The other day I was standing at our dispense area watching a girl from the most recent introductory class try to get color out of an unopened color tube. You know how sometimes you’re so engrossed with watching what’s going on that you’re almost completely removed from the situation? Looking on as if it were reality television and you’re watching from the comfort of your own couch? That’s how it felt. I watched as she held up the tube and squeezed it really hard– and when it didn’t come out she uttered some choice expletives and yelled for an educator to come help her. I wondered how this was going to unfold… I also wondered why her classmates were not helping her out. Then, I wondered why I was just standing there watching. (Thinking back on it now, I must have had a pretty disgusted look on my face!)
Our educator approached the girl and asked what the dilemma was. After the student explained to our teacher that there must be something wrong with the color tube she was given– after all, it wouldn’t pour into her color bowl and the tube looked as though it was going to rip at the seems. Our teacher took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure what she was going to say. If it were me, I would have responded with something condescending like, “Are you serious?” This is probably why I chose to just stand and watch. Instead, our teacher, let out a quick laugh, and said, “You have to open the bottle, silly!” I watched closely for the reaction of my fellow student.
If I were her, I probably would have felt pretty stupid and my face would have been covered in red blotches to accentuate my embarrassment. She, however, blamed it on the teacher. ”Well,” she huffed, “that wasn’t on the directions. If we were supposed to open the bottle, it should have said that.” She then proceeded to open the bottle and go on with some mad scientist-like mixing.
Really?
I wondered how it was possible that there were young adults in my class that could completely miss the “given” or “implied” instructions. It reminded me of my very first technical writing lesson– from Mrs. Pitkin’s second grade class. We had to write step-by-step directions about how to make a peanut butter sandwich. Everyone wrote out their directions and turned them in. The next day, she went through all of our directions and followed them verbatim to show us the importance of concise directions. Our seven-year-old selves rolled on the floor with laughter when she tried to get the peanut butter out of the jar without taking the cap off and when she buttered two pieces of bread and didn’t put them together because of a step omission. Even as second graders, we saw the obvious as implied.
For a moment, it was humbling to know that I was attending the same school as a person who didn’t realize that opening a tube of color was an implied instruction when she was asked to measure and pour into her color bowl. But then I thought more about this… maybe this was a good thing. I am hoping to stand out in my industry– and if I can quickly pass over those who will likely be unable to give a haircut differing from any of the basic cuts we’ve learned, I will be that much further ahead. Success by default. It will kind of be like I’m the first chair violist in the Pella Middle School Orchestra again.
I don’t, however, want my cosmetology experience to be mostly success by default. I am constantly trying to improve myself and build on the skills that I’m learning. While I do believe that some of it comes pretty easily to me– picking color, seeing shape, etc– I still have so many “Ah-ha!” moments when I’m working with my teachers. Obvious things I would have never picked up on. Like, holding my comb and my shears at the same time will save me time. (And eventually earn me more money because I’ll be able to work faster!) I truly enjoy learning improvements on my technique.
While I was writing that last paragraph, on my favorite classmates Laura walked up and admitted to me that she had been calling our school the “Aveda Institution,” rather than the “Aveda Institute.” An outsider might listen to our conversations and think her name more fitting!
There are some times that I am at school and it all still seems so surreal… is this really what I’m doing? Are these really the people I spend my entire days with? Do I really get worked up over ripped foils? Do I really get to spend all day playing with hair, make-up, and nails? Can I seriously wax my eyebrows WHENEVER I want? YES. And it totally rocks.
I’ve spent the morning coming up with some of the best things about being in beauty school. And some of the funniest…
1. First of all, I am realizing that no matter how many career placement and interest rating tests I took with our guidance counselors in high school and college, none of them pointed me in the direction of cosmetology. I didn’t even think of it as an option. I also don’t even think I thought of it as a hobby when I was in high school. That’s very odd to me now… I used to spend hours messing with make-up, doing my hair, painting my nails, concocting homemade beauty remedies out of egg and aloe, and browsing the packaging/ingredients of almost every beauty product available in the Pella Wal-Mart. It seems silly that this career path wasn’t more obvious.
2. Reading beauty and fashion magazines is considered research rather than pleasure. Or in my case, pleasurable research. Want to know the five best ways to achieve shiny sun kissed hair this summer season? I do. And I’ll even tell you all about it if you ask.
3. My black clothes are tax deductible… so are beauty products including make-up, hair products, and even q-tips. It puts a whole new spin on splurging on the latest beauty trend when you can justify the purchase as product research. And when I’m looking at a cute new shirt, I know if I chose it in black, I will feel better about the purchase… even if I wear it out with my friends this weekend before I chose to rock it at work.
4. I am surrounded by true caregivers. I am not shocked anymore when I talk to my classmates and find out that if they weren’t in the cosmetology field, they would be teachers or nurses. My colleagues and I truly want to help others– make them feel better about themselves, teach them to take care of themselves, and make a difference in their days. At Aveda, we call ourselves “day-makers.” If I come to school upset, my classmates offer me a scalp massage or a manicure and lend an ear to listen. The goal is to physically AND mentally make our guests feel better.
5. People here are not afraid to take risks creatively… which is cool to me. While some of them aren’t risks I would personally choose to take, they are risks none-the-less. The other day in the break room, some of the girls were painting their nails a very bright neon pink color. While I do not care for neon colors, I liked watching their process. I suggested somewhat facetiously that they should add a little bling. It wasn’t ten seconds later that one of the girls whipped out a small organizer full of nail jewels. Very Tana Gertz of her. And a little ghetto. But, fabulous, non-the-less.
6. I truly enjoy the celebrations we experience here. We celebrate a good blonde achieved through highlights. We celebrate not spraying our guests in the face with the shampoo bowl hose– and not drowning them through their ears. We celebrate clocking in on time. You can actually hear a “hell, yes!” when you receive a tip of at least $10. We celebrate every time a phone is answered in the building. ”It’s a great day at Aveda!” It always is!
7. I am pretty sure I will know all of the words to every song to ever grace the Top 40 during the years 2008 and 2009. The mix on our radio stations isn’t very diverse, but someday I’m going to kick some major butt at Pop Culture Trivial Pursuit music category.
8. Today there was a flood in the vichy shower area. I walked out of the dispense area and into a small river of water. Everyone here quickly pitched in to help clean it up quickly, shared a few laughs about it, and went on with their days. As the creator of a few floods in my day, it’s nice to know that accidents are considered accidents here and that I have some kindred souls in the water common sense arena. I think we all jokingly blamed the building manager and someone asked him to quit taking showers here and clogging the drain with his hair.
9. Motivational quotes are kind of a big deal at the institute… They’re hung on the insides of our lockers, written on our mirrors, plastered all over the break room, and recited at the beginning and end of many of our classroom lessons. I love it! One of my favorites I heard from a teacher here is, “Anything less than the best is a felony.” That Vanilla Ice was one motivational rapper. I decorated the student bulletin board with his wise words.
Okay, I’ve given up on my list, as it was getting quite cheesy. I will share now that I am well over half way through my program. By well, over, I mean at least 40 hours. It’s all down hill from here! My projected graduation date is right around my 28th birthday this fall in November. I am so excited!
This week I am very excited to work on the Big Hair Ball project with m classmates, but I’m not so excited for the three pedicures on my books. Hopefully nasty feet= big tips. We’ll see.
I am so happy to be in school here… I am excited to start my career in the industry and do what I love every day. So, yes, Mom, I am going to finish. And Dad, I will have a real job. And Aunt Nancy– you will never get to sing the beauty school drop out song to me. I’m more of a Frankie Avalon anyway… “gotta be going to that malt shop in the sky.”
Here we are today….
AL
