St. Baldrick's Follow-Up with Stacey!

Stacey, Pre-Buzz

Remember this post (and this one, too!), where I shared Stacey and Morgan's story?? These two awesome ladies raised some serious cash for St. Baldrick's Foundation, which donates money to aid in cancer research for children. If you are new to their story, they raised 22,000+ dollars by shaving their heads!! I thought this was such a bold and awesome move that serves as a good reminder about how as individuals we can make a difference.


I had the chance to catch up with Stacey post- buzz, and was curious to hear how it went. I was also curious to ask her what it was like being bald! Stacey and I are friends on facebook, and let me tell you- the girl looked beautiful with a bald head. I saw her pictures (Morgan's too!) and they were beautiful. I think even more powerful and beautiful, though, was the act of doing something sacrificial and kind for others. 


Soo, what was Stacey's experience like? Check out some questions I asked her to share with you all below-


Me: What was it like those first few days right before and right after shaving your head? Were any tears shed? Were you nervous/excited?

Morgan, Stacey and Friends Post-Buzz :-)

Stacey: We were both ready to be on the other side. It’s exhausting raising that kind of money! We’d dyed our hair [they died their hair pink and other fun colors!] and the color was starting to fade, and it was getting hot outside! I wasn’t nervous until about 5 minutes before I left for Harris Field, and mostly right before we walked up to the stage, but I still never got as nervous as I had anticipated. I never cried, and at the first swipe of the clippers, all the nervousness was gone. I did have patches of pink on my scalp from the dye, so I wasn’t super happy with my look until I had washed that off. But I’ve gotten used to it. It’s super easy.


Me: How have people responded?

Stacey: The first day, we all went to a bar and ran into this lady who was having her one-year remission cancer party. After talking to us, she went back to her table and took off her wig for the rest of her party because of our 5 bald heads sitting at the bar! That was really awesome. A few days later, Morgan and I were having lunch and a guy came up and asked us if we’d done St. Baldrick’s, and then thanked us and shook our hands. We don’t really get much anymore, as our hair has grown out enough to look like a hairstyle choice. But those two encounters were really awesome for me.


Me: If/How has it changed or reinforced your thoughts/views on what true beauty is?

Stacey: I honestly forget that I’m bald-ish until I catch someone looking at me funny. I won’t leave the house without earrings (because I look like a boy without them), but other than that, I’m really comfortable without my hair. I miss it when I see someone with really pretty long hair, but I haven’t had any episodes of not feeling good about myself. That fact surprises me, but I dig it.


Me: Any interesting challenges that have come up as a result of being bald? or fuzzy? :)

Stacey: The main challenge was how cold it was to not have hair! I had to wear hats and hoodies all the time. Even in 80 degree weather it was cold. I heard that it can burn really easily too, but I never let it get to that point. Now that we’re getting fuzzy, both of those concerns are over. The only thing now is that everybody wants to rub my head…but I kind of like that part. :)


Me: Anything else you want to share with readers???

Stacey: Our team raised over $22,000! Thanks to everybody who helped us get there!

Stacey and Morgan with a little Fuzz :)

For more on St Baldrick's, check out this video clip below or check out their website here.

Body Image Busters :-)

It's a bit of a crazy week for me, so I thought that I would drop in and leave you with a few interesting, thought provoking body image related articles. I'd encourage you to check them out!! Follow the links below to read! :-)

• Take Back Your Summer: Accepting the Body You Have Now by Robin S. Rosenberg

• If Men Don't Care About Cellulite, Why Do We? (Battling the "Bikini-Body" Obsession) by Keli Goff

• Body Image Perception: Learning to Love The Body You Have Now by Susan Liddy

• The Mindful Way to Overcome 'I Hate My Body Thoughts' by Dr. Susan Albers

The Children's Malnutrition Center

About two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go to Guatemala to work in a Malnutrition Center. It was a life-changing trip, which is why I decided to share about it here. While I typically don't blog here about my travel plans, social life, etc... I felt that this was something special and I wanted to give you all the opportunity to learn about and meet some amazing children and people that I had the privilege to meet.


One thing that made this trip so special was that it was a mother-daughter trip... so I got to share this incredible experience with my mother- and other really inspiring women!! 

Madre y moi

We flew into Guatemala City, and drove to Antigua, where we stayed. From there we took a bus each day to San Juan Sacatapequez, where the Children’s Malnutrition Center is located. The Center is primarily made up of children whose parents are no longer able to financially care for them. When the children arrive, they are often extremely malnourished. A seven-month old baby was brought to the Center while we were there-- he was 7 pounds and wearing newborn clothes. So sad. He had to be taken to the hospital, as some of the children do upon arrival.

The Center is owned by the Lions Club of Guatemala, and is largely funded by the organization that we went with, called Orphan’s Heart! During our week visiting the Center, there were 67 children staying there, equipped with 4 workers to take care of all the children. Two workers stay overnight. Can you imagine what it must be like having two people taking care of 67 children under the age of four each night? Wow.

Three of our little babes having a snack :-)

Our volunteer work while there consisted of holding the children, feeding them, bathing them, changing their diapers (I actually never had to change a diaper—coincidence?), and just showing them affection. Considering the child to worker ratio, these children receive such little affection. While a lot of these children have parents, their parents are unable to care for them due to finances, so they drop them at the Center so they can be taken care of adequately. Sadly, with so few workers and so many children, sometimes the children do not have diaper changes more than twice a day. For an infant or toddler, 6-8 diaper changes in a day might be more typical. This means that these children often sit with wet and dirty diapers. We were able to re-stock their supply room and pantry with things that we had brought along with us- diapers, toiletries, toothbrushes, etc. as a way to provide the children with more resources.

Sweet little ones in their cribs...

I am still processing my time in Guatemala, and what I learned from my experience there. But here are a few quick insights.

1.    Generosity- These children are so content with so little. It’s pretty incredible to think about how much we have living in America- and I think that it certainly begs a few questions… how might we help others? How might we use our resources to help those who are in need?

2.   Big Picture- I think it is valuable to step away from our lives for a minute to get a glimpse of the bigger picture. We can get so caught up in our lives, our work, our relationships… that we forget that life exists beyond ourselves! This does not at all mean that we need not be concerned with our lives- but it’s important to try to find a balance! Serving others and looking outward is so important.

3.   Gratitude- After visiting third world countries, it is always interesting to come home to the luxuries of the first world. I think that rather than feel guilty about the things that we have, and the things that we have access to, we have a responsibility to appreciate what we have, but more so, to ponder how we might give to others and share what we have!!

The last thing I will say (holy lengthy post!) is that when we volunteer or serve others, we often are the ones that walk away changed. It's not that we serve others for the sake of feeling good about ourselves of course, but I think when we help others, we often leave the experience feeling more greatly impacted by those whom we serve. I know that the children and workers at the Center left such a great impact on me, greater than anything that I could have done in my short time there. For more info on the Center, or to find out how you might donate or buy supplies for the Center, follow this link.

I love this little guy- wish I could have smuggled him home with me!!!

Happy Monday!!

Hope this post finds you enjoying the start of a new week! This post finds me with an extra few minutes to enjoy at my office before things pick up again, and I am hearing LOUD thunderstorms outside!! I kind of like it :)

I am currently working on a few posts that I am really excited to share soon- but for now, I want to direct your attention to a fantastic article that I read this morning. Entitled "How to Talk to Little Girls" by Lisa Bloom, this article addresses the importance of relating and talking to girls using values and interests as points of conversation, rather than appearance. Appearance is the first thing we often comment on, so when we see a little girl we might say "oh! you are so cute!!" "i love your little outfit!" because that is just so easy to do- I sure am guilty of this! Ah!! But Bloom encourages us to reinforce non-appearance based things... for example, what are your favorite books? What are some of the things that you like to do? By engaging them in this way, we model for young girls that there are things more important and worthwhile than appearance, which is the opposite message than the one they typically get.

If you are a mother, an aunt, a cousin...  if you have a sister, if you interact with little girls, work with children at church, volunteer with children in the community, ... please, please read this. You can find the article here. Remember, change starts with us! We can make a difference, one day at a time. Happy reading :)

Hello, Summer!

Today marks the first day of summer! While summer can bring with it a litany of body concerns and urges to diet and restrict (hello, bathing suit season!), summer also welcomes longer days, opportunities to be outside and sometimes even a vacation! Being the nerd that I am, one of my favorite parts of summer as a high schooler was the summer reading list that I would receive for the following year's English class. I loved going to Barnes and Noble with my mom and picking out all of the books. I still love to read. And, as a way to usher in the summer on a high note, I thought I would make a summer reading list! I plan on reviewing some of these books, as there are a few great eating disorder related books here that I have been wanting to get around to but just haven't had the time! 


[As an aside... if you are struggling with body image and need a boost, check out this post or this one!]


Below are some of the books that I am looking forward to reading... If you have any suggestions or books that you would recommend, let me know what they are!! I love a good book :-).