So, what's exactly wrong with you?

Aleopecia Areata is defined by WebMD as "a type of hair loss that occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks hair follicles, which is where hair growth begins."

Nobody knows why the immune system feels the need to make hair fall off of someone who is otherwise perfectly healthy. Nobody knows how to determine who is going to be struck with the condition. The hair comes and goes without warning or reason. For me, it goes gradually. I don't wake up one morning with a chunk of hair laying on my pillow; I notice after a week or so that my brush is full of the hair I work so hard to grow. Or some days, I feel around on my head and get excited when I come across peace fuzz starting to form. 

I don't remember by first bald spot but I have heard my mother tell the story. I was only three years-old and there was a small, bald circle just above my right ear. Back then, we spent our weekends at the lake and my mother figured some sort of waterborne fungus must be making my hair fall out. 

After many visits to a doctor with no positive tests and no explanation for the mysterious bald spot, I went to my first dermatologist. After matching all the symptoms, it was confirmed. Her little girl will probably never feel normal again.