Wednesday, January 25, 2012

I am Living Proof.

When I was only 5 years old, you could find me in the beauty aisle of the grocery store testing out fun colors of nail polish, smelling all the different flavors of shampoo and body wash, and then sneaking my favorites into the shopping cart when my mother wasn't looking.

I’d find my way into my mother’s room to try on any type of makeup I could find in her drawers. When I was 11, I decided it was time to perm my hair for a new style, and by the time I was 16, I could no longer remember what my natural hair color actually was.

In high school, I deemed myself qualified to give my best friends free hair cuts, and somehow became the go-to for makeup for all the school dances. I was often so booked that I ended up doing my own face in the back of the limo on the way to the prom. True story.

My first year in college, I decided that a new school, 18 credits, a sorority, and a nearly full-time job wasn’t enough, so in the evenings, you’d find me at Von Lee International School of Aesthetics, earning my certificate in makeup artistry. And three months later, I was licensed by the State of Maryland.

For the next few years, I worked for companies like Merle Norman and Estee Lauder selling products to not only customers, but my own family and friends. I remember working at the Estee Lauder counter during college and telling my mom I wanted to drop out of school after I'd met the Account Executive. I knew right away, that was what I wanted to do.

Let's just say I lost that battle.   So…I graduated…

With my bachelor’s degree under my belt, it was time to enter the “real world.” For years, you could find me behind a desk working in financial publishing. Just like I had always planned, I was working in Corporate America. I always liked my jobs after college, but it seemed like something was off. I was working hard all day, felt poor all night, and, there was just something missing…

So I got a part-time job.

People talk about love at first sight all the time. “The day I met your father, I just knew he was the man I was going to marry.” You’ve heard a similar story, right? Well, that’s what happened for me, with Aveda. After leaving my first interview for a temporary holiday position, I just knew. (I'm still waiting on that feeling regarding my future husband...)

I started with Aveda in November of 2007, and by February, I had applied for and accepted a full-time position to manage the store. A college degree, and here I was working in the mall. What have I done? Did I really just leave a job where a plastic cup of fine wine was often delivered to my desk on a Friday afternoon? Did I really just give up my weekends to sell shampoo?

4 years later it all makes sense. I'm finally where I've always known I wanted to be, and have accepted a job working in field sales for a company in the industry I love!

Some things are just rooted inside you. For me, it was something that was there even back in the day, at 5 years old, while grocery shopping with my mother. And now, instead of me sneaking products into her shopping cart, she somehow finds a way to add her favorite products into mine.

I don't want to say "I told you so," but...Mom? I told you so.