My Story: Alanna Powell, President & Founder of Boldly Me
by Rayne Adams-Hart on May 30, 2013
I have had alopecia aereata and universalis, starting at 2 years old. The first 20 years of my life, I lived and coped with the disease by staying isolated from the world. My parents always feared people’s reactions to my baldness and felt the societal skepticism, criticism, and rejection would be too devastating for me to handle.
The second half of my life, after 22, I broke free of that mindset and challenged it, graduating from college and becoming an electrical engineer.
Moving away from my parent’s home was extremely therapeutic and forced me to face my disease, accept myself, and then tell my closest friends whom I had known for most of my life. A couple years later, I met my husband- a wonderful, loving man who has accepted, embraced, and encouraged me to be Boldly Bald.
When I told him I was bald, he thought it was very cool, and wanted me to take off my wig so he could feel my head.
We have been married for almost 13 years now, and he is still cheering me on to be open with my disease and help change the world so female baldness is socially accepted. We have 3 beautiful children who love their bald mommy unconditionally.
There is a happy life out there for everyone, no matter what your difference is. The first step is to love yourself, care for yourself, and celebrate your beauty–inside and out. Then others will too.
My Story is a series where people with physical differences share their personal story or experiences to validate and inspire others.
Alanna Powell is the Founder and President of Boldly Me, and so has plenty of reason and opportunity to share how she remains Boldly Herself everyday! Having Alopecia Universalis since she was a child, Alanna knows what it’s like to be different from others around her; her friends, her peers, and even her family. But being different doesn’t stop her; it just furthers her motivation to be Bold in every way possible! This is Alanna’s story:
Alanna Powell is a survivor of Alopecia Universalis for most of her life of 40 years. She has had Alopecia since she was 2 years old and has had to learn coping mechanisms to help her transcend the disease so she could pursue her life goals of marriage, career, and children. She is currently reaching her goals through being the president and founder of Boldly Me, and living with her husband and 3 children in Fremont. She hopes that through Boldly Me, others my share her strength and vision to love themselves for who they are, to set themselves free, and relax.
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