Business Fit Magazine Special Editions Mother & Daughter Special Edition | Page 12

Sweden
Emily and Darina
Schartman
The Importance of Inner Beauty
This summer 10-year-old Emily Schartman from
Sweden decided to shave off all her hair and to
show solidarity with her daughter, her mother
Darina, chose to join her.
“One of my friends has cancer and she has no
hair. I didn’t want her to feel like she is alone,”
explained Emily. “And I also think you should not
judge people by their looks and that you should
see their inside first. “
Not everyone was supportive of Emily’s decision,
her grandmother warned that she would no
longer be pretty if she shaved off her hair, after
all, girls should have long hair and boys, short
hair. Still in these days, there are stereotypes for
how boys and girls should differ.
When Darina first heard about her daughter’s
decision, she thought it sounded crazy.
You should not
judge people by
their looks
“I was worried it would lead to Emily being bullied,”
she says. “We spoke about it and I warned her
it could happen, but ultimately I raised her to
be confident, to be herself, so I decided to go
through this transformation with her, it’s only
hair after all.”
This decision was not an easy one for Darina.
Having been told throughout her life she wasn’t
pretty, has a big mouth and ugly hair, finally,
having grown her hair long, she felt people would
see her differently. Two years ago, Darina started
on a road of discovery, learning that other
people cannot define you, only you can do that.
Beginning to understand that what is important
is the inner beauty and seeing the bravery in her
10-year-old daughter, she took the plunge and
together they shaved off all their hair.
whether she is a boy or a girl, while Emily finds it a
bit irritating, she doesn’t take it personally.
“Being bald was scary and tough for the first few
days,” says Darina. “But looking back, it was the
best thing that could happen to us. It taught us
a big lesson.”
Darina hopes their stand together to show that
beauty comes from within will inspire other
mothers and daughters, to love themselves for
who they are and not how they look. She believes
that to have a confident child and ensure she
feels secure, loved, happy, the mother has to
feel the same way, a confident mother builds a
confident child.
Emily’s message to other girls: “Don’t care
about what others think, be yourself, love yourself
for who you are and remember it is inside that
counts. If you are ugly on the inside, you cannot
be beautiful on the outside and if that means cut
your hair off - just do it!”
Darina’s message to other mothers: “I think we
parents need to think more about what kind of
role model we are for our kids. Do we want them
to be sacrificing their life as many of mother do
or do we want them to go for their dreams and
live a happy, healthy and wealthy life. Be proud of
yourself and your kids will be too.”
So how did they feel once it had
been done?
“To begin with I was in shock,” says Emily. “When
I saw myself in the mirror, I didn’t recognise my
reflection. It was really hard to begin with, but at
the same time it felt like a relief to have it shaved
off. And at least I don’t get any bad hair days!”
Some of her friends were supportive, while others
said they didn’t like it, asking why she did it and
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