I had the great fortune of finding a passion for the hair and beauty industry at the ripe young age of 17. Before "Hair" ever entered my mind as a career, I thought I wanted to be a English teacher. I loved to read...still do, and so, why not teach English? Being that my Mom works for a local community college, I knew that a four year university wasn't in my immediate future. I ran down to Sandhills Community College to register for classes and signed up for the, "I don't know what I want to do for a living", major... Liberal Arts :)
I got home and told my Mom that I had registered. She looked at me and said...
"You need to do something "Artistic" ".
To which my irritated reply was...
"Well, I don't want to be a starving artist. I'm not going to paint, sing, dance or play the violin for a living, so, what do you suggest I do?"
My Mom retorted in a very matter of fact way..."Cosmetology!", with a big smile on her face.
I'm pretty sure that if my Mom had sprouted 2 heads and a set of wings that I would have looked at her the very same way, the moment the word, "Cosmetology", popped out of her mouth.
Let me back up a moment and tell you why I had the reaction of complete "Dumbfoundedness"...
Growing up, like most children, I would visit my Mom at work. She had a nice office.........That just so happened to face the "Cosmetology Department". Now, what made this odd, is that in the state of NC, when you attend the "Cosmetology" program, you have to dress like you are in the nursing program. The women and men would go in and out of the Cosmetology building wearing all white scrubs... all the time. Not very flattering for anyone...EVER! The very idea of wearing nothing but white for the next 15 months of my life was not all I was concerned about! It was also... how do I put this...the, "characters in white", that actually attended the program. I was very hesitant, to say the least.
My Mom was great about me being hesitant, and said some very powerful words to me in my almost adult life.......
"Jaclyn, If you don't like the program, you can try something else."
Now, at the age of 17, I had never been allowed to quit algebra if I didn't like it. And believe me...I hated algebra like it was the plague. Algebra and I are like oil and water... We are never going to mix.
Being able to quit something that I could potentially dislike was a whole new concept to me, and it sealed the deal!
So, I ran back to the college and changed my major to...."COSMETOLOGY" ! It was one of the best things I could have chosen for myself, even if my Mom guided me in the right direction. Not only did I come to love the craft, but I came to love the "Characters" too! I am now a proud card carrying member of the "character club"!
Now... if only someone had warned me of the physical demands of this career...:) That is another day and another post!
