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kastababy

46, Female

Nashville, TN

United States

Profile Information:

Relationship Status:: Single
About Me:: I'm a walking contradiction -- I'm peacefully violent, a popular nerd, wickedly innocent, and loudly quiet...in other words, I know how to make myself stand out in a crowd. I have an opinion about everything, and have an endless thirst for knowledge. One of these days I'm going to take over the world, but I have yet to come up with what I want to do when I get that small task completed. (That, and I haven't found a good sidekick yet to drive the getaway car!) I have decided that this year is the year that I start writing more in the hopes that I finally get a story published!!! Now that Barack Obama has been elected President, I'm content to stay in the good old USA for a little while longer, although I still have my escape plan to Canada in a secure location in case things change. I'm political, controversial, well-read, stubborn, opinionated, and determined to make an impact on the world, and maybe leave it a little bit better than it was when I entered it. I'm always updating and changing things, so keep checking out my page often!

About my alopecia: I was bald as a baby, and my hair didn't really grow in until I was about 2 years old, so it's impossible to say if I had alopecia then or not. However, after my hair did grow in, my mother noticed two bald spots when I was 4 years old. One was the size of a dime, the other was the size of a quarter. When she realized that I wasn't cutting plugs out of my hair and it wasn't coming out on my pillow or in the hairbrush, that was when we started going to the doctors. I wasn't officially diagnosed with alopecia areata until I was 6 years old; by that time, I was in the 3rd grade and totally bald. I stayed that way, albeit with brief periods of partial regrowth, until I reached high school. My hair started falling out again when I was a freshman in undergrad, and it has been persistent AA with brief periods of AT and AU. It's been that way ever since.

As a child, I was very comfortable with being bald, because I had two parents and a grandmother that went above and beyond to make me comfortable with myself and stress to me continually that I was beautiful inside and that being beautiful inside would translate to being beautiful outside; perhaps it is because of this that I have become somewhat of an overachiever -- not only do I have to be successful at whatever I do, but I have to excel in it. However, as an adult, the blind confidence bordering on arrogance that was so much a part of me has gradually disintegrated. I have become less sure of myself and depressed at times because I have felt the hurt and rejection that comes with not being appealing to most men. I have lashed out at the people who have supported me the most, because I feel sometimes that I was misled into believing that at some point I would outgrow alopecia, but like Krazy Glue alopecia is stuck to me and won't let go, and that fact has been more crushing than anything I have felt in a long time.

After nearly 3 years living and working in Atlanta, GA and Memphis, TN, I returned to my hometown of Nashville, TN in September 2008. Living away from home completely on my own really forced me to become more independent than I ever would be had I remained in Nashville. It has also enabled me to view alopecia with new eyes that haven't been colored by the opinions of my friends and family closest to me. Since discovering Alopecia World, I have found more healing and acceptance in the nearly 4 years of the site's existence than I did in 27 years of searching, for which I am eternally grateful!

My purpose on AW is to motivate and inspire others -- it is my hope that in leading by example and living my life to its fullest potential in spite of societal views on alopecia, bald women, and women of color specifically, others will come to their own acceptace of alopecia in their lives and let their beautiful, vibrant selves shine through!
Do you have alopecia?: Alopecia totalis
Are you age 18 or older?: Yes - I am 18 or older
Your Website (Leave blank if you don't have one):: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/kastababy

Comment Wall:

Load Previous Comments

Pat

Hi YoKasta, good to meet you and everyone else here. How long has this site been up?

Mar 9, 2008
Dotty

Hi YoKasta,
Thanx for the comment, and, yes my head is tattooed. I love it!!! It was my therapy after the hairloss, so it did hurt, but it was a different type of hurt!!! I sat 22 times for a total of 36 hours. And, in answer to your question, if my hair grows back, I will be happy and will probably keep it in the winter for warmth, but shave it in the summer. :-)

Mar 9, 2008
Nektaria Kazakopoulou

Hi YoKasta!!!

Thank you..... super to see so many wonderful people on this site!!

filakia (greek kisses)

Mar 10, 2008
rj, Co-founder

YoKasta, I just had to come by your space on Alopecia World and personally thank you for your invaluable contributions to our new community. Keep doin' whatcha do! Wishing you great joy and good success, richard jones (iAMrj).

Mar 10, 2008
DT Manno

Hi, thanks for the welcome. Glad to be here!

Mar 10, 2008
Miranda

Thank you, you have such a beautiful family!

Mar 10, 2008
becky

Just popping in to say hello, and that you have a beautiful family. Hope to chat with you soon.

Mar 10, 2008
Vahishta

Hi - on a different note, really love your music. Wonderful selection.

Vahishta

Mar 10, 2008
Synnöve Pettersson

Hello, you have really nice pictures=) It´s really fun that I have found this webside.

Mar 10, 2008
MO gal

Hello! Thanks for becoming a friend! Memphis ey? Well your not real far from me.....long walk though lol
Your hairloss looks similar to mine!
You have a beautiful family!

Mar 10, 2008
Katie

Thanks for the welcome note! Cheers :) Katie

Mar 10, 2008
Ellie

Hi Yokasta
Thanks for adding me as your friend. Your rely to Jenna's mom was great. I agree with your father. You are Beauitful with or without hair.
We must change society attiude about what made a women beautiful.
Continue to do God work.

Mar 11, 2008
Hayley Burton

Gracias!!
xxx

Mar 11, 2008
Dee Connelly

Hi Yokasta,
This is such a great site! I will try to download a picture from my kodak share soon. One thing I would love to learn how to do is how to design a web page. My husband CJ has his own travel agency he took over after his mom died. He would love to put a web page on the internet. I know you can download temp plates. We just need to do more research on this I guess. Have a great day today! I hope to talk to you again soon!

Mar 11, 2008
Orbit

Thanks for the warm welcome! I've just found this site and am enjoying seeing/meeting others like me! :-D

Mar 11, 2008
Dee Connelly

Thank you so much! I will definitely look into it further. I will let you know if I have any questions on this. This definitely has been so helpful. I hope you have a great day! Dee

Mar 11, 2008
Faheemah

Thanks for the friend request

Mar 11, 2008
MO gal

Hello! Im about 3 hrs south of St. Louis. Rolla area.
Its beautiful country here for sure!
We have a reunion in Memphis each year!

Mar 11, 2008
Ashley

Thank you very much for your support. It was nice to be able to find a place where I can talk to people who know what I am going through. I also used to be okay with my alopecia but now I worry to much what others are thinking of when they see me. Although this most recent loss is not as bad as it has been in the past I have a tendency to hide under a hat. How do you handle it?

Mar 11, 2008
Char

Thanks :)

Mar 11, 2008
Cheryl, Co-founder

Tu Parle Francais Yokasta?

Mar 12, 2008
Ashley

Yeah I do the same thing I cover with a bandana or a hat depending on the day I just got a little lucky this time around b/c I still have some hair so I can cover up the area if I work a while on my hair and a hair band. But b/c my immune system is bad I actually have another disease called Crohns which affects my intestional tract I actually had to lose 2 feet of my intestine 2 yrs ago and am in and out of the hospital and doctors appts. and that and this can cause me to have a breakdown some days you know. It's good that you have a good support system that is crucial for me it's so hard to deal with all by yourself. I also undersatnd what you mean about the scalp sensitivity too I just try my best to deal with it.

Mar 12, 2008
rj, Co-founder

Yo, YoKasta! Cheryl and I thought you were oversleeping! We missed you! ;-)

Mar 12, 2008
Sarah Sproul

Hey YoKasta! Thanks for the comment! I'm from Tennessee too!

Mar 12, 2008
Trina

Hey Yokasta, Thanks for the comment! I will definately continue to post

Mar 12, 2008
Ashley

Hi! I live on the west edge of Buckhead, kinda near I-75. I just moved here at the end of last summer from Chicago...originally from Lexington, KY though. I'm really lovin' it here!!

Mar 12, 2008
Julia

Hey...I saw where you are partial to MAC makeup...I LOVE MAC! Nothing else will do:)))

How are you!

Julia

Mar 13, 2008
Susan

Thanks for the warm welcome. I definitely see already that I am going to love this site, Its better than myspace. :)
And thank you so much for the compliment on my sons. I think they are gorgeous but you know Im a little partial, lol

Mar 13, 2008
Julie

Thanks. I think this is the COOLEST web site I have ever seen. I wish I had this back when I was young and dating and feeling very helpless and actually got in a really bad spot trying to "deal" with my AU. I've had ups and downs and great supoport from friends and family but I have never met anyone until this past summer that has alopecia.

Mar 13, 2008
Dee Connelly

HI girl,
Just wanted to wish you a good and happy day today!!!

Mar 13, 2008
Cheryl, Co-founder

Hi Yokasta, I understand... sometimes work just gets in the way! LOL!

See you on the weekend.

As for the clouds you will have to ask rj!

Mar 13, 2008
Heather Curtis

Thanks bunches! I have recently been craving the need to meet more people with Alopecia and bing bang boom this appeared- how neato! Thanks for the invite!

Mar 13, 2008
Leslie

Thank you! It's nice to be here. I didn't realize there were so many of us out there. It's nice to see I'm really not alone. I'll post some pictures as soon as I get the down loaded.

Mar 14, 2008
Carol

hey, thanks for the welcome. seems to me ya got a pretty good head on your shoulders (pun intended). keep on keepin on.

Mar 14, 2008
Sarah

Thanks Hun, I just joined here today.

Have a good weekend. x

Mar 14, 2008
Laura Hudson

Thanks for the welcome and blessings!

Mar 14, 2008
MO gal

Oh goodness.......sorry to hear of your crash!
Hope it all works out for you!

Mar 14, 2008
Porcia

Thank you for the kind words and I'm doing my best. I just want people to realize what matters most and know who they are. Not what others percieve them to be, it just doesn't matter.

Mar 15, 2008
Synnöve Pettersson

Hello YoKasta, how are youre weekend. We have had sun here today so nice =) But now it´s cloudy =(
And did you know; One thing I´ve learn -It´s not depend on the hair....
Hug from Sweden

Mar 16, 2008
Karen

Thanks Yokasta. It is such a hard condition to understand but I have been browing around this website and It makes me feel better that my daughter won't be alone.

Karen

Mar 16, 2008
Cheryl, Co-founder

Hi Yokasta,

I had not seen rj in 2 weeks and drove up last Friday. It is a 8-9 hour drive and I drove back this AM, so basically I spent most of my time in the car. We only really had yesterday together... but it was nice :).

Mar 16, 2008
Cheryl, Co-founder

Good Night YoKasta

Mar 16, 2008
Deeann

Thank you YoKasta. I look forward to reading more posts from you too. It sounds as if you are very knowledgeable about alopecia, and many other things as well. Talk to you soon.

Mar 16, 2008
Dotty

It's national care week...
time to send messages to all your friends, telling them how much you care about them.

Without friends
you would be missing out on a lot.

A friend should be radical;

They should love you when you're unlovable,

Hug you when you're unhuggable,

And bear you when you're unbearable.

A friend should be fanatical;

They should cheer when the whole world boos,

Dance when you get good news,

And cry when you cry.

But most of all, a friend should be mathematical,

They should multiply the joy, Divide the sorrow,

Subtract the past, And add to tomorrow,

Calculate the need deep within your heart,

And always be bigger than the sum of all their parts.

I care about you.
Have a nice day, and
I'm glad we are friends!!! Delete Comment

Mar 17, 2008
Ingmar

Hello there! Thanks for inviting me. You wrote me in dutch!! How come???

Mar 17, 2008
MO gal

Hey girl.......how are you doing?

Mar 17, 2008
jackie

Luvs yeah before even know you - you are great xx

Jackie

Mar 17, 2008
Jennifer

awww thanx hun...aren't you a sweet heart!

Mar 17, 2008
Jeremy

Not an Atlanta native (California), but have lived in Lawrenceville, went to Central Gwinnett, UGA, moved to Tampa, and then came back to Suwanee. You?

Mar 17, 2008
Jeremy

Wow, you have moved around a bit! We missed the bad weather in Suwanee, but downtown got hit pretty bad. www.ajc.com has a couple of photo galleries showing some damage. Your aka name reminds me of a swim company we order suits from: Kastaway any connection with that company?

Mar 17, 2008