Next, Read the Story (Part 2) August 28, 2009

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...and joined Liberty League International--a community of people dedicated to helping each other overcome limitations and achieve the best life has to offer.

It was because of them that I began working on my list of 101 things I wanted to do before I die. Shaving my head was on the list, but I thought I would have to go away on a Caribbean island for a few months so that no one would know. I still didn't have the courage to just do it on my own.

Then, as often happens in life, several things happened at once to bring everything to a head.

Several weeks ago, I was struggling with some fears about other things in my life and crying to my friend Aisza on the phone. I mentioned how I had always wanted to shave my head but was too afraid, and she encouraged me to do it as a sign of freedom from my fear. I told her I'd think about it.

Then, a friend of mine found out that her 11 year old son has Hodgkin's disease--a form of cancer that is nearly 100% curable with chemotherapy. The downside? He will lose all his hair.

Then, I happened to catch an old movie on TV called Life-Size, starring Tyra Banks. Though I had seen her briefly on TV, I had never really looked at her before, and for the first time, I noticed how incredibly beautiful she is. So I did some research and found that she shaves her head and wears a wig. She became my new hero.

The "final straw," though--the thing that really made it "now or never"--was my Sacrament meeting talk. You see, in my church, there is no paid clergy, though we do have people who are chosen (like voted in) to run things for periods of time. One Sunday a month, it's basically like an open mike and any one can come up and say what's in their heart. For the rest of the Sundays the leaders ask people in advance to give a talk, usually about 10-20 minutes in length. Most of the time, they are given a specific topic, but in my case, I wasn't give one. (Well, he asked me to speak about a month in advance and then called me on Thursday to tell me the topic--"Too late," I told him...I had already written it!)

Anyway, since I had been dealing with fears in other areas of my life and the topic was on my mind, I decided that's what I would talk about in church (i.e. if you really had faith, you would have no fear).

Then it occurred to me--if I DIDN'T shave my head before my talk, I would be a hypocrite standing up there at the pulpit. I had to do it.

And that's the story. If you'd like to read the talk that I gave at church, click here.