It was Winter of 2005 when I got my GPA from Keystone College.
1.7
Ouch.
What happened to me? I was an honor student in high school, a member of the Spanish and Latin clubs. I was the unofficial president of SADD. I was so excited for college. Keystone was beautiful. They had so many outdoor trails, great food, cute dorm rooms and nice students.
I got wonderful remarks from my English professor about a creative writing paper I did. I studied SO hard for my first Chemistry exam and ended up with an 85.
One day I just stopped going to class.
I called my mom and we went for coffee at the local diner. I dropped a bomb on her that day. I wanted to move home, work for a year and go to school to be a Cosmetologist. She was shocked but hesitantly supportive.
Shortly after that decision I lost someone very important to me at the time. It was extremely difficult and I wasn't sure I was in a good place to make any drastic decisions. I wondered that entire summer if I was doing the right thing. It was still the best summer of my life. I was gorgeous and I knew it. I partied at my friends' college apartments and dated whoever I wanted. It was the first time I felt free and it was a wonderful time in my life.
I felt as if I was taking the "easy" way out by going to cosmetology school. Everyone was in college on their way to "real" careers. My last party ended when a "friend" told me I didn't have anything to worry about, it wasn't like I was going to a REAL school.
Bye Felicia.
Beauty school is really fucking hard.
It involves biology, chemistry and geometry. It involves learning the rules just so you can later break them. It involves sales. It involves an artist's precise hand. It involves making people feel beautiful in a world where virtually no one feels good about themselves. It involves rejection, triumph and a small dose of drama here and there.
The weird thing was: I loved it. It was easy to me BECAUSE I loved it.
And isn't that how choosing a career SHOULD be?
I felt guilty for feeling like life was easy! A career is supposed to be hard and draining. Right? Ha...no.
So I am sitting here as living proof that if you listen to yourself, do what your gut tells you and take advice from the people that matter, you will come out on top.
Oh and a good mentor helps.
Thanks Gina, April and Diane.
I hope I can help others out one day the way you have helped me.
