly like the original, but I’d try to get it as close as possible! So here we go...

Step 1: laying out the design...

Step 2: one letter at a time...

Step 3: very carefully...

Step 4: one more letter...

...and...ta da! Presenting the AREC logo!

Let's make it blue, just for fun:

So I figure I can probably change the design at least once a week, and maybe even every 4-6 days, if that many people are interested. Keep the ideas coming while the price is right!

NEW SEMESTER

We’re just beginning a new semester here at A.R.T. Center. I’ve been really excited for my new class idea.

I’m not allowing ANY TALKING AT ALL!!

Instead, we’ll explore how each student uses movements, eye contact, facial expression etc. to communicate. When words are used, it will be in the form of singing. Everything will be slow paced. The original idea came from the fact that sometimes I feel like I’m relying too much on words to get my point across, and the message gets jumbled in the process. Some of my students aren’t able to use words to communicate – how can I know if they truly understand what I’m saying if I’m trying to spit it out quickly using a bunch of words? And more importantly, am I really listening carefully to what they have to say if I’m always busy talking?

The class is called “Canto con Moto”, meaning “sing with motion.” I won’t say any more words about this class…just that I’m so excited to see what comes out of it!

THIS SPACE FOR RENT!

Anyone wondering if I’m keeping my end of the deal here and shaving my head like I said I would? You bet! Since the initial shaving on December 10th, I’ve shaved it three times and buzzed it once:

December 18th

December 25th

December 28th

January 1st

So far I've just been trying my own ideas (mohawk, diagonal mohawk, stripes)... always keeping the heart.
But what about you – do you have an idea for what I should shave into my head besides the heart?

Would you donate $20 for me to actually do it?

PEOPLE’S REACTIONS

What would you think if you saw me for the first time?

I mentioned before that I’ve gotten some interesting reactions from people. I have a few more stories to add to this…

Two days after I shaved my head, I played the cajon for a church service. The cajon is a hand drum that you sit on and lean forward to play:

So yes, I effectively put my bald head on display for the entire congregation. Not exactly my intent (if I’m really honest, maybe it was, in the back of my mind!), but it was too warm to wear a beanie…

So one of the other women on the worship team let me know that her friend told her she had been praying for me. Apparently she thought I had cancer. The woman set her straight and told her my story – but it made me think about people I know who do have cancer. And like I said before, this whole experience is made much more meaningful by those who have suffered hair loss when it was not their choice.

There is also a man who usually sits behind us at church who approached me and asked why I had no hair. “Is it treatment?”

Another couple from our church had a different perception. The woman saw me come in alone, with my bald head. Since she did not see my husband with me (he greets people outside and therefore comes in late), she thought we were having relationship trouble, and concluded that I had shaved my head as a sign of devotion. Nope, it’s a sign of love!

Once people know about my cause, the reaction is usually something like “wow, that’s awesome!” “I could never do that!” Sometimes they tell me about a loved one with cancer or Alopecia, and I tell them I donated my hair to Locks of Love.

Keep asking questions, everyone. I love sharing my story.

On New Years’ Eve, we visited my husband’s family. It was a cold day, and after a 35-mile ride and a long hot shower, I still wanted to wear my warmest beanie for the duration of the day. However, I have an earring in my left ear that began to bother me (read: hurt) when my beanie pressed against it. So as much as I was shy to share my “baldness” with my family, I had to take off the beanie and expose my recently-shaved head. To my surprise, most of the family seemed to ignore my new hairdo. Maybe since they’re all doctors they know that I don’t have cancer because my hair is actually growing, and they didn’t want to ask? In any case, it sort of made me question my reasoning for exposing my head. Did I want people to notice, i.e. for attention, or did I want to share what I’m doing at work with my family? I really do want to share with as many people as possible, but for some reason it felt that if I shared with this side of the family, who I see only about once a year, it would be like contacting someone you haven’t seen in a long time and immediately asking for money. But I guess everyone deserves a chance to hear about my students, so with this in mind, I think next time I’ll try to speak up more.

Later that day, as my husband and I were shopping at the grocery store, a nice lady happened to come up to us and mention how we both looked nice and warm with our beanies. I’m normally shy, but I found myself explaining that the reason was because I had no hair, and pulling my beanie back. I then explained the “short” version of my story: “I’m doing a fundraiser: I’m Music Therapist, working with adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, trying to raise money for a MacBook Pro to use GarageBand for various projects” etc… Long story short, we waved goodbye and a few minutes later she came back and handed me a $5 bill, and said something to the effect of: “this is for your cause.” I gave her my website address so she could read more about what she just contributed to. I am so humbled by all the people who give generously to Bald Love, regardless of how much they know, and whether they’ve known me for years of have just met me. It reminds me of the effect our students have on others. If you’ve never met my students, I encourage you to schedule a visit and meet them – you’ll be glad you did!