S4E11 Lizzo & a Little Bit of Glitter - What Else Does it Take to Decide, This is the Day? with Natalie Diasti

Welcome to this first Alopecia Life episode of 2023. Today, our guest is Natalie Diasti. We talk about one bold experience that many of us have already gone through, and one that so many others are still wanting to have, but just don't quite know how. The first time we choose to publicly be out in the world without anything on our head. The questions of, "What will people think?" or "How will they respond?" are all still there, but so is the perfect timing that sometimes calls to each of us. That moment that says, "If I don't do it now, I might never do it at all." This interview was filled with the realness of the moments of preparing to go out. The doubts that creep in, and that twist of emotions that builds that we are all so familiar with when learning to walk in the world in this new way. I'm so thankful Natalie chose to share her experience here with all of us on Alopecia Life today.*More from Natalie - "Hello there! “MOM!” is what my kids call me, but you can call me Natalie. I am an artist and a writer living in beautiful Tampa, Florida. I enjoy photographing nature, laughing with my improv friends and movie nights with my family. I love a good adventure just as much as I love some good snacks in bed with Netflix. I am what I call, the “back row kid.” In a stadium full of people, I have always loved to slink my way into the back row, unseen, and observe. Being a six foot tall woman has not made my “blend in with the crowd” lifestyle very easy. Now I am a bald, six foot tall woman and pretty much forced to get out there and not be ashamed or embarrassed of who I truly am. Throughout my alopecia journey I have often heard myself say, “this is not ME.” It’s true, being bald is not me, but being bold IS and I am slowly learning how to move myself from the back row to the stage. Being bald does not define me. Being bold does. Funny how becoming bald has reminded me who I truly am and forced me to come out of my shell. I always try to find the silver lining in things and alopecia has made that rather hard. Negatives aside, I have learned that I don’t need hair. I may want it, but I don’t need it. No one does. Unless you live in the Arctic, then you would benefit from it. I am more than hair. You are more than hair. Looks do not define me. My actions, the way I treat others, my attitude, my heart and the way I live my life defines me. My hope is to take a bad situation, toss some glitter on it and brighten someone else’s dark day. My Instagram is nellid11 and I would love to connect with you."After listening to this interview, I think we can all agree that sometimes it's not a one and done experience. It's a personalized process that each of us gets to decide on, without pressure from our co-workers, best friends, or family. It's completely up to us in our own time. I've heard thousands of stories of these first moments, and each of them is so special even if it didn't turn out the way we had hoped. I remember the first time I said to myself, "It's gotta be now." I was actually driving down to California to the NAAF conference with my daughter, my sister, and my mom. It was the first time anyone would be seeing my newly published book, Head-On, Stories of Alopecia. I did feel a sense of accountability... Support the showAlopecia Life provides free resources for school and home education, including a growing list of alopecia books, education videos on YouTube, links to support groups within the US, UK, Canada and more. You will also find access to Head-On, Stories of Alopecia, the Alopecia 101 free course, paid Alopecia Roadmap course for parents of children living with alopecia, and personalized coaching. Together, we can make a difference. To find out more, https://www.alopecialife.com/