My Movember: Enlightening, educational and…?

If you read my blog post “Save the testes, not just the ta-tas,” I was really gung-ho about the whole movement. I shave my face and then grow a mustache (“mo”). Pretty simple. The act of shaving and growin’ said mustache would spark a conversation about raising awareness for men’s health.

Once again, fairly simple and straight forward…right?

Nope.

I didn’t account for the shaving aftermath. Apparently my “baby face” didn’t like the “no facial hair” thing. I shaved my face and for approximately 7-10 days afterward, my face made me a lil’ miserable. It was irritated, sensitive and frankly, looked horrible.

I felt like a teenager back in high school. While a stroll down memory lane is always entertaining, my visit to the teenage acne-driven time of my life was not the least bit fun.

*Sigh.*

Needless to say, my plans to grow a “mo” and not my traditional goatee sort of went out the door. I’m all for spreading the good word and supporting the Movember movement in any way I can, but growing a mustache just wasn’t in the cards for me.

But I digress.

My intention of joining the Movember movement was to raise awareness. I think I accomplished my goal on a small level. I was able to spark the conversation numerous times with different walks of life. I was at least able to raise a few eyebrows with some of the more astonishing stats about men and our health.

I shared my thoughts here on Scrubs, as well as my personal blog and numerous social media outlets. Everyone from family, friends and colleagues asked about my “mustache thingy.” The conversations, of course, started out comical with them poking fun at my lack of mustache growing skills and my baby face. But eventually, I got to share the Movember story.

And while I don’t think I’ve moved worlds, I managed to stir a few embers in the fire. I’m a true believer in the concept that small steps influence big change.

One ripple at a time on the pond.