"Redefine Beauty"

Watch the quick video below please :)

http://youtu.be/Ei6JvK0W60I

One of the reasons I am willing to take this bold step is to “redefine beauty.”

And this is why…

I was loved even before I was born. When I came out of my mom, a slimy, purple, ball of tears… she thought I was beautiful. I was beautiful because I was alive!  I grew up in a supportive, loving family - - I felt beautiful!

But somewhere around 6^th grade my hairy legs and arms, acne, and “chubby” body, I lost that feeling of beauty. I felt like a hair, fat, pimple-face - - and I felt ugly.

I was influenced by magazines, TV shows, celebrities, and even infomercials. My friends were also influenced and we became great at judging ourselves and each other. Those magazines we loved to read… first they told us consciously and unconsciously that we weren’t good enough… then they took it to a new level and told us how to “fix” those “problem-areas.” How to “fix” myself.   

It took a long time to realize that, “this is who I am.” A lady at church who could tell that I was struggling told me once, “If you just focus on yourself, and stop worrying about what other people think - - they will like you.”

The pressure on women to look perfect is at an all-time high. I am a volunteer for a program called BeYOUtiful and I work with middle school girls. We meet once a month and analyze and destroy lies that are planted in young girls minds. True beauty starts on the inside and radiates to the outside.

Girls often think that, “If I could find a boyfriend to love me… then I would be complete.” Or, “If I could just not eat and lose ten more pounds… then I would look beautiful.” Those are LIES. I believe that our lives are like puzzles. ALL of the pieces are THERE, right inside the box. Of course we have to put the pieces together, it can be fun & sometimes challenging… but point of the story, the puzzle is complete we need to stop looking to the media for missing pieces.

I’m not afraid to shave my head because I am complete. I was created by God and am beautifully and wonderfully made on the inside and out.

My hair doesn’t make me beautiful. My Creator made me beautiful. I’m not trying to make a new definition of beauty… I just want to get back to the original.  J

Confident in Christ,

~Angela Louise Paris

The women below are all BeYOUtiful volunteers & so inspiring to me! They give and give and give some more. They are all truly beautiful!

And of course I'll add a picture of my sweet nieces who are still happy & healthy :)

And above is Gwen. She is my newest BeYOUtiful student and is so inspiring to me! Because of 5 Star & BeYOUtiful she is taking huge steps in her life & blossoming into a true leader. <3

GOAL SURPASSED!

Late last week we not only reached my $1,000 goal... but we passed it! Right now approximately $1,200 has been raised, "on my head!" Great job!!! I couldn't be prouder of my family and friends! Friends of friends and even strangers in the salon have given and I am so thankful for their sacrifice! This money goes towards finding a cure for children's cancer... a disease that could affect any family anywhere. THANK YOU SO MUCH! WOOOO! Praise God!! :-)

I am proud to say...

...that so far, as a team we have raised $650 dollars! I am so proud to have the friends and family that I do that are so generous! People I don't even know have donated!! :)

All of the money raised goes to the St. Baldrick's Foundation (www.stbaldricks.org). This is an organization that started in 2000 when 3 reinsurance executives decided they wanted to turn their annual St. Patty's Day party into a benefit to raise money for children's cancer research. Their goal was to raise "$17,000 on the 17th" and they ended up raising over $104,000!  The movement quickly grew into the world’s largest volunteer-driven fundraising program for childhood cancer research, and today the St. Baldrick's Foundation funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government. 

Since 2000, more than 147,000 volunteers -- including over 12,000 women -- have shaved in solidarity with children with cancer at events in dozens of countries and every U.S. state. Thanks to generous friends and family, these shavees have raised over $90 million for life-saving research, and each is a walking billboard for the cause!

We are making an impact!! :) My goal is $1,000... and Notre Dame's goal is $60,000 this year!

One of every five children diagnosed with cancer will not survive. Thousands of children are diagnosed with cancer each year, and though the number of children who are cured is greater than it was 20 years ago, the loss of one child is one too many. Every child should be able to live a full and healthy life. Every child has a dream - big or small, simple or spectacular.  But too many dreams have been compromised in the lives of kids with cancer.  Some kids are forced to find new dreams, while others' dreams are lost during a battle with cancer.

Passionately!

~Angie

Shaving my head in T-minus...

21 days!!

I am SO excited!

Tonight I'm packing my warmest clothes, shoes galore, nail polish, pens, paper, & my bible for the 1st Annual BeYOUtiful Retreat. The theme for the weekend is, "Broken to Beautiful."  I am so excited to spend time with 30 middle school girls that want to learn about true beauty. And the truth is that beauty starts on the inside and transforms the outside. I can't wait to see what God has planned! Keep us in you prayers this weekend... cabins with limited heat, muddy trails, & CRAZY campers = sure to be an EPIC weekend! :)

I wonder how the girls will react when my head gets shaved in 35 days? How their perception of beauty will change or stay the same? Only time will tell :) I can't wait!

Love & Blessings,

Angie

If 100 People Donate 10 Dollars

My goal is to raise $1,000 for St. Baldrick's Foundation this year. That is a big amount to raise, but I know that every penny counts towards life-saving research. I need to make a plan to raise that money.
 
I think that the best goal I can make to raise that money is to get 100 people to donate $10.

So please, if you can... donate $10. If you donate online, email me (alparis89@aol.com) so I can keep track of where we are at in the goal of 1,000 smackeroos for St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Notre Dame's ultimate goal is $60,000.

Who is going to be the first to donate $10??

https://sites.google.com/a/nd.edu/ndclass12/donate


You ROCK!

Angie

Why I am shaving my head (Part 1)

There are so many reasons that I want to shave my head... but a big one is to raise awareness of children's cancer.

• Cancer is the #1 disease killer of children in the U.S. and Canada

• Worldwide 160,000 kids are diagnosed with cancer each year

• Every 3½ minutes a child is diagnosed with cancer

• One in five children diagnosed with cancer will not survive

• Two thirds of childhood cancer patients will have a long lasting chronic condition from the very treatment that helped save their lives

Pictured above are my nieces Kailyne & Gabrielle & I on the 4th of July of 2010. The are both healthy on the inside and out. Their beautiful smiles and open hearts melt my heart every time. They live about 1,000 miles away from me in Lawton, OK. Since they live so far away, we don't get to play together very often... but I am so happy they are healthy & can to do whatever it is they dream of. Kailyne, 6 years old, is growing her gorgeous blonde hair out right now to donate to Locks of Love. Gabrielle actually has a friend in kindergarden that is fighting cancer.

While I'm blessed to have healthy nieces... not everyone does. The statistics above are terrifying and need to change. As I go to bed tonight my heart is heavy for all of the moms & dads, aunts & uncles, and brothers & sisters of kids that have been lost to cancer. But as I think of their lives I realize that God had His hand on their lives. James 1:17 says that, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." And then I can't help but think of Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." And while I believe these verses with my whole self, I pray that these kids can be spared if there is any way. And I pray for a break-through for the doctors and the researchers who are desperately trying to find a cure.

Passionately, Angie