YO SOY JHANELLE CASTILLO!: MY RIDE OR DIE GIRL...

I'm not a religious person. I can't say that I'm a spiritual person either. I don't know if there is an after life or an omnipresent deity up-above. I just don't know. However, I do believe in angels. Supernatural beings that watch over us that are completely selfless and full of love.

Due to a series of stressful events in my life my body couldn't take it anymore. I started loosing my hair. It began as a small bald spot on the side of my head and it quickly escalated into a head populated by bald spots (of all shapes and sizes). This part of my life was the most important and difficult chapter of my life. A chapter where I got to know myself more intimetly. After going to a dermatologist, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition called 'Alopecia Areata.' Alopecia Areata is a type of hair loss that occurs when your immune system attacks hair follicles, which is where hair-growth begins. It's crazy how our bodies cope with stress, huh?

Can you imagine a model with a head full of bald spots? I didn't think so. I decided to completely shave my head to mask the spots. Although I still continued to book modeling jobs, my self-esteem was at an all time low. Confidence is the most important characteristic that a model must posses and during this period of my life, my confidence levels were virtually nonexistent. Therefore, I decided to take a sabbatical from modeling and the fashion industry. A break to re-evaluate my life. I left my modeling agency and literally went on hiatus from the world.

If I was stressed out prior to developing alopecia, imagine how my stress levels skyrocketed after loosing my hair. My dermatologist told me that the best thing to fight alopecia other than cortisone injection shot treatment was "relaxing." Easier said than done, right? Well lucky for me, I had an angel that made this journey easier.

They say that one of the best medicines is laughter, I absolutely agree. My girlfriend made me see life from a different perspective. She always made me look at the "bright side" of things and never let me give up on my dreams and aspirations. She has this care-free mentality that is admirable. I was not as care-free as she was. I like to have structure in my life. I always need a plan, so every single day that went by I started searching for jobs in my field of study, political science. I figured that I had a bachelors degree so might as well put it to use again but my girlfriend never let me. She was my biggest cheerleader! According to her, this industry was not ready to let go of Jhanelle Castillo, lol.

My girlfriend would go out of her way to make sure that I was always smiling. I was the grumpiest guy during this time of my life, looking back I don't know how she put up with me. I would occasionally wonder if she was still physically attracted to me. It was a stupid thing to wonder because she couldn't keep her hands off of me, lol. I don't know if it was my shaved head she was attracted to or the fact that my head looked like a cheetah or a dalmatian when it would grow out. She loves dogs and my head seriously looked like a dalmatian print hahaha. Our relationship got even stronger during this period. We had more time to spend together, I swear all we did was laugh and love each other. Ahhhhh, the power of love!

After twelve months of cortisone injection shot treatment and being exposed to my girlfriends care-free lifestyle my hair and stress levels improved. My hair was probably 80% back and my girlfriend convinced me to get back into modeling. I still had several bald spots and I was not mentally ready to get back into the most superficial industry: modeling. Thanks to a crazy/ingenious idea by my girlfriend I gave modeling a second chance. She introduced me to EYE SHADOW. She would apply Bobbi Brown eye shadow on my bald spots and they would "disappear" in seconds. Her idea was brilliant. She motivated me to start shopping for modeling agencies.

I'll never forget the day I had my appointment with Major Model Management (One of the top modeling agencies in the world). I was extremely nervous that the agents at Major would be able to notice my alopecia. I woke up super early in the morning, worked out, took a shower and crossed my fingers that this make-up thing would work. I went to my appointment and had an instant chemistry with the entire board. They offered me a contract on the spot and even started sending me out to clients the same day.

My girlfriend has been my guardian angel. She has watched over me and lifted me up when I've been down. She would wake up early every morning to apply make-up on my head before all my castings. If it wasn't for her I wouldn't be in this industry today. Thank you Nina for being the best girlfriend/best-friend/guardian angel I could ever ask for. I can never thank you enough for everything you and your family has always done for me. I love you.

I am not religious or spiritual but I think that if there is a god and a heaven... god has a special place for you and your family.