Photo: Lindsay Walter/InstagramLindsay Walterwanted to share her news.The run coach and writer from Charlotte, N.C., had just completed her 52nd marathon in London. She posted a race photo onTwitterin front of the iconic Big Ben, and most of her followers congratulated her on the accomplishment. But one person left a rude and insulting message: ‘you look like a sick, ugly man." She immediately took down her photo.Walter, 32, has alopecia, an immune system disease that attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss. She’s been living with the condition since she was 2 years old. “As soon as I started preschool, I wore a wig,” she tells PEOPLE. “I was so self-conscious, and kids were terrible. They would call me a boy, or say that I was ugly. It was hard to hear. That’s why that comment on my photo was so triggering.“After some thought, Walter decided to take back her power. She reposted the photo along with the comment she had received:“I was so proud of my effort at the@LondonMarathonbut then someone commented that ‘you look like a sick, ugly man,'” she captioned the photo. “In that moment I felt so defeated so deleted it. But now no. I am not letting the negativity of others win.“The response on social media was swift. Several thousand people expressed their support for Walter.Although she is secure in her identity now, it’s been a long journey toward self-acceptance. “My whole life I just wanted to fit in and be like my peers,” she says. “I allowed kids to bully me. I didn’t have the confidence to stand up for myself or even tell teachers because I was so ashamed and embarrassed of it.“Even in college she hid her truth from the world, wearing a wig to play basketball for the University of Minnesota, Duluth. “I used double-sided tape when playing, and at halftime I would have to take it off and dry off my head because I would be so sweaty,” she says. “There would be 3 minutes left before playing started and I would be be stressing to readjust my wig so it wouldn’t cut open my head and blister it.“But despite the difficulty, she kept wearing her wig. “It was security for me. I was so fearful of people not liking me when they found out that I was wearing a wig, I did everything I could to hide the secret.“She wore it for her first marathon, Grandma’s Marathon, during her senior year. “Once I started to run marathons more regularly, I really started to gain confidence in myself,” she says. “I loved the feeling that running gave to me. It helped me accept my reality. It made me realize that my hair was not coming back, and I needed to take control of that instead of letting it control me like it had for 20 years.“In 2016, she ran her first marathon without a wig — and she has never looked back. “Living my life wig-free, I feel the most like me,” she says. “I feel the most confident without it.“Running as her true self has also allowed for special moments, like when she was running the Berlin Marathon and saw a little boy with alopecia from the side of the course.“When you have alopecia, you know when someone else has it” she says. “I could see him looking at me. And he had the biggest smile on his face. We locked eyes in that moment and then he took his hat off and called my name, which was on my bib. It was just this incredible moment — I was meant to be there.“Being an inspiration to young people is now a priority for Walter, who started a pen pal program for kids and teens with alopecia calledLindsay’s Little Pals. “I want to be that resource, to be able to say to someone: I know what you’re going through, I’ve been there.“She notes that the lack of social media when she was growing up made it difficult to connect with other kids who looked like her. “It was isolating and lonely because no one knew what I was going through,” she says. “If I had just known someone else like me, it would’ve made a world of difference.“Now she continues to advocate for people with alopecia on social media, where she tries to share as much information as possible to educate and inform others.She says she is often mistaken for a cancer patient. “People come up to me all the time, especially at races, and are like, ‘Wow, you’re so brave. Going through chemo and trying to run this marathon, just try your best!’ I just hate that people assume that, but then it also makes me feel self-conscious, like, oh, do I look like I’m sick?“She continues: “I know the majority of people mean well and are coming from a place of love, but I think at times it definitely crosses a line.“Overall, Walter is grateful to be at place in her life where she is healthy, happy and able to run as her true self.“We choose our attitude,” she says. “Alopecia happened to me and I spent many years feeling so sad and isolated, and now I’ve turned it into a positive thing. Now it really has transpired into this incredible blessing.”
Photo: Lindsay Walter/Instagram
Lindsay Walterwanted to share her news.The run coach and writer from Charlotte, N.C., had just completed her 52nd marathon in London. She posted a race photo onTwitterin front of the iconic Big Ben, and most of her followers congratulated her on the accomplishment. But one person left a rude and insulting message: ‘you look like a sick, ugly man.” She immediately took down her photo.Walter, 32, has alopecia, an immune system disease that attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss. She’s been living with the condition since she was 2 years old. “As soon as I started preschool, I wore a wig,” she tells PEOPLE. “I was so self-conscious, and kids were terrible. They would call me a boy, or say that I was ugly. It was hard to hear. That’s why that comment on my photo was so triggering.“After some thought, Walter decided to take back her power. She reposted the photo along with the comment she had received:“I was so proud of my effort at the@LondonMarathonbut then someone commented that ‘you look like a sick, ugly man,'” she captioned the photo. “In that moment I felt so defeated so deleted it. But now no. I am not letting the negativity of others win.“The response on social media was swift. Several thousand people expressed their support for Walter.Although she is secure in her identity now, it’s been a long journey toward self-acceptance. “My whole life I just wanted to fit in and be like my peers,” she says. “I allowed kids to bully me. I didn’t have the confidence to stand up for myself or even tell teachers because I was so ashamed and embarrassed of it.“Even in college she hid her truth from the world, wearing a wig to play basketball for the University of Minnesota, Duluth. “I used double-sided tape when playing, and at halftime I would have to take it off and dry off my head because I would be so sweaty,” she says. “There would be 3 minutes left before playing started and I would be be stressing to readjust my wig so it wouldn’t cut open my head and blister it.“But despite the difficulty, she kept wearing her wig. “It was security for me. I was so fearful of people not liking me when they found out that I was wearing a wig, I did everything I could to hide the secret.“She wore it for her first marathon, Grandma’s Marathon, during her senior year. “Once I started to run marathons more regularly, I really started to gain confidence in myself,” she says. “I loved the feeling that running gave to me. It helped me accept my reality. It made me realize that my hair was not coming back, and I needed to take control of that instead of letting it control me like it had for 20 years.“In 2016, she ran her first marathon without a wig — and she has never looked back. “Living my life wig-free, I feel the most like me,” she says. “I feel the most confident without it.“Running as her true self has also allowed for special moments, like when she was running the Berlin Marathon and saw a little boy with alopecia from the side of the course.“When you have alopecia, you know when someone else has it” she says. “I could see him looking at me. And he had the biggest smile on his face. We locked eyes in that moment and then he took his hat off and called my name, which was on my bib. It was just this incredible moment — I was meant to be there.“Being an inspiration to young people is now a priority for Walter, who started a pen pal program for kids and teens with alopecia calledLindsay’s Little Pals. “I want to be that resource, to be able to say to someone: I know what you’re going through, I’ve been there.“She notes that the lack of social media when she was growing up made it difficult to connect with other kids who looked like her. “It was isolating and lonely because no one knew what I was going through,” she says. “If I had just known someone else like me, it would’ve made a world of difference.“Now she continues to advocate for people with alopecia on social media, where she tries to share as much information as possible to educate and inform others.She says she is often mistaken for a cancer patient. “People come up to me all the time, especially at races, and are like, ‘Wow, you’re so brave. Going through chemo and trying to run this marathon, just try your best!’ I just hate that people assume that, but then it also makes me feel self-conscious, like, oh, do I look like I’m sick?“She continues: “I know the majority of people mean well and are coming from a place of love, but I think at times it definitely crosses a line.“Overall, Walter is grateful to be at place in her life where she is healthy, happy and able to run as her true self.“We choose our attitude,” she says. “Alopecia happened to me and I spent many years feeling so sad and isolated, and now I’ve turned it into a positive thing. Now it really has transpired into this incredible blessing.”
Lindsay Walterwanted to share her news.
The run coach and writer from Charlotte, N.C., had just completed her 52nd marathon in London. She posted a race photo onTwitterin front of the iconic Big Ben, and most of her followers congratulated her on the accomplishment. But one person left a rude and insulting message: ‘you look like a sick, ugly man.” She immediately took down her photo.
Walter, 32, has alopecia, an immune system disease that attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss. She’s been living with the condition since she was 2 years old. “As soon as I started preschool, I wore a wig,” she tells PEOPLE. “I was so self-conscious, and kids were terrible. They would call me a boy, or say that I was ugly. It was hard to hear. That’s why that comment on my photo was so triggering.”
After some thought, Walter decided to take back her power. She reposted the photo along with the comment she had received:
“I was so proud of my effort at the@LondonMarathonbut then someone commented that ‘you look like a sick, ugly man,'” she captioned the photo. “In that moment I felt so defeated so deleted it. But now no. I am not letting the negativity of others win.”
The response on social media was swift. Several thousand people expressed their support for Walter.
Although she is secure in her identity now, it’s been a long journey toward self-acceptance. “My whole life I just wanted to fit in and be like my peers,” she says. “I allowed kids to bully me. I didn’t have the confidence to stand up for myself or even tell teachers because I was so ashamed and embarrassed of it.”
Even in college she hid her truth from the world, wearing a wig to play basketball for the University of Minnesota, Duluth. “I used double-sided tape when playing, and at halftime I would have to take it off and dry off my head because I would be so sweaty,” she says. “There would be 3 minutes left before playing started and I would be be stressing to readjust my wig so it wouldn’t cut open my head and blister it.”
But despite the difficulty, she kept wearing her wig. “It was security for me. I was so fearful of people not liking me when they found out that I was wearing a wig, I did everything I could to hide the secret.”
She wore it for her first marathon, Grandma’s Marathon, during her senior year. “Once I started to run marathons more regularly, I really started to gain confidence in myself,” she says. “I loved the feeling that running gave to me. It helped me accept my reality. It made me realize that my hair was not coming back, and I needed to take control of that instead of letting it control me like it had for 20 years.”
In 2016, she ran her first marathon without a wig — and she has never looked back. “Living my life wig-free, I feel the most like me,” she says. “I feel the most confident without it.”
Running as her true self has also allowed for special moments, like when she was running the Berlin Marathon and saw a little boy with alopecia from the side of the course.
“When you have alopecia, you know when someone else has it” she says. “I could see him looking at me. And he had the biggest smile on his face. We locked eyes in that moment and then he took his hat off and called my name, which was on my bib. It was just this incredible moment — I was meant to be there.”
Being an inspiration to young people is now a priority for Walter, who started a pen pal program for kids and teens with alopecia calledLindsay’s Little Pals. “I want to be that resource, to be able to say to someone: I know what you’re going through, I’ve been there.”
She notes that the lack of social media when she was growing up made it difficult to connect with other kids who looked like her. “It was isolating and lonely because no one knew what I was going through,” she says. “If I had just known someone else like me, it would’ve made a world of difference.”
Now she continues to advocate for people with alopecia on social media, where she tries to share as much information as possible to educate and inform others.
She says she is often mistaken for a cancer patient. “People come up to me all the time, especially at races, and are like, ‘Wow, you’re so brave. Going through chemo and trying to run this marathon, just try your best!’ I just hate that people assume that, but then it also makes me feel self-conscious, like, oh, do I look like I’m sick?”
She continues: “I know the majority of people mean well and are coming from a place of love, but I think at times it definitely crosses a line.”
Overall, Walter is grateful to be at place in her life where she is healthy, happy and able to run as her true self.
“We choose our attitude,” she says. “Alopecia happened to me and I spent many years feeling so sad and isolated, and now I’ve turned it into a positive thing. Now it really has transpired into this incredible blessing.”
source: people.com
