Lots of Locks
Friday, March 9, 2007
Hail, hail, the gang’s all sheared.
Three students and two teachers at Emporia Middle School had their hair cut for Locks of Love on Thursday morning. Each surrendered a 10- to 12-inch ponytail, to be used in wigs for financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.
Teacher Sunnin Keosybounheuang, who organized the hair-razing event, held her breath for a moment as the scissors went to work. As soon as they were done, her hand went up to her shortened locks.
“Feel your hair,” she asked one of the students, 13-year-old Trisha Stockton. “Does it feel weird?”
“It does!” said Trisha, who last had her hair cut in the third grade.
Keosybounheuang teaches seventh- and eighth-grade health. The subject of Locks of Love came up as part of a discussion of cancer during a unit on aging.
“We also do a community service unit, so this is a way to contribute to something,” she said.
Her sister had contributed to Locks of Love, she added, but this was the first time her own hair had ever been long enough.
“I’ve talked about it a lot,” Keosybounheuang said, grinning. “I think that’s my therapy.”
The others getting un-locked were teacher Amanda Hendry and 13-year-old students Brisa Waechter and Savanah Benson. Savanah said she had also done this last year, but that it took some time to get used to having shorter hair.
“It took a little while, about a month,” she said.
Brisa postponed a planned Christmas-season haircut when she found out about the Locks of Love event. Even after the cut, her hair still came partway down her shoulder blades.
“She’s been waiting and waiting to have it done,” said her mother, Tresa Peterson-Johnson.” She’d tell me, ‘It’s one week’ or ‘It’s one day.’ We were in countdown mode.”
“I was really excited this morning,” Waechter said.
Keosybounheuang said she’d like to do this again sometime.
“As soon as my hair is long enough,” she said. “It may be a while, though.”