Spreading awareness by being a BALDIE

A few weeks ago, we had our Amnesty International Headshaving Event. Nowadays it seems to have become the new trend for people to shave their heads for charitable organizations in order to raise money for them. Perhaps it is not the norm worldwide but for me, coming from Singapore, I am rather accustomed to seeing bald men and women at certain times of the year. In Singapore, a yearly event that takes place is 'Hair for Hope'. Island-wide, a huge number of Singaporeans come together, male and female, young and old, and shave their heads to show their solidarity for cancer patients and also raises money for cancer research. 

Coming to AC I wasn't that shocked by the idea of shaving one's head for charities, but I can't help but admire the people that did. I did seriously consider shaving my head, knowing that the money raised, especially by girls would contribute a substantial amount of money to the charitable organisations of our choosing. However, my fears of what might unwittingly happen due to stepping into the shaving unknown outweighed my decision to lose locks for money. 

This year we saw a rather large number of people, especially girls, who shaved their heads for Amnesty. And though most of the students weren't shaving their heads, many of us still wanted to get in on the razor action. We all gathered in the comfort of the coffee lounge to witness the de-hairing of our friends. The coffee lounge was packed and soon the auctions to see who got to do some shaving began. In order to raise even more money than the amount each person had preliminarily raised individually, the Amnesty team always gives the honour of balding someone to the person who agrees to donate the most money to that soon-to-be baldie. Hullabaloo is probably the most accurate description of the atmosphere in the coffee lounge as overexcited friends and dorm mates fought for the razor. 

It was not long before the first few razors roared into life and the great de-hairing began. One by one, my fellow ACers lost their mops to friends and dorm mates who had slightly maniacal glints in their victorious eyes. A trend of leaving on tufts of hair, some with obvious shapes (e.g. a moustache) also developed. All in all, it was an evening of fun, laughter and lots of hair. For me, I can now say that though I will probably still not be shaving my head next year, I will definitely be supporting all the brave and special people who do.

"I don't consider myself bald, I'm just taller than my hair' - Lucius Annaeus Seneca