My first ever memory of cosmetology was when my Meema used to cut my hair. I always thought it was so incredible that she could do it so well. She always told me stories of her in hair school and how she used to work in a salon in downtown Portland. I always aspired to be as great as her. Doing my hair, nails, and makeup always made me feel good about myself. There are so many things you can be excited about with this job. I feel like I can't even call it a job because it sounds so fun. The three most exciting reasons are, you can be creative, the opportunity to be flexible, and make people feel good about themselves. The very first reason why I want to become a cosmetologist is simply how creative you can be. Being creative is a great way to express yourself and having that outlet is crucial. As a little girl, creativity was something I never lacked. I always had a wide imagination and expressed that through painting murals, hairstyles, and of course fashion. I love everything to do with being creative. Becoming a hairdresser is a lot more than hair, that's why I love it so much. The more tools you have on your belt the more you can do. Nails, eyelashes, makeup, and hair what is there not to love? My next reason is how flexible you can be. Time is everything. The thing I love about becoming a cosmetologist is the ability to set up appointments on your own and take the days you need off without having any trouble. You can schedule more hours than just a 9-5 job and fewer hours on days you need off. You can work around your client's busy life and still be able to fit them in. I think a trait that is very important as a hairdresser is being adaptive. You want your clients to know you can be versatile with setting up appointments and know they will try their best to fit you in. The very last reason is my favorite of them all and that's having the ability to make people feel good about themselves. One thing I've learned in life is that you should always put yourself first before others. That applies to almost everything, especially self-care. All things cosmetology can help make someone feel extraordinary about themselves. Feeling good about yourself gives you so much confidence and you feel on top of the world. You should never feel like you're not beautiful in your skin and I think going to get your hair done, just helps you feel more powerful. It's not necessarily something you need to survive, however, it will give you this sort of essence about yourself that can help with your mental state and your happiness. It's an add-on that people can use to help better themselves. Becoming a cosmetologist sparked my interest ever since I was told about it. Being able to have that creative outlet, the ability to be flexible, and make others feel amazing in their skin is something I truly believe is something amazing. I look forward to hair school every day and I just can't wait to have this experience.

My first ever memory of cosmetology was when my Meema used to cut my hair. I always thought it was so incredible that she could do it so well. She always told me stories of her in hair school and how she used to work in a salon in downtown Portland. I always aspired to be as great as her. Doing my hair, nails, and makeup always made me feel good about myself. There are so many things you can be excited about with this job. I feel like I can't even call it a job because it sounds so fun. The three most exciting reasons are, you can be creative, the opportunity to be flexible, and make people feel good about themselves. The very first reason why I want to become a cosmetologist is simply how creative you can be. Being creative is a great way to express yourself and having that outlet is crucial. As a little girl, creativity was something I never lacked. I always had a wide imagination and expressed that through painting murals, hairstyles, and of course fashion. I love everything to do with being creative. Becoming a hairdresser is a lot more than hair, that's why I love it so much. The more tools you have on your belt the more you can do. Nails, eyelashes, makeup, and hair what is there not to love? My next reason is how flexible you can be. Time is everything. The thing I love about becoming a cosmetologist is the ability to set up appointments on your own and take the days you need off without having any trouble. You can schedule more hours than just a 9-5 job and fewer hours on days you need off. You can work around your client's busy life and still be able to fit them in. I think a trait that is very important as a hairdresser is being adaptive. You want your clients to know you can be versatile with setting up appointments and know they will try their best to fit you in. The very last reason is my favorite of them all and that's having the ability to make people feel good about themselves. One thing I've learned in life is that you should always put yourself first before others. That applies to almost everything, especially self-care. All things cosmetology can help make someone feel extraordinary about themselves. Feeling good about yourself gives you so much confidence and you feel on top of the world. You should never feel like you're not beautiful in your skin and I think going to get your hair done, just helps you feel more powerful. It's not necessarily something you need to survive, however, it will give you this sort of essence about yourself that can help with your mental state and your happiness. It's an add-on that people can use to help better themselves. Becoming a cosmetologist sparked my interest ever since I was told about it. Being able to have that creative outlet, the ability to be flexible, and make others feel amazing in their skin is something I truly believe is something amazing. I look forward to hair school every day and I just can't wait to have this experience.

Growing up, I never had a dream career that stuck. They came and went. When high school started, I would stress every day about what I was gonna do once high school was over. Sleepless nights, anxiety, and breakdowns were repeatedly happening. Do I have to go to college? What did my parents do? My friend is going to college for nursing, shouldn't I do that? I wasn't sure the difference between right and wrong, or so I thought that's how life went. I didn't know what mental health was at the time, so I just kept bullying my mind and myself thinking all of it was normal and okay. I thought I was just gonna fail and never succeed. Success was so far from me in my eyes. During this time, the pandemic was in full swing. Lockdowns were happening and alone time was all I was getting. Being by myself made me think about my life in a way I never had before. I started to understand that my mental health wasn't doing great. I felt extremely depressed. I lost all my reason to live. Why do I even exist? What are we on this earth for? Comments like those fogged my head every day. It wasn't until sophomore year that I finally got up from what felt like rock bottom and decided that there are so many reasons to live. I had an epiphany one day that made me realize life is so short and life doesn't need to be this very serious thing. There is no rule book for life. You create your own. You should do things that bring you happiness and joy and if it's not, then you shouldn't do it or associate yourself with them. That applies to relationships, careers, etc. When you have a talk with yourself about what you genuinely love and like to do, life becomes easy. So that's exactly what I did. I picked up a bunch of different hobbies and explored them. I told myself that I should never have a job I hate because why spend my days dreading them and neglecting my mental health? Your mental health should come before anything and anybody in life. It's like the foundation for a house. To have a sturdy well built house, the base needs to be strong, just like your mind. A crumbling foundation won't hold in the long run, just like your headspace. Who cares what you look like if you decide to do something different than the others? You are you, not them. Once you can understand that, it's so easy to not care what others say or think about what you are deciding to do with your life or anything in general. Mental health is vital and a top priority for me. My experience with mental health influenced my career choice, and my relationships with friends and family, and it made me realize who I am and my worth. There is always light at the end of every tunnel.

blue the color that covers the sea the jeans that fit me perfectly blue the opposite of orange on the color wheel the sky that is so far and nowhere near blue the popsicle on a hot day that gets eaten quickly the blanket you've had since you were a baby oh how many memories and moments how many figures and places oh how many senses and feels how many lives and faces blue the color of your friend's eyes oh how you despised the drizzly rain that messed up your hair oh how you hated it there blue the gender reveal of a boy the wrapping paper that covered your favorite toy blue b l u e blue the world full of colors bold as blue blue covers planet earth a gumball that's two cents worth blue the mismatched sock you couldn't find it's blue so do you don't mind blue

Have you ever been cheated on, or even dumped? It can make you sad and upset, and worthless, but you have two choices to go about it. Your first choice is to stay sad and depressed forever, or you can boss up and remember who you are because sometimes it's easy to forget who you are when you go through that. She's So Gone By: Naomi Scott impacted me and helped me overcome those hard times. The lyrics in this song speak volumes and put you in a confident and refreshing attitude. When I started to feel down again, I would go straight to this song and push play as fast as I could. To give you an example, here are a few lines and what they mean to me, “Insecure in her skin. Like a puppet, a girl on a string. Broke away, and learned to fly. If you want her back, gotta let her shine.” This line emphasizes this insecure girl who kind of got played with and how she broke away from that and was able to move on and be able to shine by herself. This is another line from the song, “Here I am, this is me. And I'm stronger than you ever thought I'd be. Are you shocked? Are you mad? That you're missing out on who I am.” That piece of the song talks about how she found herself and changed and became the best version of herself. As you can see, She's So Gone By: Naomi Scott is the song that helped me through some of the darkest times in my life. It’s helped me when I felt as though I was losing myself and not good enough. It taught me that you are good and powerful with or without him.