Dedication

This update is totally overdue and I am so sorry! I graduate in the next few weeks and have been so busy. I have been studying for exams and getting my portfolio together and looking for a salon to work in.

These last few months have been challenging for me. I do not want to go into details of my personal life, but I went through some serious depression in my past and it came back to haunt me for a brief amount of time.

One in six people either suffer for depression or severe anxiety disorder. I suffered from both, I know that it is hard. I also know that it can be over come. Maybe not completely, I still have my spouts of depression, but I have changed my life and I love the person that I am and what I do. This is my story and some tips on how I got to where I am.

I used to work at a call center for a bank taking inbound calls for clients and answering general questions. It was a good job the money was great, but I was miserable. It got to the point where I was a completely different person and I did not like who I had become. So I quit, I downsized my life and found a cheaper place to live.

Sometimes we need a drastic change. I had quit my job with out finding a new one first. That might not have been the smartest decision. But I knew that I had people that loved me and wanted me to be happy and would help me how they could.

(Do what is smart for you, if you don't like your job and cannot afford to quit then look for a different one. The choice that I made, helped me in the long run, but I had a hard time getting my feet back on the ground after. Be smart.)

After about four months of job hunting I came to realize that job prospects were not looking that great with out furthering my education. I knew that I needed to go back to school and I knew that I needed a career that was something I could enjoy doing and get paid.

I had always loved doing my friends hair. I had always been interested in make up. I would often do my friends daughter's hair just for fun. One day I was bored and kinda sad and knew that if I could just do my friend's little girls hair it would cheer me up. Well, we all know how children can be, my friends little girl told me no. I begged her and finally offered to pay her to let me just curl it. THAT is when I had my light bulb moment and everything clicked. I needed to go to hair school. So I enrolled and started about a month and a half later.

About a week after I started school my car was reprocessed, because I had no income and could not afford the payments. I cried, I had never been with out a car. But I had people who loved me and let me borrow their car. I drove their car to school and was able to get a job after school as a night audit at a hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. I had the car and the job and went to school for about six months. Then things spiraled down again, I got fired because of something stupid. The people I was living with had mice and one of their children had broken into my room and destroyed a lot of my things.

So I moved out. My friend told me if I needed a place to stay she would love for me to be her roommate. Moving in with her meant no more access to a car.

Sometimes you have to do things the hard way.
I have been taking the bus to school for over a year now. It takes me about forty five minutes to an hour to get to my school which is about a ten minute drive away from my house.

Be dedicated to what you love.
I don't care if  it is your family, your school, your career or a hobby. Find something that you love and be dedicated to it.

I love doing hair, and I love every client that I get to have sit in my chair and I love seeing the look on their face when I am finished with their hair. That is what keeps me going, that is what gets me out of bed in the morning and why I am willing to wait in the snow, rain and freezing or scorching weather. I love doing hair.

Give your everything.
I have not gotten into too much detail of my personal life during school, but I will say that I have had many challenges. I will say it was not easy and I will also say this is the happiest I have been in my life.

I have been able to organize and produce my own photo shoots, I have taken classes from some of the most influential people in my industry and I have loved every minute.

You cannot control everything, sometimes you have to just let life do what it needs to. But if you work hard and never give up you will be happy. I cannot think of a single person that is successful and has not gone through a difficult time. Things will be hard, you will have to work. But that is what life is about. working hard and then enjoying the results.

I hope that this helped. I know that it was long winded but these things have been on my mind for a long time. I felt like I needed to share it with someone.

To all my of you who suffer with depression or sever anxiety, just know that you do not have to do it alone. I am here and willing to give a hand as much as I can. I know that if I can do it, then you can too.

I love you all and I am so thankful I get to do what I do.

Chris