Hi, my name is [insert name here] and I chose Beauty School because…

[Photo Credit: Unknown]

Yesterday was new student orientation at Beauty School.

I’m noticing a constant trend with every appointment I’ve had at the school so far, they always overshoot estimated lengths of time. For example, the Open House presentation was slated for 90 minutes but lasted one hour. This orientation was also expected to last 90 minutes, yet ended in 60 and that was with the time delay, seeing as how three of my classmates were no-shows.

Another thing Beauty School loves to do is give you stuff. No complaints here. Yesterday, we received another water bottle with Beauty School’s name on it, another cute trendy pen, a cosmetic case and a cute black leather brush holster to wear around our waists. It’s the kind you sometimes see makeup artists wearing backstage at fashion shows or stores like MAC and Nordstrom.

Dottie, Beauty School’s Director, reviewed a power point presentation which summarized important info we’d need to know as students at Beauty School, things like: our anticipated graduation date (July 13), how fast the time will fly, and the extremely crucial importance of clocking in and out.

THIS IS A SUPER MAJOR BIG DEAL at Beauty School!

See, if you attend class each day but forget to clock in when you arrive, the school can not give you credit for those hours and you need 750 hours to complete the course successfully. Even if they see you, speak to you, know that you’re there, they HAVE to provide documentation to ensure each student receives proper credit. It’s a legal mandated sort of thing. Now, I KNOW you’re probably thinking what I was thinking, what all seven of us must’ve thought as we sat there listening to the wide-eyed importance of clocking in & out: “surely there must be some sort of process for exceptions right?” Yea, we sat there waiting to hear them…….. ****crickets****

Bottom line: DO NOT FORGET TO CLOCK IN & OUT.  PERIOD.

We were also told that we’ll need to bring in models once we get to the point of working in the student spa. If we don’t know anyone, they will give us coupons to hand out in the community. Looks like I’ll be dragging my mother, sister and girlfriends here on a regular. They will receive 50% off all services so not a bad deal in the long run.

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One more quick update before class starts…Peter is a f-ing rock star!

[Photo Credit: Cafepress.com]

As I sit here watching the Grammy’s & updating my blog, I feel a wave of thoughts and emotions …..goodness, Lenny Kravitz is finger licking fine….. I’m sorry, I get distracted easily so this post could possibly contain side notes of interruption, consider yourselves warned.

As I was saying, I have orientation coming up this week, then class starts the following week. I do appreciate having a week between orientation and starting day. I assume it’s to give us time to pick up any last minute necessities and get our heads together for going back to school. While I can’t speak for the seven or so others in my class, it has been a frighteningly long time since I’ve been a student of anything other than life. Queue the violins, right?

Yea, so in the last month, I’ve had two meetings with Peter. At our second meeting, he greeted me wearing a Kelly Green button down shirt and his hair had been groomed with some nice manscaping on the facial hair front. He was a complete ‘After’ leaving me to wonder what the heck happened to the scruffy 70’s time capsule I was introduced to just the week prior. It didn’t take long for me to realize that our first meeting found him on what I assume was just a really off day. We all have them. Peter cleans up well.

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Sales Pitch 101: Persuade by impressing: “Hey, you dropped something..” “Really? What?” “So many names, I lost count.”

[Photo Credit: Cartoonstock.com]

One way to persuade someone to do something is by enthusiastically running down the names of famous people who did it before them. It’s a surefire way to impress, garner some “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd. Everyone knows celebrity success is a top-seller of just about anything in the world so the connection inspires hope and belief that “you too can achieve that same level of success!”  Really? Woooow! All together now… “ooh aah“.

This name-droppin’ approach was part of the visual slide presentation at the Beauty School’s Open House two weeks ago. While I’m sure the young hopefuls that filled the majority of the room found the loud music, flashy screen-shots and glossy bios of those that came before them all too thrilling, I was rather sold on the school itself, the curriculum and the upbeat yet informative students whom I met along the way.

And here’s the thing that put it over the top for me – after leaving said presentation where I peeked into my goody bag of brochures and a water bottle full of red gum balls, not to mention being the first name pulled for the raffle, I stopped by the Admissions office to have the rest of my 17 question checklist answered by one of the reps. I asked Mark about financial grant options and he asked if I was under or over 24 years old. My reply “cute, I’m way over”. His response “Really? Honestly, I can’t tell so I had to ask.”

Oh Mark, you adorable, perfect-smile-possessing yet clearly delirious young man! What a doll you are! Sign me up for a meeting with the Admissions office next week, will you?

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Almost time …..

[Photo Credit: bbc.co.uk]

I’ll be starting beauty school next month & just thinking about it gives me butterflies. With any major change, we all experience excitement and fear combined & that’s exactly where I am at the moment. I hope I’m not disappointed with the curriculum, the instructors & most of all, my decision. This has been the biggest decision I’ve ever made career-wise & although this little voice has been in my head for years now telling me to make this very move, the looming fear of failure is unavoidable. I’m going to stay positive, keep going & pushing toward my goals which oddly enough are taking shape as I go. So not like me. I plan plans for goodness sake. But now, I’m walking by faith, with just enough light ahead to take the next step but unable to see 10 feet in front of me. One step at a time…..

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By this time next week…..

I’ll have completed my very first esthetics class. It’s a one day course designed for licensed estheticians to learn about advanced techniques in the skin care field along with career pointers such as “how to land your dream job”. **pause for exaggerated eye roll at that last part** Besides the over-promised advertising, I feel excited to get started. Although I am not yet a licensed esthetician, I was able to secure a seat in the class following a friendly conversation with the school’s esthetics director. I explained that I will be registering for the full-time program in a few months & since they never offer one-day classes, I thought it would be a great opportunity to “get my feet wet” & see first-hand what the job entails along with a sneak-preview of the 750 credit hours I’ll be facing in the near future. Wendy was friendly and encouraging as she agreed to register me for the class. Still, I hesitated & said I’d call back the next day to complete the process.

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