Meet the 17-year-old superhero shaving to support childhood cancer research and inspire confidence. “I want to show little girls that it shouldn’t take them 16 years to realize that they are beautiful just the way they are.”

Emma used to dream of being a superhero. Now, the 17-year-old is making her dreams come true by shaving her 22 inches of hair to help fund childhood cancer research. Read on to find out how Emma is encouraging all women to be bold for change this International Women’s Day.
In first grade, my best friend and I created a game called Superheroes.

Our “superhuman” job was to walk around the playground and pick up litter. We loved it because we got to be superheroes and we were helping people.

As you can probably guess, I have never been the most “popular” girl in school.

In fact, I was bullied quite a bit throughout grade school and middle school.

I had always been shy, but when my third-grade crush said he would “never like a fat and ugly pig of a person,” I started to isolate myself and hate my appearance.

After years of being told I was unattractive, I began to believe it.

Junior year of high school was when I finally realized what it takes to be beautiful. There was nothing in particular that helped me “find the light,” I just got older and realized that no one other than myself gets to define who I am or how I view myself.

All you need is confidence — confidence in yourself and your capabilities.

Although 10 years have passed, I still want to be the superhero I dreamed of being in first grade. I was put in this world to help others, to make a difference.

This fall, I finally became the superhero I dreamed of being as a little kid. I signed up as a shavee for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. I hope to raise money for childhood cancer research, so all kids can achieve their dreams.

So far, I’ve raised over $800 just using Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and word of mouth.

Help Emma reach her goal of raising $2,000 for kids’ cancer research! Donate towards her shave today >

However, the month before I shave, I have much bigger plans.

My brother, who is pursuing a career in graphic design, is working on a design for a poster that we plan on printing and hanging everywhere we can possibly hang it.

I am also getting in touch with someone from my town’s newspaper that might be interested in helping me raise awareness and money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

I plan on doing even more through my social media apps to encourage those who have not yet donated to donate, and I want to invite my high school’s newspaper to cover the shave.
With less than a month to go, I’m hoping to surpass my current goal of $2,000 raised for childhood cancer research before the big shave on April 1.

I want to shave off my almost-twenty-two inches of hair to show that everyone can be beautiful.

You can be a superhero like Emma. Get involved to help fund childhood cancer research today >

I am not perfect, but that does not mean I am not beautiful. I want to show little girls that it shouldn’t take them 16 years to realize that they are beautiful just the way they are.

Hair is an accessory, not a necessity.

That said, I am still extremely nervous for the shave. No matter how confident I have become in recent years, I am still a vulnerable, self-conscious teenage girl.

But being nervous about something doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do it.

My hair is what I am complimented on the most, and I’m scared to find out if I will like how I look without it.

But I know I’ll never regret shaving my head for childhood cancer research, no matter what I look like bald.

Still, there’s a part of me that’s afraid I won’t like what I see. But every day, that part of me loses to the larger part of me that is extremely empowered and proud of what I am doing.

I’m excited to rock my bald head, proving to myself and those around me that hair isn’t necessary for confidence or for beauty.

I want to shave my head so I can be the change I want to see in the world. I am shaving my head so I can be the hero I dreamed of being years ago.

I am choosing to shave my head for all the kids who don’t get the luxury of a choice.

Help Emma be bold and go bald for change. Click the button and boost her fundraising today.