Oh what a year this one has been!

This year was amazing for me!

I didn’t do things much differently but the experiences at school and with people are what really made this year worth while for me and taught me many lessons.

To start

I started school at Paul Mitchell in February and now I am getting ready to graduate by February 2017!

The journey at Paul Mitchell has been such a roller coaster to say the least. I’ve learned sooooo much and never had a clue as to how much actually goes into being a hair stylist. In order for me to really be the best I want to be, it’s going to take a ton of practice and hours of dedication to this craft.

I became president of a team at school called Take Home Team in April and ever since, it has helped me understand products, ingredients, and how to sell to people from just my knowledge and science behind the products I’m using.

It’s helped prep me in case I ever choose to be a manufacturer educator which is my ultimate goal as a stylist.

I honestly had no life this year because of how tired I was after school and work so I didn’t really go out much at all but the times I did I definitely lived them up.

On a more personal note, I quit the job I was working at, at the Cosmo and I couldn’t be happier. We changed management in May and ever since the new manager was just absolutely crazy. I’ve never met a manager so unprofessional in my ENTIRE life. The things he does, I never imagined any manager doing but I’m out of there and that’s all that matters to me. I told corporate what was going on and it didn’t work out in my favor so I put my 2 weeks in and left.

This year was more for memories and positivity and optimism. I lost some and won some. The memories I made this year and the friendships I made are what really made me feel the love this year. I have never taken so many photos with friends and of my work and of random things that make me smile as much as I did this year. My camera was my best friend everywhere I went and I captured some moments that I’ll be able to look back on and just smile and cherish for years to come. As I’ve explained, I never had a proper graduation so graduating with friends and family around is going to be special for me next year so I knew this year I wanted to make sure that I captured every special moment and just appreciated what life had handed me.

Not everything is going to run smooth, not all the time do I understand things at school and still don’t understand but I’m trying. I’m trying to become a better person for myself and my career and I understand that now.

It’s important to recognize your strengths and weaknesses because you’ll ultimately need them in order to move forward with a strong and smart attitude instead of trial and error or being reckless. You have to build that strength from within. I’m still building and growing on mine but I can proudly say that by the time I graduate I know I’ll be where I feel comfortable knowing that I can get out in the real world and make money the way I want with the right tools

I know that normally with my year in review blogs I tend to break down everywhere I went but honestly this year was all about school, work, and traveling so I figure I’ll just post pictures of everywhere I went and the memories in school that I made :).

Lucie Doughty for guest artist (she’s amazing)

This was also my 2nd Thanksgiving with Nick and this year instead of us going to California and being with his family, we spent it at my moms. 🙂

I’m thankful for a lot this year.

1. I’m thankful this year first and foremost for God and my mother leading me in the direction I needed to go in with my life this year.
2. I’m thankful for Nick helping me with anything and everything. For helping get us a home and for doing everything in his power to make sure I’m happy and provided for and not stressed. Anytime I’ve been nervous or scared about something he’s always there to help make things better and help me understand things.
3. I’m thankful for having a job even though I’m leaving it soon. I could of been unemployed like some people struggling right now to find a job but I was lucky enough to have one and to have been able to experience something different with work.
4. I’m thankful for my sorority at school! My friends are some of the most amazing  and driven people I’ve ever met. I could not have done school without them honestly. I’m thankful for them always believing in me for everything even when my work can be a bit rusty; As I believe in them and support everything they do.
5. I’m thankful for my health being in check and good with little to no problems this year.
6.  I’m thankful for every person I’m still friends with and for all my friends support and love in my life. Without it I would not be the Brian I am today. I have always said I am who I am because of my friends and I mean it.

Those are just a few.

Christmas was spent in California with Nicks family and that definitely was special for me because it really made me feel part of his family. It’s so important to me to feel accepted because chances are if someone’s family doesn’t like you then chances of you guys lasting are slim to none.

I met more of his family and just really got to spend time with all of them and open gifts. It was really different because I had never done that before. I’ve never spent Christmas with someone I was with. I definitely enjoyed myself and kinda missed my family but I just really felt like it’s something I wanted to do and experience since I never have.

Christmas day we spent it with his family until about 5-6pm and then headed back to the hotel for about an hour. Afterwards we went to a hotel called “Padre” and just had drinks and food with all of his friends that I had never met. It was good to meet all of his friends although I was really nervous about meeting them.. I can be really defensive when I feel like I’m not wanted somewhere or when meeting new people sometimes because I don’t know what strangers can be like and that worries me sometimes. Since I was meeting Nicks friends I wasn’t sure if they’d like me or if they’d be snappy with me or something of the sort but that wasn’t the case at all and I just made sure to be my friendly self and hope for the same in return and all went well and I believe they liked me? So that’s good 🙂

Nick and I just mainly spent the weekend really bonding honestly. It’s been rough living together lately just because we’re still adjusting to the change and there’s things we both need to work on still but we’re getting through it all. It was the first trip to and from that we actually really talked about a lot and got a really good understanding about our likes and dislikes. I really enjoyed it because it made me realize how different things were when we were long distance. We only talked when I got home from work which was only for about an hour since I was going to school and working. It made me feel good because we tend to butt heads sometimes and we’re both equally stubborn so it can be hard getting points across to each other but we really were able to get our points across this trip and I really liked that.

This Christmas was amazing and I’m happy and thankful for everything I received. It was more than I could of ever asked or hoped for and I loved everything. This Christmas I received love from all angles from everyone and couldn’t be happier.

Nick and I also spent yet another new years together on the Vegas strip and off at a different restaurant with friends. 🙂

So to sum up this blog

I just want to say thank you for everyone that stuck by me this year. I realized how others may perceive me and what others may think of me and what I need to do to change things and become a better person. To me happiness, love and self discovery is the most important thing and I feel like I really received all of that and I am happy with that. I am not focusing on anything negative because the things I came across that I had to overcome, I dealt with and moved on.

Cheers to another year and cheers to love and happiness ❤ 🙂