Ugly duckling transformation :D ( 6- 18 years)

Congratulations and Good luck with IB lol I heard it's tough! I have alopecia as well (areata). I basically had huge bald patches since age 4. I went to a dermatologist and he pretty much told me there wasn't really shit he could do beside steroid injections, which had a low chance of success and apparently were not covered by my insurance. I looked really really weird growing up, and I'd always get strange looks. Thankfully I formed a thick skin early on and I wasn't afraid to laugh at my own appearance. Although inside I was always self-conscious about the patches and because of that I was very quiet and kept to myself in highschool. After my sophomore year though, hair suddenly started to grow from my patches! I grew out my hair that summer and by the time winter came I had a full on mane! People who had only seen me with patchy hair had no idea who the fuck I was lol. My dermatologist told me that alopecia cases are very unpredictable and that my hair could remain with me for the rest of my life or it could fall out again whenever. I'm 20 now and I still keep my hair long, I figured if I could lose my hair at any time then there's no way I'm going to keep a boring normal haircut! I'm actually weirdly ok with having grown up with alopecia though, it was very humbling. I understand what it feels like to look like a "monster" or a "deformity", how painful it is, and how much happiness you can bring someone by being able to look past their outward appearance and still accept them for who they are. When I was patchy, deep inside all I wanted was to be accepted. So now, in college and life in general, when I notice someone who usually keeps to themselves and also doesn't fit the "normal" description for how a person should look, I try my best to at least talk and become friends with them. Because maybe I can be the hero that they need; the hero that, as a kid, I had always wanted but never actually received. Sorry for the long post, yours inspired me to share my story I guess :).

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