I just completed my first month at Aveda Institute in New York City. Previously, I had worked at MTV Networks for 3.5 years, before getting laid off in October when my channel was transferred to Miami. During the last year and a half at MTV, I had decided I disliked new media (I was a web producer), and disliked working for MTV even more; so, needless to say, the rest of my time there was hardly fulfilling. I had also decided that my ultimate career should not involve being chained to a desk, and I yearned to interact with people and "make a difference." So I invested a ton of money in three semesters of grad school at St. John's University, thinking I'd get an M.A. in Adolescent Education and be a high school English teacher. How naive of me. There is no way in hell I was cut out for that. Not because I don't genuinely appreciate the profession (I do! I have nothing but the utmost respect for teachers), but because I was so disillusioned by the current political climate and how it affects the new beaurocratic format of education. Plus, who was I kidding thinking I'd be able to wake up at 5:30am every day, work for 12 hours, grade papers, interact with kids who frankly don't give a crap about their future, have no social life, all for the vague promise of two months of summer vacation? So, by the time that third semester ended in December, I quit, much to the disappointment of my mother and some of my more ardent supporters. With the start of 2011, I knew I had to make a change, and after a couple of weeks of soul-searching, I came upon this realization: I have to stop kidding myself altogether. You live only once, right, and all cliches aside, it was time to do something that makes ME happy.
Hair has been a very important part of my entire life. Whatever, you can call me superficial, but it's been an integral part of my self-expression since I was a little girl. I remember this book my mom had when I was young, that contained all these braid tutorials. I tried them out on myself and my thirty-four Barbie dolls, and anyone else whose hair I could get my grubby hands on. I colored my hair for the first time when I was thirteen or so (with Jell-o, henna, and even CREPE PAPER! though box dye did follow soon after). Since then, my hair has been every color of the rainbow (except for green, for some reason... though it has been turqouise, does that count?). As far as styles, I've had long hair, short hair, layers, a bob, an undercut, braids galore, have experimented with a healthy number of vintage 'dos, and am currently rocking a platinum and black Annabella Lwin (or Alice Dellal, if you prefer)-inspired shaved side. I guess I could describe my current aesthetic as kind of a refined, retro-loving, punk noir. Whatever that means.
The point is, it's about time that I came to the conclusion that you can actually embrace things that you enjoy and try to make a living out of them. I had tried in vain to find something creative I could do for YEARS, experimenting with fashion design, graphic design, writing, and other forms of art. In the perfect world, I would have musical talent and be able to draw something more than the occasional odd stick figure. The truth is, I'm not very good at any of that, no matter how much I wish I was. But, hair... I can DO hair. I'm not an expert (YET!), but, by golly, I like it. It's fun. And since starting school at Aveda and having to get used to a 9-5 schedule for the first time since, well, ever... there hasn't been a single day in which I think I've made the wrong decision. Funny how something can be right in front of your nose and you just don't see it, but once you do, everything in your life just becomes so damn easy.
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