- Over the Summer of 2024 I attended Mason Anthony’s School of Cosmetology at night in order to become a licensed nail technician. I learned the fundamentals of product chemistry, nail anatomy, and business operations as well as had hands-on experience working on clients in the school salon.
- I always struggled to find the balance between work and my creative outlets. Prior to completing the manicuring program I had a rigid view of my future. I was always under the assumption that I would work a typical corporate job with traditional hours. This experience opened my eyes to other opportunities to make a living.
- In general, I think that interacting with people is the best way to expand perspective and this was true of my experience as I went through the manicuring program over the summer. I started the program not knowing what to expect on all fronts. The book work and client work while the most important for my license was part of what I expected to learn from my time in the course. But what changed my perspective the most and had the most impact on what I want for my future was the people I met over the duration of the program. My classmates helped me gain confidence in my choice to pursue a non-traditional education. I got to know about a dozen different classmates over the course of the three months I was in this course and all of them taught me something different. Since all of us came to the program for different reasons we had a lot of different perspectives to offer each other. In particular I had two classmates who came from established careers in the medical field for a change of pace. This was particularly impactful for me because I have been pursuing a degree in health sciences and liked to see that it was possible to be successful in their fields while pursuing their creative passions.My instructors also instilled confidence in my ability to be successful in a creative field. I had three primary instructors who also all had different and unique perspectives on the cosmetology field. They all came to success in the business in different ways and still find time to run their own business while teaching. Both my instructors and fellow students taught me that each of our paths are going to look different and whatever path we choose can lead to success. There is not a one size fits all approach to a career and that was very reassuring to me.
- This change to my perspective is valuable to my life because it has tamed some of my worries about my future. I have always been the type of person who has had years of my life planned out with certainty. That changed a lot over the course of my last three years of college which led to me being very uncertain about my future. I felt confined to a future career without expression and I did not realize how scary that was for me. Over the course of this program my professional goals shifted completely. My experience showed me that I do not have to compromise creativity for a career.