I have done this once. And while I will say that it was a great feeling to be able to donate something like that (I even got to see the wig that they made out of it), I will
never do it again. I was about 3 - 4 months into 19 when I did it, I'm 23 now and it has basically just reached the length it was 4 years ago. But, it needs a trim yet, and then another 5 - 6 inches. So in the end, I'm putting money on a full 5 years growing it back. I donated FIVE YEARS worth of hair, and I'm done. Lol.
Now, I actually don't have a picture that shows how long my hair was.... BUT it was/is about your length. All the pictures I have from that era are headshots, and the hair falls out of the frame, but this is a decent enough before:
And this is actually 3 - 4 months after I cut it:
I pretty much shaved the damn thing. But, this 'do' was in-style back then, or else I would have gone with the length you chose I imagine.
ANYWAY, I'm really proud of you is what I'm trying to say - I know all too well how much guts this takes to do. And how painful that "snip" is. To be honest, I was high when I did it, and when I snipped the ponytail I cut my finger. So for me it was like, super painful.
Go Lynlee!!