A heartwarming story from the state of Wisconsin where a 2nd Grader suffering from alopecia has just won the Little Miss Wisconsin pageant. We just had to look closer…
Alopecia Areata
Joslyn Larson is not your typical beauty pageant winner. The second grader from Eau Claire in Wisconsin has set an example to young girls everywhere that beauty is at least as much on the inside.
Joslyn was diagnosed with alopecia areata, two years ago. A condition that often presents as coin-sized discs, though can be more severe and certainly was in Joslyn’s case. Since then she has undergone numerous treatments but to no avail. Eventually her parents took the decision to discontinue attempts to halt the condition, on the understandable basis that they did not want to subject her to the steroids and other medications when they were proving of no value.
Headbands and hats were Joslyn’s solution. Right up until the day she came home from school and announced that she was shaving her head. “My hair was falling out anyways and I thought it was really annoying me so I shaved everything off.” Her supportive mum said “The best choice we had was to make sure she was confident, and comfortable and happy. That’s the best medicine we could give her.”
Little Miss Wisconsin
Joslyn’s can do attitude extended to entering beauty pageants, which her mum described as a positive experience building young Joslyn’s confidence and letting her meet new people. That confidence clearly made its mark on the judges at Wisconsin’s premier beauty pageant for young girls, the Little Miss Wisconsin event. Joslyn walked off with the big prize and is now looking forward to representing her state at national level when she attends the final in Orlando, Florida later this year.
Her proud parents were of course delighted, in the words of her father, Jake Larson “I’m not much of a crier but I teared up a little bit last night when I saw her get crowned and the sash and all of that and yes, I’m just a proud daddy.”
HIS Hair Clinic
We will be rooting for Joslyn in the summer and hoping she walks off with the national title too, that would surely see plenty of positive headlines. Joslyn herself has expressed a desire to partner with people who support those with alopecia… to share her story of confidence carrying her though, “Because if you’re not (confident), then you’ll be just scared of everything.” As Joslyn puts it “I want to help people because I feel like that’s a good thing to do. I want people to live.”
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