I thought it would be quite fitting to have my 800th blog post dedicated to the memory of my grandma and raising money for cancer charities. When I started this blog three and a half years ago, I never would have imagined what it would become, how much I would enjoy and rely on it, or the amazing platform it gives me. The friendships I have made through blogging and the confidence it has given me are fantastic. Publishing 800 blog posts is a bit mental! It would definitely have happened sooner if it weren't for the amount of stress I had with my final year of university and also grandma being so ill.
I imagine that most of you know the story of my grandma's diagnosis with bowel cancer in December and how she sadly passed away four weeks ago. I had never really experienced anyone suffering with cancer before, the countless hospital appointments, the chemotherapy, the hair loss, loss of appetite and finally becoming a shadow of your former self, unable to do any of the things you desperately want to.
When grandma was having chemotherapy I felt so utterly useless. She started to lose her hair and was given an NHS wig. It wasn't her hairstyle, it didn't look anything like her hair. It was turning her into someone else and I didn't like it. I researched real hair wigs and discovered they were very rarely offered to adults, but children were more likely to be offered them. I looked into it and discovered The Little Princess Trust, a charity which provides real-hair wigs, free of charge, to boys and girls that have lost their own hair through cancer treatment and other illnesses. I decided that it would be a good idea to donate my hair. I told all my friends and set up a fundraising page before I could talk myself out of it!
My hair has been longer than bob length since I was four and has never been cut shorter than a bob, so donating my hair was a big deal for me! There is still time to donate, if you would like to, from my JustGiving page which you can find here. I was so, so nervous about having my hair cut. I was nearly sick on the day and, as you can see from the video below, I very, very nearly cried when the first plait came off. The laughter is down to pure nerves!
So here is a before picture and here is the after picture.
Quite a difference!
Since having my hair cut I have found that I have been wearing more floral patterns and bright colours, I think I feel as though I have lost some of my femininity along with my hair. I have also begun to experiment with colour, going from pink to purple to platinum. It's really good fun being able to experiment. It's also really easy to care for short hair. I haven't had to use a hairdryer since it was cut and I love how little time it takes to wash.
Below is the video of my hair all being cut off, you can see how scared I was!
