Pink for a Purpose

I’ve always enjoyed being just a little bit edgy. I’m the one in my family who had orange hair that was cut asymmetrically back in high school. Now, the orange part was on accident. Still, I had it.

I love big jewelry and boots that stand out. And everyone who knows me knows that I am anything but quiet and in the background. I want to be in the limelight. I crave attention.

And yet, when I’m at work, I dress conservatively, I am soft spoken, and I try to be as anti-edgy as possible. Because even though I love to make a statement, work is typically not the place to do so.

Thus, since I’ve reached adulthood, I have always been conscious of doing anything even semi-permanent to my body for fear of looking inappropriate at work. I would never triple pierce my ears or spike my hair or even don a fake tattoo. I work hard at keeping my professional persona very mainstream.

Yesterday I was at the salon getting my roots touched up (okay, yes, I have grey hairs) when I began noticing that all of the employees had streaks of pink in their hair. At first, I thought it was some new fad from which I needed to stay away. Then, I saw the signs that advertised going pink to help breast cancer. Every time a customer had a pink hair extension put in, the salon would donate the proceeds to the Susan G. Koman Foundation. Suddenly it hit me! This was a chance for me to be edgy and feel okay about it, even at work! I could go pink for a purpose and people would actually think it was acceptable because I was doing it to help others!

The more I thought about the whole endeavor, the more I realized that this could also be a chance for my daughters and me to do something together that was both fun and worthwhile. So, later that day, , I brought my girls to the salon and each of us had one pink streak put in our hair. On the drive home, each of us felt just a little bit chic with our new-found color. And, we felt great about the important donation we had just made.

Today at both work and school, the comments the three of us received were incredible. In fact, many people we spoke with are now planning on getting a pink streak themselves.

Hopefully breast cancer awareness and donations will continue to multiply quickly so that soon, there will be a cure, or even a prevention for this deadly disease. If my pink streak can prompt even one person to make a donation, then my pink really has fulfilled its purpose.

For now, my daughters and I are enjoying being just a little bit edgy. In fact, I think the matching streaks are bringing us even closer together. I suppose the pink has actually had more than one really important purpose!

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by Sharon Dunski Vermont