The Life Of An Assistant (Hair Stylist)... Being Your Own Boss

Time for an update! Whew it's been a while and so many awesome things have happened.... The last post I made was a rather personal post. I had just started doing makeup a bit more. I went through my growing pains and I am coming up on the other side...and the other side is looking really good. As some of you know I took some time off from makeup and hair for a bit (I am back). I thought I was losing my passion for what I love so I took a step back. I found a job as a house manager for an actor, wife and 5 kids. It was an eye opener to say the least. They were a lovely family but I realized as I was working for them I was losing myself again. So I left and came back to what I know. As much of an adventure as that was, may I remind you they have 5 kids, I was ready to start being me again. This takes me to the past few months....I started working at one of those popular blow dry bars which has been a blast. I am able to keep working on what I love while also having the freedom to freelance and be my own boss for once. I have had the opportunity to do hair and make up for 2 interviews on Entertainment Tonight (Ron Howard and Brian Chesky CEO of Airbnb), I was able to do hair on an amazing shoot with the beautiful and awesome Alexis Knapp (Pitch Perfect), I have done makeup in several photo shoots and so much more. Another awesome moment was going to the premiere of the movie I worked on "Sexy, Evil, Genius" (see earlier blogs). It has officially been released and you can grab a copy on Amazon or Itunes. (wink, wink) If all of that isn't enough...I am working on joining the film and television hair union (should be happening shortly) AND my very first website will be up hopefully within the next week or so. After all these years of working for others (I still do part time) it's so nice being my own boss. It gets overwhelming and exhausting but it has been so rewarding. ************************************************************************************************************** Growing up as far back as I can remember I wanted to be a therapist but let's face it...I didn't have the energy or the focus to go through all the schooling that's required. One of the things I love about my job is I am constantly meeting new people. These people sit in my chair for about 45 minutes and divulge their deepest secrets. They feel comfortable talking to me about things they sometimes don't even tell their best friend. This can be awkward sometimes depending on the secret but every once in a while I get to share my experience, strength and hope with them. Its a little piece of bliss, comedy, and sometimes therapy for myself. I get to share moments with others without learning about them and their every move on facebook or instagram or some social networking site. How cool is that? Human to human interaction! It's something I find rare these days. I had this amazing client the other day. She was an older lady who really just made me rethink things. She shared with me that she was a grief counselor. She went into that profession after finding out her son was murdered while living in China (he was there teaching English and wanted to do so in several countries). Intense right? Well instead of building hate and anger this woman became a fighter. She is still fighting (almost 10 years later) to get to the truth of what happened to her only son. She spent her life teaching children in South Central and resembled those teachers you've seen in movies like "Dangerous Minds". A rare breed. She started a basketball league for these kids trying to keep them out of the 18th street gang and gained their trust. She was able to get all of the kids to a Laker game which was a dream for them. She did all of this and so much more. There was a sad beauty about this woman I couldn't shake for days. She had strength and courage. These are 2 things I fear I wouldn't have if I lost my only son. She gets up every morning to make the world better. She fights. She keeps going... The point of this story you ask? Well everyday I get to learn about life from some amazing (and maybe some not so amazing) people. It's a constant reminder to get up every morning and go after what I want, be who I want, fight for what I want and most of all enjoy doing what I want. I have been given the opportunity to listen...really listen. I may not always like what I hear but I sure as hell learn a LOT! I am grateful for that. I am blessed for that and every day I get to enjoy a tiny bit of bliss in those moments. On that note... I will post again as soon as my website is finished!!!! So until next time....