Hair for Hope 2011

Right! As you can see from the photo above, I went for Hair for Hope (HfH) 2011! Kind of fast uh, it's been one year since I shaved for HfH 2010 and now it's 2011's turn. This time round I register as an online shavee, cause last year I gotta wait 3 hours heh. But I learnt one thing from this year, if you wanna walk in, come at about 3 PM! Just now it was kind of empty, or was the walk-in shavee slots all taken up? I'm not sure.

Neevrtheless, being walk-in or online shavee, I'll still go again for next year's HfH! This is my 2nd HfH and definitely not the last. I'll still come back for it :) Anyway met Nivedha first at Holland to take her photos and had some breakfast to ear (for me) before we headed to Vivo. And we were talking about... Hinduism and Buddhism on the way heh.

Cause my shaving time is from 1-2, while YP's shaving time is 2-3. So I gotta wait for him and just went to queue by myself. Victor was also there, but he gotta queue on the walk-in shavee side. Anyway... I queued and got shaved! Oh well, finally reunited with my botak-hairstyle again after one long year heh.

The two of them went for the shaving as well and we took some pictures after that. Nivedha had to leave for her lesson so she left earlier before us. YP wasn't feeling that well and he went home as well (get well soon YP!). Vic and I then went for kopitiam and we ate, and we went hunting for headphones (I got a new one, cause mine spoilt :O).

And on the way to kopitiam, on the way to challenger, and best denki. As usual, we were all being starred by other people. Being my 2nd time shaving, I have expected this reaction from other people. Victor was a bit uneasy in the first place. Then, he realised by how a child with cancer, undergoing a chemotheraphy, would feel if he were to walk on public.

Stares from everywhere, like as if we were different. Alright our hairstyle is different. But we're human too aren't we?

When I first signed up for HfH (as I would have probably mentioned this last year), I just thought of going there for "fun" and for support of the CCF and children with cancer. Until I got on a bus, when well, being starred again. And when I'm being bald for a month plus, where people stare at me as if I'm different.

That's when I realise how much symbolic Hair for Hope is. How much important and how much special this event is. It's not just an ordinary charity event where we all shave for "fun". It is very very symbolic. Once you shaved, you'll know how it feels to be in the shoe of a child with cancer. How much insecure they feel, how much of "why?" they feel.

Personally speaking, my aunt passed away due to cancer. That was when I was still in P5. I remember how I would go accompany her to Mt Elizabeth hospital for her chemo treatment, accompanying her, chatting with her. And around me would be other patients, young and old. I remember one session when there was this westerner boy who was going for chemotherapy. I can see the sadness, and pain in his eyes. And he was telling his mum of how pain it is when they inject the needles.

I have lost some of my dearest people due to cancer. Some, totally unrelated to me. My aunt, my grandma, my grandpa, the father of a really good friend of mine, my great uncle and many more. Cancer is a scary thing. I know how serious it can get especially when it starts spreading to the other parts of your body. The unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy and more.

Adults, I would say, have more tolerance towards pain and the anguish they get from the treatments. After all, they are grown up. What about the children with cancer? As I said above about that young boy, and so many others in Singapore and the world who are suffering from it. I might not be a doctor that can save their lives. Not a researcher that can come up with a medicine that cures them instantly.

I'm just a young man after all. But through HfH, I can show them my support, I know how it feels to be like them, I know how harsh life can be for them. I am thankful for having this healthy body, for not having cancer in my life so far. And yes I'm grateful for that, and I know there's no way we can improve their conditions through going hair for hope.

But hair for hope itself, is an event. A symbolic event and gesture in which we can send through out wishes, hopes and support. Not physically, not in real life, but more of spiritually. More of symbolism, more of a prayer and wish and support. It is just so symbolic, that you have to go through it to FEEL it, to EXPERIENCE it.

I don't really believe the fact that some people just go and shave for the sake of "fun". I don't know why but I feel there's something inside them that made them do it. That made them shave their hair. It's not easy to just go and "Hi I wanna go for HfH" especially for the girls. I feel there must be something that made them want to do it.

But anyway, let us not forget another group of people - The Survivors. They are the ones who had battled it out, and never relinquished. And came out of the darkness and pain as if being reborn again. I know a few cancer survivors. And in fact one is a really good friend of mine. She told me stories of those "days". And I just told myself... She's one really strong girl. How did she do it!

And it's just so amazing how these survivors can put up everything together again. And live a life, somehow as if nothing has happened to them. Cheerful, bubbly, caring and helpful. Knowing what they had went through, I just feel.... Impressed and touched. I feel amazed and happy for them. But at the same time, I ask myself.

If these people have the courage, have the strength to move forward in life. To take back the pieces of their lives, shattered by the disease. To have the will to never give up despite of the pain and really gruesome feeling. I can't find any reason why we, normal and healthy human beings can't do the same either. To not give up when we're troubled. To move forward when something bad happened to us. To have the courage to fight. Why can't we?

We all tend to complain. When we go to the saloon and find our hairstyles weird. When we fail at something we dread with it like as if we will fail forever. When we don't get what we want, it feels like the end of the world. Then what about those children and survivors? They are fighting with a disease, battling with life (maybe financially) but. They never give up

That's one thing I've learnt from this event. Out of the many.

And so to sum it all up. I am dedicating my shave for three groups of people. To those who have tried their best battling with cancer, to those who have survived the fight with cancer. But most importantly, to the people who are still fighting with it.

And not to forget, of course, to children with cancer. It's okay to be bald! You are not alone. We the shavees have shared your pain, shown our support for you all, and have felt what you guys have felt/are feeling. But most importantly, NEVER GIVE UP! KEEP FIGHTING and I'm sure you'll win the battle.

What a long post. But I feel really good after writing this. Alright, thanks for reading! Hair for Hope 2011 is such an awesome event! I will definitely come back next year! :)

42 more days to Inner Mongolia OCIP!