The life of a child can be a blur, quickly moving from toy to toy, new adventure to new adventure.
***Embargo Salt Lake City***
After growing his hair out for over two years, 8-year-old Tate Morgan (center) cut his locks on Feb. 16, 2018, so his hair could benefit children with cancer
In all of just a few short minutes on any given day, 8-year-old Tate Morgan may jump from his Pokemon card collection to his larger-than-life tiger head to his Batman and Spiderman action figures.
That frenetic pace may make his patience and determination about his hair that much more noteworthy.
Tate’s had been growing his hair for more than a quarter of his young life. The last haircut came Dec. 24, 2015.
“He’s like, ‘Mom, I don’t want to do it, I don’t want to cut my hair,’” Tate’s mother, Kassandra Morgan, said. “I was like, ‘Why?’ He’s like, ‘I don’t know. I want to do something good with it.’”
Since then, the boy has skipped regular haircuts in favor of unbridled growth. On Friday, his hair extended well below his shoulders.
“Every time I go to a new school with long hair, they call me a girl,” Tate exclaimed. “I’m a boy!”
To him, the questions and looks had been worth it. His long hair had a purpose.
Tate had planned for over two years to donate his hair, so another child with cancer could benefit from it.
Friday afternoon, he and his mom drove to Orem and walked into Cookie Cutters, a salon off of University Parkway that caters to children.
Stylist Tyra Eckersell gathered Tate’s strands into a ponytail and handed the scissors to his mom.
In a few short snips, the long hair was gone.
“Can I say, ‘Bye,’ to my hair?” the boy asked, kissing the ponytail.
Mom beamed.
“I half want to cry, but I’m half excited,” Tate’s mom said. “I’m so happy. I’m proud of him.”
The mother said the hair was being donated to Children With Hair Loss.
Eckersell said this was the first time she had seen a boy grow his hair long and donate it.
“I just love how little kids have the biggest hearts,” Eckersell said. “They just want to give.”
Tate danced as he looked in the mirror. He was happy with his new hairstyle that was short on the sides and up in front.
“Because I just love helping people,” he exclaimed.
Tate and his mom were happy two years of determination were going to help someone else.
“I’m speechless,” Tate’s mom said. “I can’t stop looking at him!”
