Well, I have to say the element of SURPRISE can catch a person off guard.
I was watching friend’s children compete at a local high school gym. It was a large event, with 200 plus people watching. To my surprise, one of their children thought it would be cool to pull off my wig! If I remember correctly, he made the following comment, “the one thing I do know is you are wearing a wig”. Before I could even react he had grabbed my wig. I was in shock; I fumbled with the wig to get it back on and looked over at his parents and said, “He pulled off my wig”. I could feel my face turning red and my heart was pumping. I did not look around or make eye contact with anyone in the gym. I had to fight back tears. Needless to say, his parents were none too happy with him. I continued to watch the event and once it was over, I left the gym without making eye contact with anyone along the way.
In the boy’s defense, I often joke around with my wig. He and my son will try on my wigs and I will put them on backwards, inside out, etc. to make them laugh. He may not have realized that this was not appropriate behavior in public. Note to self, remind my son’s friends that it is NOT COOL to pull of my wig in public!
I’ve been thinking about the event for the past few days. I certainly was surprised but I also felt humiliated. I’m very open about wearing a wig. I’ve had to chase my wig down the street on occasion and that did not bother me. So, why did I feel so exposed? It dawned on me that my wig is my crutch; it keeps me safe from being different. If it was on my own terms, exposing my bald, patchy head to the masses, I would have been fine with it but not under that circumstance. We all have certain things that we use as our crutch to protect us from the outside world. Removing this crutch needs to be done at our own pace and under the right circumstances. If I would have went to the event with my bald head exposed, I would have been confident about doing it.
If you are an Alopecia suffer and you wear a wig, bandana or scarf that is great. It is normal to have a crutch to support you! Do it with confidence and hopefully you don’t get any unwanted surprises!
Keep smiling,
Shannon
baldbrillance 