Nonfiction: “Life’s Patches”
By Olivia Footer, 17
Massachusetts
I am the only white, teen girl at the office of Teen Voices but such feelings of otherness are not unfamiliar. This afternoon we crowd around a small TV to watch Good Hair, a documentary about the culture of African American women's hair. Surrounded by cornrows, dreadlocks, extensions and relaxed hair of every length and style, my shoulder-length dirty blond hair stands out as brightly as my skin color. After nine years, however, I am proud of these messy locks.
When I was eight years old, all the hair on my body began to fall out. Despite what many assumed to be the result of cancer treatment, it was Alopecia: an arbitrary loss of hair affecting any person regardless of age or health. To my parents' horror, in a matter of months, my beautiful eight-year-old blond curls were replaced by an assortment of wigs, colorful bandanas, scarves, and headbands. I still cringe at memories of my soccer team mistaking my unwillingness to French braid my hair for stubbornness, and of my painstakingly hidden bald patches being revealed to curious third graders during our annual lice check.
As a foreign culture reveals itself to me through jarring statistics and startling interviews in the 
film, I am captivated by the complex implications and requirements of maintaining what is commonly referred to as "good hair" in African American culture. Once the film finishes, the teens around me volunteer personal anecdotes of difficulties they have encountered as they navigate through this world of hair. Although I had never chosen a relaxer or worried about my hair extensions in the rain, these were the only other people I had ever met who cared just as passionately about their hair as I did, and who struggled as much as I had. Despite the consolation of my family and friends, I still wonder if they view my concerns as adolescent narcissism. At Teen Voices, for the first time, I felt surrounded by people who saw the significance of one's hair not merely in its superficiality but rather in the way hair influences how people see themselves both in the mirror and in their culture.
I cried on the train home during my first week at Teen Voices, feeling out of place and rejected. But by the end of my second summer, I have become an essential member of the office community; my skin now glows with confidence instead of conspicuousness, and I've been given the title of the 'blackest white girl'—a title I hold onto with pride as I returned to my suburban high school to begin my senior year. Hearing the girls talk about the extent to which they try every day to fulfill their culture's aesthetic norms reminds me of the importance of self-acceptance—a value often stressed by sympathetic mothers, but usually forgotten in the midst of adolescence, regardless of race.
I am used to living with Alopecia. It is part of how I define myself and how I remember my past. I love cutting my hair to watch it grow back in a different way, reminding me that life is fluid and I am not a victim bound to it but instead the one who gets to decides how to shape and style it—bald spots be damned.
For more information on Alopecia, see:
http://www.childrensalopeciaproject.org
To read another Teen Voices article on hair, see: "Love Your Locks: The Politics of Black Hair" in our print magazine, volume 20, issue 2, pp. 8-10.
Second photo by Anh Ðào Kolbe for Teen Voices.
9 Responses »
Leave a Response
Entries(RSS)
this article was very interesting and I like how you have the links set up about alopecia. This story makes me appreciate my hair !
Livvy, this is absolutely beautiful and almost moved me to tears. I remember when you first shared your Alopecia story with us. I thought you were so brave to have been so open. I know that hair is something that we all become overly-attached to, so it must have been hair for you when you began losing your hair. I could only imagine how devastating it would be to your own beautiful hair falling out piece by peace. Liv, you're one of the bravest girls I've ever met and I not only love you, but I look up to you.
You are amazing and so is this story
Knowing liz personally while attending the same session as she did made me really think about how Alopecia can affect someones life. I was touched by her story from when i met her and seeing it online just makes me even happier to know that she is able to embrace her originality. I am glad that she is able to share her story with pride now and that her view on teen voices changed, I'm glad she loves it just as much as i do.
Livy, this is so good! Reading this, I was going on a memory line of all our moments together in Teen Voices and I will never forget the day you confided in us and told us about Alopecia. you're a beautiful and an amazing woman, and Teen Voices misses you!
you did an amazing job, keep up the good work.
Liv, I LOVED this article that you wrote! Even after being in the program with you, I never even knew this. This article is truly amazing for the fact that it taught ME how to appreciate my hair more. As an African American girl, I've always considered "white" people to have "good hair" but after seeing the struggle you went through, it made me question what it really means to have "good hair". What is it that makes one person's hair good, and another's bad? We should all be grateful for the hair that we have on our heads, because whether we admit it or not, hair is clearly an important factor (especially to women). All women have good hair, we are all diverse, and we all choose to rock it different ways! And I love your locks Liv!
Thank you Olivia for a well-written testament to what you have gone through, but also, how you connect with others who may seem, on the outside, different than you. You remind all of us that there are more points of connection among people than are often realized. You are a strong, confident young woman and I wish you well in your future endeavors. I am proud to be a Board Member of Teen Voices, especially to be able to support young girls like you. Thank you!
amazing story..:) luvd it!!!! <3
Written by:Muriel D.
in 1912 a girl name Jena Riley who's from Brokesville.Brokesville is a very small place with people have no money and little shelter.Jena and her parents and everyone from Brokesville are divided from the rich the wealthintons. The wealthintons and are very wealthy but the richest people are the Christopher's. The most richest people who lives in wealthinton. Wealthinton and Brokesville cannot speak or have contact what so ever if they do the consequences are dreadful.The Christopher's throws a party every three years and the party as arrived the party is for the wealthintons to see families are quality to go to Paris.The Jena's father insisted to go to the party to see if we qualify so we can escape.Jena and her family escapes from Brokesville and passes through the Wealthinton gates and enters the party.When Jena and her family gets in line to meet the Christopher's Jena meets Eden the son of the Christopher's instantly sparks fly.Three weeks later Jena gets a job in wealthinton at a coffee shop and Eden comes in and they start talking and start to have on in off relationship for four years will they get caught.