PERSONAL ADVICE beyondthespotlight By Megan Alexander MISS INDIANA 2008 MEGAN MEADORS HAIR TODAY GONE TOMORROW: Indianapolis Colts mascot Blue sent out a chal- lenge to the team’s cheerleaders on Twitter stating that if he could raise $10,000 for can- cer research, one cheerleader must undergo the razor and lose her hair. Megan accept- ed the challenge. Bald is Beautiful Indianapolis Colts cheerleader and former Miss Indiana Megan Meadors sacrificed her hair to honor her coach and raise national awareness for cancer research and leukemia 146 PAGEANTRY egan Meadors decided to go where few NFL cheerleaders and pageant Queens have gone before when she shaved off all of her hair. The Indianapo- lis Colts mascot, Blue, came up with a challenge— find a cheerleader who would shave her head to raise money for Cancer Research. It was a fitting tribute to the franchise’s leader, as Indianapolis Coach Chuck Pagano was just diagnosed with Leukemia in September. After thinking about it and talking with her family, Megan agreed to do it. On the day Megan was supposed to shave her head, she was nervous, but excited. And a big surprise was waiting for her. Fellow Colts cheerleader Crystal Ann Belen decided to take the plunge, too, and go bald in solidarity with Megan’s sacrifice. Now, two beau- tiful cheerleaders were going to shave their heads for cancer research. In a world that values appearance and looks, I asked Megan if family and friends tried to talk her out of it. She said no. Her sup- portive boyfriend told her, “When will you be able to make such a difference again? Your hair will grow back. You should do this!” And so Megan did. As the Colts mascot prepared to shave her head after the third quarter of a November 25th game against the Buffalo Bills, the crowd went wild with support. Megan said that as she sat down and Blue began to shave, she actually didn’t watch. She knew she was up on the jumbotron, but she didn’t want to see herself until she was back in the privacy of the locker room. Watching the video later, she laughed because Blue started shaving her head right down the mid- dle, so she looked pretty goofy for the first few minutes. Now a bald and beautiful cheerleader, Megan says there are ad- vantages to shaving her head—she can get ready for her day in 10 M