Locks of Love: Notes from Ashly

Springville High School is having their annual "Make A Wish" week, an organization that helps kids with illness have their wish come true. Every year, there is an assembly to let us know how we are doing, and who we are raising money for. They also did "Locks of Love", and I decided to participate. "Locks of Love" is a non-profit organization that makes wigs for people who have hair loss due to illness such as cancer.
If you want to donate your hair, you need to be willing to cut off 10 or more inches of your hair (Most salon's will give your hair to "Locks of Love" if you ask). My mom did not want me to cut my hair. I don't think my dad knew what I was doing. But my hair was long enough, and I wanted donate it.
I had my hair measured to donate 10". And then I got it hacked off. At the assembly. In front of my school. Along with 18 other girls, and 1 boy.

I did it because a couple of weeks ago, when I was singing at the Utah All-State choir, I noticed a girl sitting 2 or 3 rows ahead of me, that had cancer, and was getting chemotherapy treatments. She only had a few tufts of hair here and there, and my heart hurt. When this opportunity to donate my hair to girls like her came up, I jumped. I thought to myself, I have hair. Other girls don't. I thought about how much my self esteem would go down if I didn't have any hair. And I wanted to do something. My hair was long enough, and I could give up some of my hair couldn't I? After all, its just hair.
So, I stood there in front of the student body, and a girl from the Student Council hacked off my braid, and I held it up proudly for everyone to see. And this is what my hair looked like.
After school, I went and got my hair styled, and this is the final product! Ta-dah! My hair is short, but I feel good about it. I know that it is going to be used to help some other girl, who doesn't have hair. I feel so lucky for everything that I have, and right now, especially for my good health, and my hair.