Free to be Me: What I Learned from "Baby Let Your Hair Hang Down"

Well this is new...I just completely threw out a blog post because I absolutely hated the direction it was going in. Anyway, here is my second attempt at writing a blog post about "Baby Let Your Hair Hang Down." "Baby Let Your Hair Hang Down" is a documentary about Georgia Van Cuylenberg, an actress and comedian who has alopecia areata, which is an autoimmune disorder that results in hair loss. I will include links at the end of the post to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation's (NAAF) website, as well as how to go about seeing the documentary about Cuylenberg for anyone who is interested.

      I first heard about "Baby Let Your Hair Hang Down" from the Pro-Life Club at my college. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I went to their showing of the documentary, but I absolutely loved it! It was an honest look at what it's like to live with alopecia areata. What I loved about this documentary was that it showed both the more positive aspects of dealing with alopecia, such as learning to be okay with being bald & beautiful (I don't know why, but writing out "and" just looked weird with this phrase...I digress.), meeting new people who are dealing with the same thing, giving speeches and inspiring others, etc. but it also shown the negative side, such as self-esteem issues and painful treatments for alopecia. It was funny at times, heartbreaking at others (spoiler alert: the scenes showing her getting acupuncture and dealing with other painful treatments were very difficult to watch, especially since I know what it is like to deal with these kinds of challenges. You may want to have tissues handy) and overall a very inspiring movie. Her positive attitude was so infectious and made me re-evaluate how I feel about my disability and my life in general. It reminded me that bad times can't last forever, so I should learn from them and have hope that things will get better, and on the flip side, happy times also won't last forever, so I should learn to appreciate those. 

      I was struck by how much of the documentary I could relate to, despite the fact that my disability, spina bifida, is totally different from alopecia. I could relate to the self-esteem issues she faced. It took a while for me to figure out how to make crutches and a wheelchair look cute, but I did it! When I was little, I put stickers on my walkers and crutches, and now I use makeup and fashion to express myself and distract from my scooter. I could relate to the way alopecia changes (hair can grow back and later fall out again) because spina bifida changes too. Some days my legs work better than others and some days I'm in more pain than others. It's fairly unpredictable, and can be pretty frustrating, but I have a support system of family and friends that makes it all worth it. I can relate to going through tons of medical treatments trying to find solutions for alopecia, because I have had to do the same thing with spina bifida. In the past I have had to find effective solutions for chronic pain, tethered spinal cord (a painful condition that can usually be treated with pain medication, but can also require surgery. So far, pain pills have done the trick), and most recently, pressure sores. I have a persistent one that hasn't responded to well to mild treatments, so we have moved on to a more aggressive treatment that I really hope will work. What amazed me throughout Cuylenberg's documentary was her ability to stay positive despite her challenges. She is an incredible role model, and she has taught me to stay positive, be strong, and face challenges head-on. I highly recommend "Baby Let Your Hair Hang Down" and would love to hear what y'all thought of it. What I got from it could be summed up by the slogan on the t-shirts and bracelets my friends in the Pro-Life Club sold (benefiting NAAF, I believe) at the event. The Pro-Life Club had t-shirts and bracelets with the slogan "Free to be Me"(Francesca Battistelli has a great song called "Free to Be Me"...Check it out!)  on them, which I think was a great takeaway message for this movie. We all have challenges. We all have insecurities. It's up to us to let go of these things, embrace our individuality, and be ourselves.  My challenge for you this week actually comes from one of her Youtube videos (I'll include a link to her channel with the other links at the end): Readers, I know we all have struggles and problems and things that drive us nuts. My challenge for you is to start writing down things you are grateful for, big or small (I'm grateful for my family and friends, but I also happen to be grateful for chocolate sno-balls and getting a new book from the library).  This documentary made me realize that I have so much to be grateful for, no matter what else is going on.God bless.

Website for NAAF:http://www.naaf.org/site/PageServer

Information about "Baby Let Your Hair Hang Down":http://babyletyourhairhangdown.com/

Georgia Van Cuylenberg's Youtube Channel (which is filled with awesome and inspiring advice) :http://www.youtube.com/user/Georgiavancuylenburg?feature=watch
Music video for Francesca Battistelli's "Free to be Me":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKSQjSdU8VA
All rights for the documentary, Cuylenberg's Youtube channel and Battistelli's music video belong to their respective owners and not me.