"Locks of Love"
-- By Ellie Taylor

It was 5:30 on Wednesday evening and my dad had just picked me up from piano practice, as usual. On the way home, we stopped by his client’s hair salon so he could speak with the owner. While visiting with the staff, they commented on my beautiful long hair to which my dad mentioned my interest in Locks of Love.

We found out that they did Locks of Love, and so he began talking to me about it. I thought and thought. It was a tough decision. I loved my long hair, but then some people needed it more than me. The stylist told me to look at a book with some short hair styles. I knew I had to get 10 or more inches cut off, so I had an idea about how short it would look. Finally, I said, “yes, let’s do it.”

They measured 10 inches and put a pony tail at the 10 inch mark. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Then I heard the “snap” of the scissors and felt almost no weight on my head. When I opened my eyes and saw the hair I had left. The stylist washed my hair and cut it to the style I wanted.

There was a lady right next to me getting her hair styled the whole time while I got my hair cut. She said I had a lot of guts.

When we got back in the car, my dad looked a little nervious. We didn’t tell mom I was going to do this. We were worried about what she’d say. When I got home, it took a moment for her to realize what I had done. When she did, I quickly told her I gave my hair away to Locks of Love. She said she was very proud of me.

Locks of Love is a program for girls that have cancer. They have people (like me) donate their hair so they can make it into wigs for cancer patients who have lost their hair because of their chemotherapy treatment.

I like to think that my long pretty hair is now on someone who needs it more than me. It makes me feel important to help someone in need.