For four years now, I've been working with and supporting St. Baldrick's. Sadly, I'm not shaving my head this year: because instead, I'm growing out my hair until it's long enough to donate to make wigs for cancer survivors and patients (here at Northwestern, we've partnered with Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program—check it out if bald is a bit too short for you). 

For me, my involvement with St. Baldrick's started out simply as a personal challenge: a desire to test myself to disregard the pressures feminine presenting people face to conform to traditional standards of beauty. That was how it started—my attachment to St. Baldrick's is much different now. I seek to honor the memory of my grandmother, who passed away before I was born, and for my friend Zachary, who passed away in 2007 when we were in the seventh grade. 

The facts and statistics are disheartening: childhood cancer research is vastly underfunded and neglected. But if anything, it makes every donation and every effort all the more meaningful; it is the action of people who care that acknowledges and bridges this chasm and brings us closer to our goal of conquering childhood cancer. Our project was small (not so much anymore), but always mighty. Just like the kids we hope to help.

Every kid deserves a childhood. 

Let's turn that time of dreams into a future of realities.