Senior Jordan Jenison used to be familiar with the feeling of her long blonde hair falling over her shoulders, but as of Dec. 31 that quickly changed.  “Three years ago, my friend passed away from leukemia. I’ve been planning to shave [my head] but waited until the anniversary,” Jenison said.
Jenison’s friend, Isaac, was only 5 years old when he was diagnosed, and 8 when he passed.

“He developed it about a year after we moved in. He was our neighbor and we walked to school together. They found the tumor when he fell off the monkey bars,” Jenison said.
Jenison kept the plan to shave her head a secret. There was no hesitation, and despite her family’s shock after seeing her bald, she was relaxed about the whole situation.

“I set my mind to it before. It’ll grow back,” Jenison said.

Returning to school was also no big deal for Jenison. “I figured most people wouldn’t care. If they thought anything it’d be that I had cancer,” Jenison said.

Jenison donated 15 inches of her hair to Locks of Love, a public non-profit organization that provides hair pieces to people under 21 who suffer from long term hair loss due to illnesses. Though Jenison had a nonchalant attitude for the majority of the haircut, towards the end deeper feelings came through. “I wasn’t focusing on it at first, but it got emotional when she handed me my hair. Going from having hair down your back to none…it’s a weird feeling,” Jenison said.

Though it took some getting used to, Jenison has no regrets about shaving her head. “I mostly wanted to do it in memoriam, to raise awareness. It’s not necessary, but it makes people more comfortable with the situation,” Jenison said.