Now don't get me wrong here, I am not meaning to sound scathing of charity giving or to diminish the importance of these philanthropic acts; in fact the aforementioned #NoMakeUpSelfie raised big bucks for charity and was a phenomenal mechanism for engaging people all around the world! My purpose isn't to decry those who need to be inspired to do something, what I am pondering is when I personally consider someone or something an inspiration?
What prompted this reflection? An email or two which described ME as an 'inspiration' - probably the thing I least expected! Four years ago, I unsuspectingly entered a client meeting where I ran my fingers through my hair, starting a domino chain of events that would temporarily collapse my world! At that point, I never thought I'd get through what was happening to me, let alone come to terms with it, but with the help and support of friends, family and from those who understood the condition first hand, I came to terms with my situation enough to start helping and supporting others. Now, I'm happy in my own skin and as a result I opted, in turn, to help and support those going through the same things I did. To me, that decision wasn't one I made to purposely inspire people or to gain acclaim for my philanthropy but was made because I wanted to give to others what others gave to me - a support network and a bucket-load of experiential sympathy!
As you might have spotted, this month I feature in Cosmopolitan magazine, talking body confidence and helping to explain and educate about my hair loss condition. I didn't do this to inspire but probably the single most common comment that I have received states what an 'inspiration' I am; both from sufferers and non-sufferers. Now I'm going to be honest here, I loved the comments and they were great to receive but in a bid to stop my shiny cranium becoming enormous, I've tried not to re-read them too much! In fact, whilst it's been nice to think that I have inspired people, it isn't something I feel totally comfortable with and here's why...
When I was offered the chance to take part in the magazine shoot (thanks Alopecia UK), I had three main goals 1) to raise awareness, 2) to educate and 3) to enjoy myself - because it's not everyday you get to do something like this! I was treated like a princess, thoroughly enjoyed every minute and very selfishly would have point blank refused to switch places with someone else! Yes, I did it for others in my position but I also did it for myself too and it would be wrong to claim otherwise! When I first started receiving comments about inspiring people (particularly when they came from people I'd never met), I felt a little like a fraud - I almost felt they must be talking to someone else. Do I really consider myself someone 'able to fill others with the urge to do something' when actually it was simply the telling of my story? No I don't! Yet do I feel pleased that people see me that way, that telling my story has helped people on some level? Absolutely!
Tto say it hasn't inflated my ego would be a lie, so please excuse and indulge me as I sound like a big-head! Here's some of my favourite comments I was sent:
"Wowsers! Where are your trousers?"
"Wow! She makes Alopecia sexy!"
and finally...
"How cool is this. Splendid!"
(sorry if I sound like a big-head picking those ones but they each made me chuckle!)
I'm a pretty blunt, stubborn and opinionated person and I used to be fairly scathing of those who threw themselves in the limelight for their 'charitable' acts. Yet now the boot is on the other foot and I'm in a tiny spotlight, I can definitely say this experience has helped change me and make me a more tolerant, empathetic person! It's made me realise the importance of doing things like this and whether a person chooses to be anonymous or blatant in the way they do things, any method is fine as long as the end result is the same! Reflecting personally, I'm proud to have inspired people and urge other people to do something, anything, which can make a difference, even if it is just for one person! Go inspire!
To finish, I'll say this blog post is really important to me, so please let me know what you think! I hope you enjoyed the read.
Victoria x
www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald
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