Returning to Aesthetics School was the Best Decision I Ever Made

Long ago, I was a carefree and fun-loving girl. My days were spent driving to the beach, hanging out with friends and working at a tanning salon (I cringe at that part now). I loved dressing up, putting on makeup, curling and straightening my hair. If I wasn’t working on my own beauty routine, I was practicing on my friends. I wanted to be a cosmetologist, and I was so excited when I enrolled through my high school to attend a cosmetology program at a partnering community college. I made it through 8 weeks of the program before they told me that they needed me to pay $2000.00 to complete it. Since my counselor at high school completed my enrollment for me, I didn’t know about this little detail; I just thought it was part of my high school program. I loved cosmetology, but I also knew that my parents did not have the money to help me pay for this. I was ashamed to ask them for the money since I knew how hard they had to work for what we had. I left after class that Friday and never went back.

Three kids and many years later, I still had this nagging sense that I needed to fulfill this passion of mine. I had a steady job that paid the bills but it just wasn’t fulfilling me. I happened to mention to my husband that I wished I could to go back to school for cosmetology. Then he said this to me, “Why can’t you go back to school?” I had a hundred ridiculously terrible reasons: it’s expensive, people will think I’m crazy, what will the kids do about dinner if I’m not there to make it, and I’m kinda old now. He was persistent in pointing out that all of my excuses were pretty ridiculous. So I went forward with researching schools and enrolled a few weeks later in an evening aesthetics program.

I’m not going to lie, I felt really guilty, and it was hard to keep up with everything since I was continuing to work my full-time job.  I was really impressed with how my family came together to support me to make this happen. My two teenagers each took turns making dinners, and when my husband got home from work he would put our little one to bed and make sure her homework was done. This went on for just under a year until I completed my aesthetics program. 

I gained so much more than my aesthetics training from going back to school. I met amazing women (and men) who were just like me, pursuing their passion and trying to make a better life for themselves and their family. I learned I was capable of so much more than I was giving myself credit for. And I also learned that it’s ok to let other people help you sometimes; I didn’t have to be supermom and do everything myself.

I’ve been a licensed aesthetician for two years now, and I absolutely love it. I really owe it to my husband for wholeheartedly supporting my dreams and believing in me, without that I would never have been able to pull this off. (Thanks, babe.)