When most people look at me, they notice something right away: I don’t have any hair. I’m different, and that’s OK. I have alopecia (a-loh-PEE-shuh), a condition that prevents my hair from growing properly. Thankfully, alopecia isn’t life-threatening, and it’s not contagious.
I was diagnosed with alopecia after my hair fell out when I was 2 years old. I didn’t realize there was anything different about me until I was about 4. That’s when I started to notice that people would point at me and stare. I’m a healthy kid who just happens to not have hair. But all the attention made me feel insecure, like something was wrong with me.
At the time, I loved to paint. My mom had one of my favorite paintings printed on a head scarf. After putting on the scarf, I looked in the mirror and said, “I want to give this to all bald children.” So, in 2016, I convinced my parents to help me start Coming Up Rosies—an organization that helps bring smiles to kids’ faces.