♄Brian ☾ Jamesøn♃

Saudade

14 Sep 2017

The feeling is like knowing that the one person you would call and want to call isn’t there to pick up the phone.

You scroll through your phone book in search of people to call when you just want to call 1 person because of the things they’d say to make you laugh when you need them the most or cry when you need to vent.

Frustration settles and feels like when you try and call someone over and over and you know they won’t answer because they are just that type of person that doesn’t answer the phone, when in all reality they’re just not on the receiving end anymore.

Thinking up past troubles and having that one person to call to talk about it with.

It’s missing the feeling of being able to relate to someone about things that don’t make sense.

It’s going down memory lane just to find a dead end.

Soon memories feel like 5 minutes instead of years worth because you’ve thought of everything possible you could miss.

It’s a feeling of being like troubled brothers

It’s feeling your heart break over and over with each memory that rolls in.

It’s wanting something so bad you know you can’t have.

It’s wishing that they were here and not there.

It’s forgotten agony that like a current in the ocean, gets stronger and builds more power enough to wash grief up to shore.

For each tear is an encapsulation of each memory.

It’s a broken fever that reoccurs

It’s missing someone you love and having to understand that the love for them is in your heart, in a box.

Memories are simply clouds of rain that shower and wash away until another rainy day.

It’s a torture you can’t escape because it’s life and death that come and go in different forms.

Tears dry up and you begin to realize that strength becomes the much unwanted only option.

Tomorrow when you wake up you’ll leave your blanket of memories in bed and go back to work.

And everything will be ok
CASA

6 Aug 2017

I sit here on my chair listening to Florence and the Machine reflecting back on how today went and just feeling so grateful for everything in my life right now..

Today was quite the emotional roller coast.

Today we had the annual CASA event at Square. This was my first one working. CASA is an event for foster children. The kids came to get haircuts, backpacks, school supplies, and to just have a good time and it was one of the most beautiful thing I’ve ever witnessed in my life. I’ve done other charity work, but nothing compares to this..

The only other charity I’ve worked with was AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) and that brought with it a different set of realization of life.

Growing up my sister always had issues and till this day still struggles with her “issues”

Those who have read my past posts will understand where I’m headed with this story.

Recently my sister had her newborn taken away and the newborn is now living with a foster family.

So before going in today to work this event, I kind of prepared to cry a little because I knew that this was going to touch me in some way. I have a huge soft spot for kids and I thought I understood them but working this event truly showed me what I’ve always thought about. I’ve tuned out a lot of the issues my family has because I don’t want to be depressed or upset all the time but this reminded me that even though I might of never been a foster child, my family is slightly a part of this now because of the newborn and it kind of broke my heart..

Sometimes I wonder where bad people come from, I wonder why people do the things they do. When I see videos of people on Facebook shooting at cops in the middle of the road because of God knows whatever they did, I always look beyond that and think “well why?” No one is just psycho and goes around doing wild shit without a reason or motive fueling that. I always wonder if there’s hurt associated with them that they might be feeling.

I worked the shampoo bowl all day and as every single kid came in to get shampoo’d to get their haircut or styled, each one of them had the kindest and sweetest nature to them. They were all nervous or scared because they’ve either never had a haircut or they didn’t know what we were doing at the shampoo bowl because they had never seen such a thing lol. With each kid that I would receive to shampoo I would full on have a conversation with them to get them excited and ready so I’d ask them their favorite Disney movies or favorite show and each one of them would talk to me and get comfortable with telling me their favorite characters and how they were excited to start school and what they wanted to be when they grew up etc. etc. it took a lot of holding back tears because I just felt so bad. Some of the most beautiful kids I’ve ever seen, so sweet and so gentle each and every one of them..

So that’s when it hit me that in my heart, I don’t think evil people are born, I don’t believe bad people are bad for no reason. Some of these kids have such rough pasts that makes them angry and makes them change. I can genuinely say that because I went through feeling angry because of some of the things I experienced as a teenager but I found outlets and found myself enough to be content with who I am now. So when I see videos of people doing crazy things and going down the wrong path, it upsets me because some of these people just need someone to talk to, to help them understand things.. Sometimes the battle isn’t always in the mind, but in the heart..

I see first hand with my nephew how his growing up has affected him because of his mother and often our entire family is having to bring him back down to earth and remind him that he’s loved and cared for.

It’s scary sometimes to feel.

No one likes to feel hurt but sometimes it’s good to cry, it’s good to let it out and you’ll realize just how much better you feel once that’s out. That feeling you feel when you can’t think and then do something to clear your mind and get things off of your mind is what crying a little will do sometimes. This is just something that I’ve noticed I do sometimes when I feel stuck in my emotions. I realize that sometimes a good cry is all it takes to clear my head.

When I looked at these kids, there was not a single kid I felt was a naughty child or anything like that. I felt like they were all the same yet so different in the sense that they all had their own personality but were all so so sweet and innocent.

There was one girl I really bonded with, Emily.

I could tell she needed someone to talk to and she just opened up to me and told me she was bullied at school because she didn’t like “girly things” she was more a tomboy and she didn’t have a lot of friends. So I opened up to her too and told her when I was growing up I looked like a complete girl and that I was made fun of and called names for it but it didn’t bother me and I always knew that I’d be a very successful person some day. So I told her that the next time anyone tries to bully her, to know that in 10 years, those people won’t matter and she might not even remember who they even were or who she was so to just keep her head up and know that she’s going to be a very successful person in the future.

Emily let me know that she also helps take care of her siblings just like I used to with my nieces and nephew and younger brother. When things kept going down hill, I was always the one in charge of taking care of kids even if I didn’t want to, it was just put on me.

I just saw myself in her.

I saw the boy I was as a teenager, liking cool hair and just wanting to talk to people and make friends. I felt I was able to connect and relate with her on that level because she’s at the age I was once at and I wanted to really just give her hope for the future.. Growing up I went through the same thing she did and now that I’m 26 and living the life that I wanted to live and in the career I chose, I can give her the advice that I did. She loved the salon and I told her that maybe when she turns 18 she can try and apply to work at the salon.

I’ll never forget her and I hope that I get to see her in the future again when she’s older and making a life for herself. One can only hope.

Something I’ve always wanted and something I’m sure we can all relate to is wanting to feel like we belong somewhere and someplace.. A feeling that we all fit in somewhere. I feel like I finally fit in somewhere where I can be BRIAN and I’m around people just like me that want to laugh, smile, have a great time and above all, work hard..

I appreciate life more today than I did yesterday and that’s a great feeling. I thank God for everything he has gave me in the past few years and for Jesus always listening to my prayers. Hard times are things we sometimes can’t avoid and they are a way of life but God will always test you and push you and I always knew and felt this growing up and currently I might not have much in my pocket because I’m building my career and life and being an adult, but I am rich in the sense of having the job I wanted when I graduated Cosmetology school and I am blessed to have came as far as I have. I have 0 complaints after today. Now to put more hard work in to make a name for myself.

A letter of thank you: I feel so incredibly blessed to be a part of the Square Salon family… I’m so thankful for Barb and Rick accepting me into their beautiful salon family. The salon is gifted with some of the most loving and caring individuals I’ve ever met in my entire life… I found myself looking around a lot and just noticing that these people I was surrounded by are the ones you see in all of those caring charity videos. Every single one of them was so caring and giving and you could see it in their eyes just how sweet of people they all are. To do this to give back to the community shows me that you can never be too busy to appreciate others and give back to those in need. So thank you Square Salon for everything you have all gave me and the incredible amount of joy every single one of the people I work with has brought me. I feel so lucky, so blessed, and so happy and that’s something money can’t buy. ❤

Quote of the Day

“Children are what make this world pure and good. Children remind us where our hearts are and help us understand our emotions and who we are as adults. Through children we learn to be good and kind and understanding. The way they help us be good and pure is the same way we should treat and protect their tiny hearts . Making sure they grow up to be the kind and gentle beings they were as kids, into adults. If we work on having the same mutual loving nature as kids do and reciprocate that, we can all work on making the world a better and more pure place.”

I am for the child

❤
Orchestrated Moments

31 Jul 2017
Today was the first Monday I’ve had off in weeks. I’ve had maybe 2-3 Mondays off in the past couple of months due to the fact I’m always in the salon working for myself on Mondays and they tend to book up fast since it’s my 1 day to myself. But today was different

I decided to just take the day off and take it really slow. My brother came over and we talked about some family drama going on again. Same problems with my sister. We chatted for a few hours and we talked about life. I’m currently drinking the Dos Equis beer he left me. As this beer fuels my writing, I start to dive into my thoughts and feelings for the day since even though it was a relaxed day, there was a lot of thinking going on.

After my brother left I took my guitar to Guitar Center to get it tuned up. My mom bought me a guitar for my birthday since the one I had growing up got stolen. I wanted one again so bad but I haven’t really had the time or money AT ALL to take my guitar in to get tuned up since I’m always working. So today I made it a point to take it in. The past few days I’ve thought about where I really see myself and what I see myself doing in the future and to be so honest, I really want to play guitar and somewhat make music. I mean, I can’t sing for shit but I’m sure I could at least take some lessons or try lmao. My heart has always been in acoustic music. I love soft melodies and sad music. I know, it’s weird, but any music that touches me is special to me. I love musicians like Connor Oberst from Bright Eyes where you can listen to how soft and effortless he sings certain songs but you can hear in the tone of his voice how he’s feeling about the song he’s singing. That’s powerful to me, to sing a song and it be so mellow but powerful because of the choice of lyrics you use, is special to me.

After I left Guitar Center I went to DSW to pick up insoles and ran into a friend I used to work with and she told me she went to Europe last year and it just struck me again that I should probably really start traveling now. There’s a wanderlust in me so strong that keeps growing over the years but I feel myself ready to take that leap very soon. It just feels like a calling so I’m ready to answer that call before it hangs up.

Shortly after that I felt the need to go to the library to find books about self growth, travel, and business.

What’s funny is the library I went to I haven’t been to since I was about 8 years old. The last time I was there I was with my friend Macy and her mom Tracy and she had a wild 3 year old and there were these stairs the little boy was coming down and he almost came tumbling down but Macy’s mom ran up so fast to grab him. We had checked out so many books that I took it upon myself to grab the huge bag of books that felt like 20 lbs to me at the time and I was wobbling to her holding them all lmao. The minute that I saw those stairs at the library it was like an instant flashback. I had always wondered what the hell library we went to with stairs and when I saw those stairs I just remembered that day so vividly at that moment. There I was reminiscing about my youth going up these stairs being now 26 it felt very different.

My youth and childhood is so present to me because I mark it as the happiest times in my life and the further I get away from my youth the more I feel I cling onto it and continue to keep remembering the things I did as a kid. There’s times I often reflect on being a kid and being innocent and not even knowing what disease was or bills.. It makes me miss the boy I was and sometimes resent the one I’ve become and the hurt that I’ve gone through from mistakes.. Life goes on and I just always remind myself that everything happens for a reason.

I looked around the vast library aimlessly.. I didn’t remember it being as big as it was so I had to ask like 3 different people where things were until I found where I was going lol. I checked out 4 interesting books.
1. Conscious Living, Conscious aging by Ron Pevny (since I think about my past so much I figured that this book should be very fitting to see if in fact I’m aging correctly and not staggering my growth pattern as I age.)
2. How to be the Worlds Smartest Traveler by Christopher Elliot from National Geographic (One thing I will do within the next 2 years is travel.. I want to see Europe and someday move there because of just how beautiful it looks. But to visit I need to be wise about spendings and how to save the most money traveling, so I felt this book could help me with that.)
3. Business Networking for Dummies by Stefan Thomas(Now that I’m entering a career where I will be my own boss, I want to make sure I have the right tools to be successful. I can watch plenty of videos on hair and how to do it but that’s just half the work. The other half right now is all online and it’s all social networking. I want to be the best at being Brian who does hair so I want to have the correct strategy on reaching people.)
4. The Male Factor by Shaunti Feldhahn (This book really just stood out to me because it explains how differently men see things compared to woman or just in general. It talks about men in the workplace and how we interact and how we view things and the way we think. It reallllllly grabbed my attention because I’ve always wondered if I do certain things at work because I’m a boy or what. This book is more targeted to woman but I’m excited to see what I find in this one because I know it’ll definitely be interesting.)
When I got home I kind of delt with more family drama that it just kind of put me out for the rest of the day. Whenever I get into an argument with my mom it’s the one thing that just really does me in because it’s like, no matter how much you might explain things to someone, if they don’t want to understand or they want to keep doing things their way, they won’t listen to you. It’s like when a dog barks but it’s owner isn’t paying attention to the dog or acknowledge it because they don’t think it’s serious. So I just went to the gym to sweat it all out and come home to shower and read for the rest of the night.

I don’t sweat the future anymore. I don’t think about what might happen and worry about the maybe’s anymore. I wing everything and it seems to be working out just fine. Being an adult and learning to struggle and find a way to pay my bills and pay rent, is what fuels me to keep pushing and helps me succeed. To me that’s what being hungry means. To want to succeed so bad and although you might have little in your pocket, it pushes you to want to be more and more to have more in your pocket and a better life and career.

I did realize that I need to slow down though because when I actually give myself more than 1 day to rest, I feel better and my thoughts don’t feel as cloudy. Today I felt completely relaxed and not as tense. I’m normally on the go all. the. time. and I don’t mind it at all, I can function because I pay attention to how much rest I’m getting but I’m still human and I still get tired without realizing until days like today remind me to slow down.

So today was a lot to take in and realize but I’m just looking forward to picking up my guitar and ready to start playing. I downloaded a guitar app already to help me tune it and everything so I’m excited to see what I can come up with.

stay TUNED! 😀
An Open Letter of Grief

25 Jul 2017

It’s overcast and muggy out right now. I’m currently sitting in my underwear eating milk and cookies like I do almost every night lol. The funny part is that I’ll literally only have like 4-5 cookies and that’s enough to satisfy me.

It’s monsoon season and with all the rain and clouds I’m feeling a little too cozy with how I’m feeling about some things I have to get off my chest. It’s strange, sometimes the weather makes me feel comfortable enough to allow me to talk about myself or the way I might be feeling. For the most part I have to write at night when there’s no noise at all and the world is asleep… For the most part.

I guess now would be a good time to address the fact that there’s a ton of people right now committing suicide and it’s heartbreaking truly.. I don’t know what it’s like to be depressed or feel like you can’t escape your demons or negative thoughts. I’m not sure how it all works but it truly is devastating.

Coming from someone who’s lost a best friend due to suicide, it’s one of the hardest things to ever deal with. Many people think it’s selfish and fucked up to take your own life and forget everything and everyone and leave everything behind but you have no idea how stuck someone might get into their own head.. It might block out everything for that time being and make them just want to take their own life. The truth is, is that we have no idea what goes on in these people’s minds.. The most we can do is look for the signals and the cries for help and just try to talk to these people. Sometimes it helps but sadly sometimes it doesn’t….

My mom and I had a conversation a couple years ago about suicide and how she thought about it at one point..

She told me she had recently gotten divorced from my step dad and my step dad (being the piece of shit that he was) had left my mother in so much credit card debt that she filed for bankruptcy. She told me during those moments of everything going on and the fact she had no help from anyone and no ways to pay credit card bills or the house, that she felt like killing herself. She said that she really felt life closing in on her.. She said she felt like it would just be easy to escape from everything but that taking her life wouldn’t be worth leaving us behind. Me my brother and sister were the reason she couldn’t do it.

My mother nowadays is truly one of thee strongest people I know. She’s so fucking smart when it comes to anything numbers related or life related. She had to learn everything on her own and now she’s a very successful woman with a 800+ credit score.

My mothers stories and perseverance in life is what truly pushes me and reminds me that no matter what happens or is going on, that I to can get through it. Shitty situations are so temporary and life is fucking hard most days and that’s just how it is. It doesn’t have to be, you just have to find outlets and things to do to get you by sometimes.

Suicide is something so hard to understand but to anyone trying to consider this outlet, please understand that this is seriously something so heartbreaking.

Till this day I still cry over Joey. Anytime I listen to a sad song that relates so closely to him or our friendship, it truly tears me apart. It’s something that I know will forever be so present on my heart because of how much of a best friend he was to me. Anytime a new Lana album comes out it’s always so bittersweet because she always comes out with great music but it’ll always be that 1 song that just kills me because of how much it reminds me of him or how much I think he would of liked some of her new music.

There’s a song on her new album called ‘Tomorrow Never Came’ that actually has Sean Lennon in it (John Lennons son) and it is so close to how I felt around the time Joey passed away that every time I listen to it, I can’t help but to think about him..

(You can currently listen to the song on spotify if interested)

Around the time when Facebook had just done their update about being able to show your location and tag your friends there was a picture that popped up on my Facebook that show Joey and I having a conversation as an example.

When I saw this, the next couple of days when I had time, I went to starbucks and grabbed coffee and went to the park and just sat on the bench and cried and thought of everything. I thought of he and I’s friendship. I thought of what I could of done differently to try to avoid something like this from happening. I thought of how I would probably never find someone as close as he and I were. I thought of how different my life will be without him. I thought of what he would of done with his life in 10 years all grown up with his life sorted out, but it never got to happen and how I’d never know..

Days before he passed away he and I weren’t exactly on the right terms due to certain events that happened but he was still my best friend regardless. We fought like brothers but always remained close friends no matter what went on.

Being a gay male is almost like girls. It’s hard to find that one gay boy that’s just like you in every sense, that isn’t a jealous person or is trying to screw your man and so on. I’m not saying I’d ever replace him, but the connection and friendship he and I had was just so bonded. Many people wonder if we were ever secret lovers but I don’t keep secrets like that. When I’m with someone, you’ll know because I pretty much shout it from the roof tops. That’s just how close of friends we were.

Anytime I’m in the car listening to Lana I play it loud all the time in hopes that he’ll hear it and enjoy it as much as I am.. It’s silly, I know, but that just goes to show how much I miss him and wish he would be in the car with me listening to Lana and singing along to it with me like we used to do..

Sometimes I feel like this situation left me traumatized and my pain kind of stays repeated.. I had never experienced such a loss in my whole life.

Joey left behind his siblings who truly loved him and miss him every single day more than I… And that is saying the least..

The only reason I’ve chose to open up and go into detail about this right now is to show everyone how hard this is for me still and how suicide is something so hard for the people who love you the most. Shows like 13 reasons why give you a glimpse of what suicide does to the people who love you but they can also be detrimental to your mental health so if you watch shit like that too much, it can get stuck in your head so please be aware of that.

To anyone who might have ever felt like this or is contemplating or even had thoughts of suicide please reach out to me or reach out to 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and just speak to someone. I don’t know what it’s like to ever feel like you should just take your own life, but it’s not an outlet. You were put on this earth for a reason regardless if you’re religious or not. You’re loved for and cared for by people and things do get better. When you have a moment just sit back and think about what you’re thinking and doing and how you can fix it. Shit happens in life but all it takes is time to blow over and get past. Just find outlets to your stress and find what makes you happy.

To those who don’t understand suicide and choose to point fingers and call people cowards, please watch your mouth because you don’t understand and you need to try and actually look into the subject rather than be rude about someone’s passing.

Be respectful.
Hair Views

24 Apr 2017

With most life instances I go through, I like to connect them to metaphors and analogys to help me better understand the situations I’m in and what I may be going through. As of recently I’ve decided to really break down what being a hairstylist is like and what it feels like being in the salon.

There was a day Ashlee and I were working on a guest and her guest had mentioned something about how it’s like surgery because I was helping her by handing her foils as she applied the lightener. When the guest said that, it just reassured me about what I was thinking about how doing hair is similar to surgery.

If you think about it it kind of makes sense, especially when you’re lightening hair.

Sometimes people come into the salon and think that you can perform miracles when they want to go platinum blonde in a day. For these guests I always tell them that going blonde is like getting a cut and having to give it a couple of days or sometimes weeks depending on how much of a hit the hair may take. Hair just like anything else, doesn’t fix up over night. Depending on your body and diet, will determine how quick any wound is going to heal, the same goes with hair. You need to treat it with the proper at home care (take home) and make sure your diet is well as not having a good diet could challenge the integrity of your hair when lightening it or just in general.

Take home is like a prescription your stylist is referring to you. Depending on your hairs diagnosis when you come in, will determine which take home you might need. When stylists are pushing you to purchase products from the salon, it’s not because they’re trying to make the salon or themselves all this money. Stylists will push take home to make sure you’re taking care of your hair away from the salon and because they ultimately care about your hairs well being. Any stylist who is passionate about their job is expressing that passion from the knowledge they know about these products to ultimately help YOU out.

Sometimes I understand that money might be tight but in those situations, I would make sure before going to the salon you have enough money to invest in a decent shampoo and conditioner to at least get you by.

Drug store shampoo and conditioner is loaded with animal fat, chemicals and water, it’s so harsh on the hair and scalp that it can even cause you to lose hair. Think of drug store shampoo and conditioner as oils on your skin, sometimes those oils clog your pores and if you’re not using the right cleanser then you’re just keeping those pores clogged, it’s the same with drug store shampooo and is the main reason why sometimes hair color won’t penetrate the hair as well or it’ll fade after about a week or 2. Drug store products are SHIT, and they might have such a low amount of “vitamins” that makes it passable as having any vitamin at all, just like food that is labeled organic. No offense to anyone who legit might not have the money for expensive products, I do get it but now you know the truth about drug store products. I’m sure Sally’s has something better.

Fun fact: If you look on the back of any shampoo bottle, the first 3 ingredients are what you’re getting the most of.

A teacher of mine once said “If you don’t get your hair done at Walgreens why are you buying your hair product from there?”

Hair truly does affect the way you feel and if it doesn’t look good or feel good, chances are there might be days you don’t either. I mean, when you go to get a blow out and your hair is huge like a Victoria Secret model, do you feel like shit the rest of the day? Hell no, you feel like you need to go out and live your life because you feel great about yourself. That’s why it’s so important to take care of your hair and really LISTEN to what your stylist is recommending for you. Choose wisely who you want doing your hair. Social media is so important nowadays and instagram is #1 where people go to look at photos of everyone’s work so pick and choose who you really want touching your hair.

So to me doing hair is like being a surgeon and book keeping is like keeping records of these guests to see what we did last time and if it worked or not just like going to the doctors. It’s a different form of being a doctor to me.

By no means do I ever want a guest to FEEL like they’re at the doctors, obviously, or want my guests to feel like how I perceive being a hairstylist because some people might be sick or hate going to the doctors and so on and want to take a salon day to feel better and forget about their day for a minute. But this is just the way I interpret being a hair stylist because it helps me take the job more serious.

Above everything talked about, I definitely feel strong about making people feel really good about themselves. I’ve always been about making someone feel good and to be honest, you just never know what tomorrow holds. We’re not promised tomorrow so make the best of today. We are one of the very few occupations that allow you to touch someone, so why not make someone feel amazing after their service? Words of encouragement and making someone feel good by looking good can make anyone’s day better and heal if they’re sick.

After being in a salon for about a month now, I can definitely say I feel I chose the right career path for now. The way I see things and my passion for learning different color lines and different products are what ultimately help me see what’s going on in my heart and let’s me know that I’m trying and giving this 100%.

❤ 🙂
Continued Education

11 Apr 2017

Well

It’s been a lonnnnng couple of weeks assisting! Let me just start off by saying that this has been no joke at alllll.

I’ve been at Atelier for about a month now.

I really was in for a rude awakening since starting to say the very least.

To start this post off let me just say that Cosmetology school really is just strictly for state board purposes.. You learn as much as YOU want to push to learn and you learn technique that is in trend currently but it is nothing compared to salon reality at all.

I had a taste of reality in phase 2 at school but that mainly taught me speed in certain aspects such as mens cutting or cutting in general and blow drying. I’m still a little slow with some other parts but I’ve definitely learned sooooo much.

My favorite thing in school was blonding and everyone knew it. The stylist I assist right now is amazing at foiling and blonding so I can see why they put she and I together. I’ve learned so many techniques from her that truly have opened my eyes to really letting go of my fears little by little and just making someones hair my very own masterpiece by not following so many restrictions.

In school they teach you to section hair out and do things step by step and to make sure this and that is done in this and that way and what not but honestly that is not the case in the salon.

For example:

•Very rarely do we ever section hair out unless it’s for a blow dry and that’s just for the back.

•When coloring regrowth we don’t use clips for anything.

•When highlighting the only times clips are needed are if the person has hair that’s frizzy and won’t lay down or if the hair is sticking straight up or pushing towards the section that is being weaved. We NEVER section out 5-6 sections for foil work… Ever. We only take the sections that really count when highlighting that the guest wants brightened up. We never spend an hour or 2 hours popping millions of foils. It’s literally a couple foils here a couple there that takes maybe 30-45 min tops and then we process. We get the same results you would if you popped in 5 million different foils. There’s just ways you can cut your time in more than half by just foiling different ways and understanding the diameter of each guests hair and how big of a section you might need just the overall look they are trying to achieve.

•Shampooing is the one thing I got down immediately. Lonnie in phase 2 in school taught me a really bomb shampoo method and I just made my own; The shampoo is one of thee most important things and when you get into a salon that’s the first thing you want to really work on first.

We had a shampoo class and they just reinforced that some of these people never get touched and personal touch is so important. Not to mention it’s evvvvveryone’s favorite part. Anyone who knows me knows I like to make people feel good so I truly give it my all when I’m shampooing and my guests just fucking melt in their chair because of it lol. I don’t know if they can feel that I’m really putting time and effort into their head but they love it so much at least from what the majority of them tell me and that makes me happy.

•The whole double draping for chemical services and sanek strips and all that, forget about it. They use clean washed capes for every guest and you work with the preference the guest may have.

But these are just a few things about salon reality.

Let’s talk about the scheduling and why work felt like a shit show the first week and where I screwed up multiple times.

So since I’m assisting, we double book. What that means for example is that we’ll book guest 1 which lets just say is a color and once that color is done being applied we take guest 2 so once it’s time for that guest to process, guest 1 is ready to be washed and blown out or cut. While guest 1 is getting their hair blown out guest 2 is ready to be washed and blown out next.

Here’s an example of what the schedule looks like and this is just a normal one. Not even close to what some other days looks like.

You have to really gauge the stylist and see where they are with the blow dry to determine when to walk guest 2 back to the chair for their service. Sometimes some extra love in the shampoo bowl doesn’t hurt. I personally have learned to wash nearest to where I can see the stylist so that I know when to rinse and be on time with everything.

Part of my job as well is to write down the color that we need to replace so we tend to mark each box depending on how many ounces we use and once we’re done we rip the tag off, keep it, and throw away the box so that we know what to get the following week.

I’m not going to lie, it’s kind of easy work once you get the hang of it but it can definitely be sooooo much to remember and there are days I screw up and feel bad and what not because you really have to be attentive at all times. You have to make sure you are literally paying attention to every little detail that’s written about a color formula or how much the guest is being charged at the front and what not that by the end of the day sometimes I feel so delirious, especially if I haven’t ate.

It gets hard some days because since there’s so much to remember that you get exhausted and can’t really get tired in the middle of a whirlwind so I have to find a way to really stay focused so I tend to just drink coffee.

The entire day is hectic up until the very last guest.

I enjoy assisting because it teaches me what to prepare for. Learning is my favorite because its been building my confidence more and more. Even though there’s days I can’t ask as many questions as I’d like, I think that I do a pretty good job each day by just watching how repetitive everything is and learning to memorize each move so that when I do get a chair, I can work just as fast as my stylist does.

I’m a difficult person to teach because I always want to know the hows whens and whys of EVERYTHING and I hate myself for it sometimes because even for simple things that require a little common sense, I tend to overcomplicate and most of it is my fear of screwing up.. That’s just how I’ve always been but since I want to know every single detail or when to do something, the minute I catch up to speed I definitely bring the speed and efficiency. It’s just been taking me a little longer than expected since I’m not used to this type of lifestyle yet. I know I’ll progressively get better and I have I just have to continue to keep my head in the game and continue to adjust. We all make mistakes and that’s something I need to remember so that I don’t beat myself up for it.

To anyone who wants to assist after school, just try and take some tips from this post and really make the best out of the situation because I honestly could not see myself making money from just what I learned in school. I know some of my friends have been out there doing it and making things happen right after school and I am so proud of them for it but I personally couldn’t. I definitely take my time learning but that’s just me and what I prefer. To me slow and steady has always won the race.

I’ve learned so many techniques and speed building tricks that I am so grateful to my stylist Ashlee for. In just a month she literally has taught me from everything on how to highlight and which way to highlight to something as simple as curling hair. I was never confident about curling hair until she really broke down how to do it and watching her do it I would just repeat the motions in my head as if I were doing it and I finally have it down. I did a blonde project all on my own and it just felt great to understand the highlighting technique I did and her curls were beautiful to me. I’ve never curled a whole head of hair and felt as proud as I did. Normally I screw up and get creased hair here and there or it doesn’t look as good as I would like and end up feeling like I wasted my time but after doing this blonde it made me feel more confident in what I can do with blonding and curling hair.

I have to do a check off list of assignments in order for me to start taking my own guests at the salon and one of the assignments is highlights. I figured my friend Kelly who I haven’t seen since my sugar factory days, should come in since it was just her birthday and she just ultimately wanted to be blonder and ashier so I just highlighted and added some ash blonde dimension to what she had.

This is all just an example of everything I’m learning at the salon I’m at and I hope that whomever is reading this that plans on assisting, really takes notes and understands how intense the process can be but how rewarding it is in the end. I’m not about wasting time so I’ve been really working on building my clientele.

If you would like to book with me or know anyone that might want to come in please feel free to contact me by email at:

brianjamesonpersonal@gmail.com

If you’d like to see more of the work Ashlee does feel free to check out her instagram.

Instagram: @Ashlee.k.stylist

❤
Reach High

26 Mar 2017

This past week has been such an incredible week for me.

As of last week I’m officially a part of the Square Salon family in Summerlin!

I am beyond happy and beyond excited about this opportunity. I finally feel like life is starting to happen and everything is just coming together so beautifully.

I’ll be assisting Ashlee Kohut (Instagram: @ashlee.k.stylist) for a bit, until I go Commission.

I went in on a Tuesday 2 weeks ago for my working interview with Ashlee and we just vibed really well. We got along and I just felt like I could understand her and understand how she likes things done. I felt like the more I kept reading her actions and the things she did the more I learned about how to ACTUALLY assist and get to know your stylist. She showed me where everything was and how to Shampoo well and introduced me to her guests. At the end of the interview she explained she liked me and felt like I’d be a right fit for her and I felt so honored and ecstatic and happy that I could barely contain it :). I didn’t even know how to act so I just kept my cool lol. She’ll be the first stylist I assist and I’ll be her first assistant so that’s even cooler because we’ll really be learning a lot from each other.

When I got back in my car to leave I felt like just crying because of how happy I was. It truly hit a soft spot.

As I’ve explained

Disney movies ultimately helped me get through my childhood and teenage years. I always felt I could relate to certain characters and certain stories and they just always kept me happy and hopeful.

Another Disney movie I feel like I always was able to relate with was Cinderella. Although she was treated nasty she always knew that no matter what happened, things would get better and that she’d find her happy ending and she did.

So almost every week I’d watch this movie before bed and always remind myself that the current situation I was in, wasn’t going to be forever. My family needed me at the time and I did everything I could to make sure my niece, nephew and brother were taken care of. I put my dreams on hold and just took care of family.

I know that I explained a lot of this in my past blog but today and this week in general has just really made me reflect on everything from the past..

I had so many dreams and I made so many of them come true every chance that I could.

So let me explain.

When I moved back to Vegas from Pahrump I wanted to get a job and start working right away so I did. First job I ever had was as a club promoter for events. Within that month I started club promoting for a group called So Crush and that lasted for about a year and a half. From there I went on to work many different places.

When I decided to take photography serious I bought a camera when I was in Florida.

I had to seriously stop and take a selfie.

Water was cold!

Underwater!!

My double fisting pose. Drinking Bahamian beer. It honestly tasted just like a corona lol.

Last day of the cruise and I decide to get hammered drunk.

Here I was having a conversation with Elaine and her Husband Charlie.

My view from my balcony room of the ocean.

I went on a 3 day cruise and when my friends and I got back to Orlando we were bored and walking and I saw a camera store and decided to go in and “just look”

I ended up spending $700 on a camera and wide angle lense lol. Little did I know the camera soon became my best friend.

2 months after I decided to take photography serious and build my own website, I was on the radio. It’s a station called 702 ROX and they focus on all upcoming talent whether it’s musicians, photographers etc. etc. They asked me about my art and talked to me about the showcase I was going to be in with 20 others to show off my photography photos and work.

I did a showcase called RAW and it was for all upcoming talent as well and was one of the most amazing and best experiences I’ve ever had with my photography. I sold 2 photos and just enjoyed myself and explained my photos and work to everyone who was interested.

Cara Brooks

My model Cara and manager Avery!

More people checking my work out.

Ryan works 4 doors down from me. Love this one. I trust him telling me when I look like shit lol.

My space

Nataly- the manager of the event checking out how my work turned out.

Just go to that link and purchase a ticket under my name so you can be added to my guest list. ❤

After I did the show, about a month later I began doing the photos at The Mirage for The Beatles Revolution lounge. For a couple of months, I would go in every Sunday and take photos of everyone having fun and the gogo dancers and the acts. A nightclub photographer pretty much. I did that gig and then I did another one called ROI at Chateau at The Paris but that ended quickly.

After I gave photography a rest I was looking desperately for something new to set my mind to and fall in love with so I decided to finally really get my life started and enroll in Cosmetology school.

I went to Paul Mitchell for a year and graduated with knowing I did everything I wanted to do at school and learned what I needed to. I graduated from school the way I wanted to by: Finally walking, I was president of 2 teams (Take Home Team and Student Council) and on top of that I did everything in school I needed to and graduated knowing what I can and am still learning to do.

Landing a job at Square just really made this all come together for me. I really wanted a good continued education program and Atelier really offered that. There’s many other salons that did as well but I just liked the vibe from the Square family and the people there were very welcoming. So getting a job at the salon I originally wanted to work at and first looked into, really makes me happy and feel accomplished.

Seeing how far I have come to get to what feels like the highest point in my life, just really hits me. I feel like I did it and even though my life is barely starting and I’m about to really learn so much and how to be a great stylist, it just really chokes me up. It makes me feel like I deserve this and this is everything I’ve been waiting for. It makes me feel like everything happened the way it needed to in my life to lead up to this point. It opened up my eyes to what working very hard gets you.

I feel like everything in the past I might of gone through that was bad or meeting the wrong people is just a thing of the past because I’m so passed it that I don’t even focus on it. At one point I felt like everyone else was with all the luck and everyone else had all the blessings and such…

To anyone going through hard times and to the people who can’t express how they feel or maybe feel like the way I did at one point in life, I say this:

You might be going through something tough, things might suck for now or for awhile.. But don’t ever give up and don’t ever think that someone or something higher isn’t watching over you. Be positive and always always, always, find the light in every dark situation. Know that things get better and my story is here on my blog if you ever want to read through it to relate and talk.. I’m only an email away for anyone who may need to talk.

Know that you’re loved, you’re blessed and the best is yet to come when the time is right. Whether you feel it may or not, it will come. In a couple of years you’ll find yourself exactly where you envisioned.

My time came at the age of 26 but I made it this far because this is where I wanted to be 11 years ago.

Not trying to preach or anything I just always feel like people need to hear things like this because we’re all going through something and words of encouragement are proven to really help people.

I’m going to keep going and my next step is to set higher goals and to keep going and to keep fulfilling my passions and dreams. For now I am savoring up this moment for all that it is and going to really strive to be the best at such an amazing salon.

I’ll definitely be posting about my progress as an assistant for anyone who is close to graduating that’s looking to assist and such. It’s definitely a lot of work but that’s for another time.

Stay tuned! 🙂 ❤
Spring Mountain Ranch State Park

11 Mar 2017

The other day I was feeling very spontaneous and just really wanted to get out of the house again and go to the mountains.

There’s a place here near Vegas and near my house called “Spring Mountain Ranch State Park” that was home to many people starting in the 1800’s that I was very curious on going to check out because I had no idea we even had this in Vegas.

So I packed my lunch to go and just have a picnic by myself and hang out but I was in for something completely different.

“Sprawling and splendid, Spring Mountain Ranch State Park is adjacent to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and has been used historically as a working ranch and a luxury retreat by a string of colorful owners, including German actress Vera Krupp and millionaire Howard Hughes. Today visitors can explore some of the oldest buildings in Nevada, a 1860s blacksmith shop, the Sandstone Cabin that was home to the founding family and the ranch house. Hiking trails throughout the park, in addition to tree-shaded picnic sites with tables and grills, make day trips to the park a family favorite. And, every year Super Summer Theatre offers a variety of outdoor shows to enjoy.”

To see the location and how to get there just CLICK HERE

To read the full story about the place CLICK HERE

I love excursions like this because I love the history behind these places and how people thrived back in the day and the things that they built that are so ancient now.

They had seats and tables so I sat there and ate my chips and sandwich and read my magazine I had brought with me. I just took in how beautiful the day was and how happy I was to have found such a fun place to visit whenever I get bored. I took a picture of the moon too because the sky was so clear and it was out already.

I certainly wasn’t expecting to pay to go to a park until the lady who I had to pay told me that there was actually a house I could tour and learn about the history of Spring Mountain Ranch State Park.

Here are some of the many pictures I took that just really fascinated me

They also had this fish that was native to Nevada and is going extinct but they managed to save it the last couple of years. It’s called the “Pahrump Poolfish” and apparently there were a couple of other bigger fish eating them and even mosquito fishes? or some shit like that. But they helped save them in these tanks that they had them in!

What was super super cool about this house was it had a secret hallway to another bedroom! They managed to find clothing that her assistant actually gave the estate for the tours to see what she wore.

Located in the closet area Vera Krupp had made, there was a door to her secret room.

I recommend anyone who wants to get away for the day and just go exploring to go to this park and check it out. They’re also always looking for volunteers so if anyone if interested in that just let the people at the house know you’re interested! 🙂

One last thing I grabbed on my way out was the NV passport. Apprently if you visit all 15 parks in NV you get a free annual pass! Let the adventures begin! Stay tuned 😀
Hidden Blessings

9 Mar 2017

So today was an amazing day sort of a moment of realization for me.

Lets start by saying Sunday was a shitty day.

I was driving up to Red Rock because I wanted to take my nephew to go see the mountains. He’s young and a kid so he has a tendency to play video games all day and watch television and never really gets out. I figured I’d take him to go to the mountains and just really take in the beauty that’s around him and outside of home and video games.

On the way to Red Rock there were a couple of cars in front of me and it was beyond windy so there was a ton of shit flying around everywhere. I didn’t think the weather was too bad until I got up there and it was raining and sort of snowing because of how cold it was. Something was in the road and I had seen people drive past it but I couldn’t tell if they were running over it so I run over what I think was a post that keeps the fences up and my tire just fucking POPS! immediately my low tire signal came on and I had to pull over on the side of the road. The minute I hit the pole I just knew my tire was done and my nephew was like yeah I think your tire popped.. But he said it in such a calm way where it was almost concerning that something could of possibly happened to us with all that wind and thank god I wasn’t going fast or anything.

I step out of my car to look and sure enough my tire is legit RUINED. So popped beyond belief or repair and even the wheel was dented. I wanted to cry. Only thing I could think about was how much money I was going to have to spend that I don’t have right now on things like this.. I sat there for a moment and just asked God like WHYYY, why me. Meanwhile my nephew is sitting beside me completely calm to where I was just looking like him like, are you serious? This isn’t concerning to you? lol

I know he’s a kid but as a kid I would of been so mortified and scared and my first thought would of been “how are we getting home?!” but he was just so calm and just straight up talking my ear off about random things while I couldn’t even keep my thoughts straight because of everything running through my mind lol.

I end up calling Nick and telling him what had happened so he was over in about 25 min to help change my tire to my spare. During our wait I stepped out and just figured well, there ain’t shit I can do and I’m gonna have to spend whatever I have on a new tire next week and that’s fine. I just felt like if my nephew wasn’t even worried then he probably feels like things like that get fixed anyways and that’s very much so his attitude towards things. So I took his advice on how he was feeling towards the situation and said screw it, I came up here to take photos and show him around and that’s what I’m going to do. Things like this happen to just about everyone and maybe it was just my turn.

So I took a couple of selfies and took some photos of him and of the mountain. The mountain was gorgeous, it was so overcast that the sun coming through just gave it a beautiful glow.

I ended up taking him back to the house and we just watched TV and hung out. It was good alone to just see him.

The moral of the story that day was to just be happy even in the most shitty of circumstances. It’s something I’ve never really enjoyed doing because it takes me a minute to really gather my thoughts but having my nephew with me that day actually helped me calm down and really hear myself think and to just enjoy what was around me which was the beautiful overcast weather and great big mountains.

So this week so far has been going just absolutely amazing. To start, I passed my state board exam and received my Cosmo license!!!!

HUGE accomplishment for me, truly. It’s something I’ve dreamt of since I was about 15 years old. I cried, I laughed I called my mom and it sounded like she even wanted to cry lol. It’s been a struggle but at the end of every tunnel I felt I was in, I ALWAYS saw a light. It’s the biggest joy, feeling like I did something I sought out to do years ago and managed to get this far and to be able to call myself a Cosmetologist now? Just wow. I’m proud of myself and proud of just how hard I pushed myself in school and the amount of support I received from friends and family during this time was just incredible.

It all happened so quick too! I scheduled my appointment a week before my test. I scheduled my appointment with the lady who I was renting my kit from the day before my test so I literally had no time to study for my practical so I just blew through it with Nick for 5-6 hours. I prayed to God most of the night to just not let me fail lol. I seriously would wake up revising the steps on how to remove everything from my kit when at the practical. I ran off of about 3-4 hours of sleep so I was rattled when I took it. But I made it! 🙂

Today I had so much to do. Since I screwed my tire up I went to Discount Tire to get a new one. I spent way less than I thought I’d have to spend so that was a delight and luckily they were able to bend my wheels rim back into place! Meaning I didn’t need to spend on anything else other than a tire. During this time I received a phone call from an agent telling me I would be getting health coverage which made me happy too! I’m 26 now so I’m no longer on my mothers insurance plan and needed to get my own. I get home and then receive an incredible text that I’ll share to come, can’t speak to soon on it. But it was a good one! I was feeling fucking good dude. So I wanted to keep the mood going so I went to go get my oil changed and a well needed car wash. My air filter was just done for and my car was so dirty and hasn’t been washed in MONTHS. After I got all of that square out of the way I decided to take my camera and go take photos at Red Rock. I really wanted to get a good picture of the sunset but it was a little too bright to really get a good picture of the sky but I got some pretty good photos. I was up there for about an hour n a half and it felt like 30 min.

I have an obsession for the outdoor and for mountains especially. I get lost just looking at them. Maybe it’s because they’re such huge structures of nature? Sometimes I feel like I can even see images on the mountains. Like this

Almost looks like an Indian face with the top of the mountain being the red paint Indians would put on.

Red Rock especially captivates me because it was land to different Indian tribes many many years ago and every time I look at it I almost see where it could of been home to Indians. If you’re interested on reading the history behind it just CLICK THIS LINK

But I just wanted to go up there and really appreciate everything great that happened today. It’s been a struggle lately and I’ve needed some real good news and joy in my life so whenever I feel good or need a pick me up I just go to the mountains.

I sat there and just felt so thankful for everything as of the past year up until now and all the accomplishments I’ve made. I know I always talk about being happy and optimistic and just to always do everything with a smile but there’s just been so much going on that I always find the light in every bad situation. To feel HAPPY because of the amount of good news I received today without having to try to be happy or trying to find the light in a bad situation, just really made my day. It’s what I’ve needed.

Today just overall made me realize that there’s some really shitty situations we can get into but it’s how you deal with them that really determines how your mood will affect your days to come. I think that if I would of let me negativity and sadness from screwing up my tire get to me, I wouldn’t of delt with everything the way I did today. I was grateful that I even had the money to replace my tire and I knew it wasn’t gonna run on a spare forever so I just said fuck it and replaced it. I hate care issues because they cost the most but today wasn’t about that for me, it was about achievement and getting things done. It was about being grateful for what I do have and being grateful to see and appreciate nature once again. I want anyone out there reading this that might go through things like this, to know that as long as you put in your mind that it’ll get fixed soon and to just learn to find a way to not allow bad thoughts get to you, then you’ll be just fine. Everything will be alright.

I have more exciting news and a much longer blog about some things I want to open up about in detail.

Feel free to check out my photos from today! I’ll post some here and some on my website.

http://www.brianjamesonphotos.com

I hope you all enjoy. ❤
Graduation

22 Feb 2017

Well

1600 hours and I finally graduated from Paul Mitchell the School Las Vegas!

It’s been a lonnnng year of not having a life just school. It was hard, I cried, I laughed I pushed to learn anything and everything I could while in school.

I walked down the hall as Garth Brooks “Friends in Low Places played because that was my sorority’s song! best feeling ever.

But let me just go into detail about how this day went for me.

Every Tuesday we have something called pow wow in the morning in the theory room and we pretty much compliment each other to start the day. Yesterday I couldn’t contain my emotions during pow wow.. It was such an emotional moment in my life because I’ve waited and struggled for years to finally get to this moment in my life.

I never had a proper graduation. I never walked. I graduated from home and something I always wanted to do was walk. I wanted to walk to make my mom proud of me for helping me get to this point in my life. This is why it seemed like maybe I made my graduation TOO big of a deal. I wanted to make this the biggest and best moment of my life and I really feel like all my friends that came and friends that lined up for me, made that happen. I schedule my state board test tomorrow so that I can get in soon and take the state board test.

I am so incredibly overwhelmed with the amount of support and love I’ve received in the last 24 hours from graduating. It’s the most special I’ve ever felt and couldn’t be happier.

I was so extra about my graduation that I got my own snapchat filter lol.

The entire day I spent finishing up my paper work and getting everything together for graduation but I had so much anxiety I could barely contain myself. I was so excited and so nervous.

I took photos with many of my friends including Katelynn. Katelynn was the one who gave me the tour around and school and really sold me on coming to Paul Mitchell in the first place. I felt secure knowing that I knew someone at the school who I had a mutual friend with. She’s the one who pretty much kept me from leaving or looking for any other school so she has a very special place in my heart.

Around school we were known as the Fab 5 but to us, we were a sorority lol. We were all so connected and so close and even though our craziness ranged from high to low, we always met in the middle.

These are some of the most amazing and creative people I’ve ever met and known in my life.

Callie

was always the brains of our group projects. Callie could literally think of the most brilliant plans and ideas and we would all just help mold everything to where our group projects were all a huge team effort to win.

Larissa

was one of the best at cutting when it came to our group projects and was always quick and efficient with everything she did. She was the one with all the sass in the group.

I

was always the brains of color when it came to our projects and always formulated something up and everyone would throw in their ideas to help make the color formula that much better.

Paige

was a powerhouse at cutting as well but her ideas for combination cutting and the ways of cutting she would come up with were just as good as Larissas, so the both of them would always team up to take on any cutting project. But Paige’s speed is one that is incomparable. She runs circles around anyone and everyone with her speed and knowledge with really everything at school. She was always my push to be as fast as her and as smart as her. She understands things the first time you tell her and the more it’s repeated the more she keeps learning and growing.

Jayven

Was great with color as well but his highlighting techniques and blow outs were what really made him at the school. His blowouts always had his guests returning and his highlighting was always spot on.

After my graduation we went for Tacos and Beer because it was Taco Tuesday!!!! What better way to celebrate? We obviously had tacos and beer and met new people and drank a TON.

We arrived at 5:30 and everyone pretty much left around 7:30 so me Callie Nick and Summer stayed for more drinks at the bar and were there until 11:30-12 lol. Most I’ve drank in a minute and normally I hate being at the bar that long but it was so well worth it lol.

I can’t express how amazing these 4 friends made the school year for me. They supported me and cheered me on with everything I did. I like to believe that everything happens for a reason and because of that I don’t regret what all has happened in my past because everything has added up to this moment in my life. If I hadn’t of started school when I met Paige, I don’t think I ever would of talked to her or been able to get close to her as I did. If I hadn’t of started the core that I did I wouldn’t of had the experience I did at school. I truly feel in my heart that for once this is something I have worked so hard to get and deserve this. My graduation was amazing and the people who stood and cheered me on and made this graduation the best thing ever and who supported me this entire school year, thank you.

Thank you to everyone who truly made this year and clap out the most memorable and incredible feeling I’ve ever experienced in life. ❤

Quote of the Day

“Never apologize for who you are. Never let anyone question you for who you are because you should know yourself first and foremost and put your pride in places it won’t get hurt.”
Last Week of School

19 Feb 2017

This week was my last week in school. On Tuesday I graduate from Paul Mitchell the school at 4:30pm.

I cannot believe that I’m graduating already. It feels like just yesterday I started school..

This feeling is very bittersweet for me because I’m going to really miss school. I feel like I didn’t get enough time with everyone but then again I feel like I did. This week brought an interesting feeling. It’s one of those feelings where you know somethings about to end and you’re just waiting for time to pass by until the moment gets here.

We went back to school this week on Wednesday since we had Tuesday off for Valentine’s Day.

Wednesday

Last day in Theory! 😥

Wednesday mornings we have Theory and then in the afternoon we have Specialty but if you’re full time in Phase 2 (which I am) then you take clients. So I had one of my very favorite guests Jennie come in one last time with me for a haircut.

Jennie was one of my favorite guests because we literally could talk the entiiiiiire time about anything and everything. She shared stories with me about her kids and her boyfriend and I’d share some stories with her that were similar and we would just always have so much fun talking as I did her hair. I gave her my business card just in case she ever comes to the salon I’ll be working at.

Thursday

I decided to touch up my roots since I’ll most likely be letting them grow out long again before touching them again like I normally do.

I had my best friend Paige do it because we used to do each others hair all the time before I got into Phase 2. Ever since I moved over it was hard to hang out with her and do any type of personal service since our schedules changed. So luckily I was able to get her one last time.

As she was rinsing me out and toning my hair it allowed me to see how far she really has come and how much she’s grown in school. She knew exactly how to tone me and she made my hair literally SNOW WHITE.

Sadly my hair was falling apart because my hair can’t handle root touch ups that soon. I literally have to wait at least 2 months to touch them up because otherwise my hair starts snapping. I didn’t care if it was falling out because it’s just hair, it’ll grow back and it’s to be expected since I’m so blonde.

Friday

I had the pleasure of doing one of my other favorite guests hair, Elle.

She was a blast to talk to because she’s always going on trips, ski trips, hikes. All sorts of fun adventures! She made me feel great this last time I did her hair. She told me that I was definitely going places. She told me that the last time I cut her hair she loved the way it was growing out and she loved the color I did. She’s the ultimate red head and she loves the natural red head look so she loved the formula I created for her. It just made me feel really great and gave me some more confidence and reassurance that I was doing something right.

I ran to smash burger for lunch before it started raining again since the weather was very rainy. I refuse to say the weather was bad because it was actually so beautiful lol.

One of my ultimate favs, LORI!!!! One of the teachers I have learned the absolute most from.

Minji graduated!

Saturday

Saturday I started to begin all of my paper work to exit school. All of my trackers and paper work needed to graduate. Saturday was the start of me not taking clients anymore. When I went to grab my folder I noticed that they had kept the same one I had since core! It was so memorable and emotional because it just made me think of when I started school and now I’m graduating and seeing how far I’ve come.

Saturday was actually very chill. I didn’t really do much since I worked on my paper work most of the day.

I go to school tomorrow all day so that I can graduate for sure by Tuesday since I need a couple of more hours to make it happen. I chose to want to graduate on a Tuesday since it normally was the start of the week for me and everyone tends to be at school.

I’ll definitely be writing a blog of graduation and everything I learned but for now this is how relaxed this week was for my last week at school. 🙂
25/26

16 Jan 2017

I am so overwhelmed today with the amount of love and birthday wishes I’ve received!

It’s been a good birthday so far.

25 taught me a lot about myself and the way others see me. I always wondered what people saw when they interact with me and I feel like I learned that and got more of an understanding.

25 gave me wrinkles! Too many late nights and very little sleep! Thank Jesus for eye creams.

25 brought me a new level of maturity. Although I think I’ll forever be someone out of control that loves to have fun and say crazy things, I definitely can say that I’ve grown a little.

I’m now 26 and need to remember that as I get older I do need to grow up and learn to control some of the crazy in me and be professional for the career I’m choosing. I know sometimes I can get carried away with having too much fun but at some point I know I need to calm down and relax a little.

26 feels good so far and I couldn’t be happier with how my birthday went!

I had drinks last night and got a little TOO turnt to the point I fell asleep with my makeup on! Something strange happened at the bar. There was a boy there that honestly reminded me so much of Joey and looked almost identical to Joey. It made me a little emotional because the minute I saw this boy the more I kept looking at him the more I thought of Joey and the more I just felt his presence. I just knew Joey was in the room. He was wearing skinny jeans with a white crop top with makeup and smoking a cigarette and I swear the was Joey. His facial features the way he did things his body type, everything just said Joey. Joey was a lot better looking but everything else was Joey about this boy. It made me that much more happier.

I had a small brunch get together at Mon Ami Gabi with some friends today. I didn’t really want to do something over the top this year since I’ve been so busy with school.

What I will say is that through out the years I’ve never felt as much love from friends and family as I did at 25. School helped a lot with keeping it consistent and I am someone who feeds off of good energy and when I get it constantly and feel the love from friends it makes me that much more happier.

Nick bought me a camera lense for my phone! So I could take ultimate selfies! I’ve been wanting one of these sooooo bad so that when I go out to places and don’t have my camera I can still take quality photos with my phone! I am beyond happy with it!

My mom came over tonight as well with my nephew and the first thing he did when he walked into the house was ask for Nick because my mom had my gift in the car. I was confused because I was wondering if maybe it was a birthday cake and she was trying to surprise me so I went to the bathroom and when I walked out I was surprised with a NEW GUITAR!!!! I almost started crying! I been asking her for the one I had growing up because I want to start playing and she said that it was stolen… I was super bummed but this came as a major shock to me! I am so beyond happy! Now I want to get a microphone so I can start making acoustic music! Nothing over the top just for my friends and family to see and hear.

This birthday was very low key but I want to say thank you to all my friends that made this possible for me and for all the birthday love I received. It truly was overwhelming. I thought my birthday would be boring but it actually turned out to be so much fun for as low key as it was :).

One thing I just really want to touch base on before ending this blog is that I want everyone to understand that yes age should be considered for certain things but often times I hear people always say that they’re “getting old” and so on.

Always remember that we may be getting older but as long as you don’t look it and as long as you take care of yourself then there’s no need to get upset about aging. Aging can definitely be scary but no one lives forever and we’re all headed to the same place so always be the best you can be and always remember to be happy because life is too short to be upset or depressed. There’s too many beautiful things to live for and see. If you feel like there’s nothing to live for then remember that the world is beautiful and all you need to do is step outside to see for yourself because somewhere out there someone loves you… Like me!!!!

This year I will be good, I will behave and get my act together and get into a salon as soon as possible once I graduate and really get my career started!

Thank you again everyone for all the birthday wishes and birthday love. I love you all! 🙂

“Always remember that happiness is the key to life. If you can find happiness in anything including the darkest of times, you are stronger than most and a bearer of light”
2016: The year of memories

1 Jan 2017
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 :).

Justin Thomas as guest artist

Group project, combination haircut YAS!

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.

Pistol, Cassandras dog!

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 ❤ 🙂
Peter Pan

21 Dec 2016

So there’s this song that’s came out recently and it really hit home for me when I heard it..

Literally the minute it came on the radio it just really hit me because I could relate to every lyric.

So here’s a little back story to me in case I haven’t said anything about it in any of my past blogs. I’ll try to keep it vague, but try to listen to the song and read so it all makes sense.

Growing up as a teenager was a bit rough and I practically had to raise my niece and nephew due to family issues with my mom and sister. My mom worked and has been a single mom since I was about 7.

I had to drop out of high school and graduate from home so I never had a proper graduation just had to be stuck at home watching the kids and taking them to the baby sitters house whenever I needed to do school work at home. I practically was like a single dad taking care of 3 kids because I had to also make sure my little brother was doing his homework and had to drive him to the bus stop in the morning. I was the only help my mom really had so the weight she carried, I had to carry as well.

During this time I would always go out to my backyard and lay on the trampoline for hours when the kids would be asleep. I would stare at the stars and see so many shooting stars through out the night and just always wish things would get better.

I remember always always watching Disney movies with the kids and the one that I loved the absolute most was Peter Pan.

Peter Pan to me was funny and I would just get so lost in all of the adventures taken in the movie. I practically lived through the movie. It helped me escape and still live my youth without growing up so fast. It kept me in check because I knew that if the pressure of taking care of kids made me grow up too quick then I would lose my youth and just grow up too soon. I matured quickly for my age but I always kept a part of me true to being a kid through the help of Peter Pan.

I remember there was a week I watched the movie for an entire week for 2-3 times out of the day. It’s a movie that really helped me understand youth. I helped me keep my sanity and helped keep me in line with growing up.

I would always watch it on VHS because I loved the vintage feel the movie had and just as of recently I ordered it online and completely forgot that I did so when I went to Zia Records I bought it there too and came home and realized I always had it on DVD and completely forgot lol.

So in this song Ruth B sings where she says

“There was a time when I was alone
Nowhere to go and no place to call home
My only friend was the man in the moon
And even sometimes he would go away, too

Then one night, as I closed my eyes
I saw a shadow flying high
He came to me with the sweetest smile
Told me he wanted to talk for awhile
He said, “Peter Pan, that’s what they call me
I promise that you’ll never be lonely, “

Really made me tear up just because that literally was my life.

The moon, the stars and Peter Pan is what I had when I was alone. These lyrics made me think of all those nights on the trampoline with the moon and stars.

I never really hung out with anyone in the town I lived in. My high school friends all had groups and I didn’t really have that and was the “gay kid” of the town so it was rare if I ever went out. I never cared about being lonely because the night sky and my books and movies kept me company when I was bored or alone but there definitely was a part of me that felt lonely for sure, I just ignored it.

“I am a lost boy from Neverland
Usually hanging out with Peter Pan
And when we’re bored we play in the woods
Always on the run from Captain Hook
“Run, run, lost boy, ” they say to me
Away from all of reality”

This part made me think of the fact I ran almost every day.

There was a huge cotton tree by my house that I would go to during the day when my mom was getting ready for work. I’d go run to the park by the house and hang out by the cotton tree to get out of the house and away from reality.

“Neverland is home to lost boys like me
And lost boys like me are free
Neverland is home to lost boys like me
And lost boys like me are free”

I always felt like a lost boy.

I was never lost in the sense of not knowing myself because trust me I definitely knew myself inside and out, but in the sense that I always felt unattainable. I never wanted a relationship, I never wanted to be hurt, I just wanted to be wild and free, happy and young.

“Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Wendy Darling
Even Captain Hook, you are my perfect story book
Neverland, I love you so
You are now my home sweet home
Forever a lost boy at last”

These lyrics just spoke for me and how I feel about the story of Peter Pan and how I overall feel about Peter Pan. Peter Pan will always be one of my Disney favorites and always be home for me whenever I feel lost because that’s just the impact its left one me.

I don’t mean to get all sappy or too deep and personal about a movie but this is probably the one movie that has left such an impact on me because of how much it helped me realize things.

One thing I will say about my entire experience growing up is that no matter what situation you’re in or how lonely you may feel, you must always be your own best friend first and love yourself completely so you can truly understand love. You should at least have an idea on how to treat someone you love and care about without so much unneeded trial and error.

Be your own best friend

If you ever feel lonely with literally no one to talk to about something, turn to all of those things that make you happy. Turn to every single hobby you enjoy and you’ll see how quick loneliness fades and how your creativity is born from whichever activity you choose.

❤ 🙂
Accomplishments

18 Oct 2016

So Nick and I have officially moved into our new place!

I can’t explain the amount of different emotions I’m feeling from this move! I’m feeling nervous, scared, excited and so on. It’s such a big step for us and a really really big one too. I feel like I’m really liking this move so far. I’m definitely happy and being able to be with Nick at night really really helps.

We’ve already started buying all the furniture we’ll need and just really getting the house together and more in place. It’s definitely going to take some time to fully adjust but it definitely feels good to be alone sometimes and to enjoy rainy days at home alone or with him there to just spend some time together.

Our first wine night together 🙂

The only thing that’s really getting to me is the fact I won’t be able to see my mom every day or wake up to both of us getting ready or any of that.. I went to her house last night and that was the 1 thing we both agreed on that is gonna be rough getting past, the fact we would be up at the same time in the morning. I would be getting ready for school and she would be getting ready for work. It’s hard, honestly.. I’m very attached to my mom (huge mommas boy) and this happened the last time I moved out. I get really upset because I’m so used to my mom’s house and seeing her and talking with her and just really spending time together. It hurts me that my brother isn’t home as much anymore because I know she’s going to feel lonely and I know she could always come over and hang out but it’s still sad not being able to see her every day.

I like myself better when I don’t live at home. I feel like I go over to the house more and I don’t pay attention to who dirtied the bathroom or left dishes in the sink, I just clean. I help more when I don’t live at home, it’s strange. I know I’ll be able to see my mom as often as I choose and I had to just try and get her head out of thinking I was pretty much dead lol. She views things as if I’ll never be visiting but I know it’s a parent thing, I know she is just acting like this because I just moved out but I know she’s happy for me but sad she won’t see me everyday.

I became president of student council Nov 1st! Making me president of 2 big clubs in school which is Take Home Team and Student Council. I’m seriously so excited because I know student council will really help me with my public speaking and thinking of ideas for school or for my future business if I ever want to own my own salon. I’m nervous because I hope I’m not way over my head with all of this and hope I can really deliver for the next couple of months of me being in school, with these clubs. I’ve been president of Take Home Team since April and have thought of so many creative ways to get the team more active and going and it’s definitely worked. Our team meetings are 2 if not 3x bigger than what they were and that makes me happy because I’m very passionate about the team.

I think the main reason why I chose to be president of both teams is because I never got to do any of this in school. I never had the opportunity to get involved with school activities like this when I was in high school since I graduated from home.. So that’s why I think I take these teams so serious and want to make them fun at school so that I can leave feeling like I did whatever I could to help the school and students. These positions are not easy because I’m always thinking of ideas on what to do with the teams and creative fun events to do with school and such so I always have to have my thoughts and days organized so that I’m prepared at all times.

I got into phase 2 at school which is a big accomplishment for me as well! Phase 2 just means I’ll have extra extra help around when I need it. Lonnie is the main teacher who instructs in phase 2 and shows you how to do everything in a more “work smarter not harder” way which I definitely appreciate since I need that extra help and need someone by my side letting me know if I’m doing something right or wrong. He’s truly amazing. He’s taught me so much on just the first day of being there and if I’m being unproductive he actually pulls me away and gets me to really focus on school and get me working on a doll head. I’m really really getting motivated to just try as hard as I can at school so that when I leave I leave with all the right tools and I definitely think phase 2 will help me become that person I want to be.

I’m not saying I don’t have a passion for this to be able to push myself without having someone else push me, I think I’m just saying that it’s a lot more work than I thought it would be. It can be very frustrating at times when you mess up or get stripes in someone’s hair (lines of demarcation) but I’m still in school so I do understand I’m still learning.
Hair from the heart

15 Oct 2016

So today I did this kind lady’s hair named Janice..

Janice is a school teacher for middle school kids and she came in today to get her hair done for her son’s wedding next weekend.

She had told me when we were walking to my chair that she hasn’t done anything to her hair in 2 years and that her youngest daughter did her hair the last time she did it.

It was blonde before and her regrowth she came in with was about 6 inches long so she definitely needed something done to it. She figured since her son was getting married that she would do something fun and different so she could look nice at his wedding. I thought it was the cutest thing ever.

The minute she sat down I could just feel that feeling of something old that needs to be moved or changed. She wanted high lights put in and I suggested we color the rest of her hair brown so that everything matches, but a warm brown since she had warm blonde in her hair. She was all for it so we were good to go. I had my learning leader Brent help me with getting down the right high light techniques down that I would need to make sure she left with good hair.

As I was doing her hair, she told me that she was happy her son was getting married, but it didn’t seem different or anything because the girlfriend had been part of the family for so long. That was beautiful to me because parent approval is so very important. She ended up getting really quite and just closing her eyes as I did her hair, which really helped me concentrate on what I was doing. Man it was quite the project and just getting all the weaving and color in there took about 2 hours alone for me..

She told me her daughters actually done Paul Mitchell shows! She said her daughter did the gathering 2 years ago and they actually wet her down on stage and she fell down the stairs or something like that because of how slippery the steps were. Her daughters had her hair cut by Tikashi and Angus Mitchell and all the big names for Paul Mitchell really so I thought it was so rad!

I asked her about her kids and she ended up opening up to me and telling me her daughter who’s done the PM shows almost died 2 years ago from her Crohn’s disease.. She told me that her daughters organs had so much scarring that she didn’t think she would make it and that she had all her funeral already planned and her casket she picked out because she really didn’t think she’d make it…. It broke my heart to say the least.. That moment made me realize why she hadn’t touched her hair in 2 years. She was probably holding onto that blonde that her daughter did for her.

We got rid of half of the blonde in her hair and put some round layers in it with the highlights she wanted. I went back and checked my work to make sure I didn’t miss anything and if I got a holiday or line of demarcation I could correct it and make sure she left with good hair.

I was blowing her hair out and I went to grab hair spray to set her curls and when I was just about done with the hair spray she was crying. I thought she might of had a sensitivity to hair spray so I was like oh fuck.. I asked if she was ok and she said yeah, that she was crying because she no longer has to look at those 2 years of regrowth and use it as a reference to the time her daughter almost died…. I think she was traumatized and her hair was a reminder of such a sad and bad time in her life. The highlights and brown in her hair covered up those 2 years of sadness she must of been feeling and she honestly looked completely different.. I was happy and I didn’t feel anything when she started crying to be honest, I kind of didn’t know what to do. She checked out and bought a caper bag to help me get to caper next year and she also left me smash burger coupons so I can go to lunch.

When she left it just hit me like a train how bad I felt for her and her situation and how she used her hair as a reference to the time her daughter almost died.. I mean I just couldn’t imagine myself or my mother going through something like that. It seriously made me so sad. I kept trying to fight back the emotions I was feeling to try and be strong about the situation because I know I’m going to run into things like this as a stylist and need to be emotionally strong for my guests and for myself.

I walked to smash burger after I was done with her hair and I just felt the need to call my mom to talk to her and I just started crying because of how sad that was to me. Using hair as a reference to a sad time in life. It made me realize the power hair can have over someone and how even regrowth could be used as a reference point in life and all that. I told my mom all of this just crying to her explaining to her how I was feeling and how kind this lady was and the amount of hurt she must feel sometimes knowing her child almost died and all that. I know it sounds dramatic, but things like this truly get to me because I feel for people that go through hard situations like that..

I had completely forgotten to even take a before and after photo so when I walked into smash burger I actually saw her and managed to get a photo of her hair and I’m glad I did because this marked a very important moment in my life to always remember; To always do my best and truly strive to change someone’s life and appearance to make them feel good about themselves. It made me realize the importance of ALWAYS trying to do your best and giving it your all so at the end of the day you can say you did whatever you could and if someone doesn’t like your work then try again.

Overall, today showed me the effect hair has on most people’s life and sometimes their heart. It showed me and helped me understand the importance of doing your best in this industry to become the best and be respected. I see hair in a completely different view after today and going through something so emotional for me..

To say the least her daughter is doing amazing and works as an engineer for Disney and is currently working on the guardians of the galaxy ride at Disney right now! 🙂

So that makes me happy 🙂

Today was a great day and I’m glad I had the pleasure of working with Janice. She will definitely be back in the school for me to do her hair. 🙂
Love Academy

30 Sep 2016

Lately I’ve been reflecting on the past.

The way I’ve dealt with certain situations, people I’ve left behind, how I feel about it and how I’d react if I saw these people again.

I realize more and more that growing up from the ages of 5-12 were the happiest years of my life. That innocence and curiosity to life. No worries, just fun and going to school. I realize that those times are kind of the most important because whatever you learn or are exposed to is what really affects you or changes you and helps you grow or ruins you. I may be wrong, but I feel like that’s how I’m able to understand myself so much, from the fact I can look back and pinpoint certain key events that changed me or helped me or traumatized me. But I’m not a victim of my past and regardless of what I went through, I grew from it and didn’t take my anger or frustration out on people. I deal with my situations and move on. Life’s too short to blame other people for things you or they can’t control.

I take every opportunity to text a friend and tell them I love them just because I’m thinking about them. I take every opportunity to say I’m sorry or that I hope their day goes amazing just for the hell of it. I take every opportunity to thank someone if they helped me with something. You don’t know when your time will come and I want to make sure everyone that I appreciate, knows I care about them.

I’ve done a ton of reflecting because of how far I’ve come in school and how graduation is right around the corner and just how far in life I’ve come in general.

So awhile back the Paul Mitchell Gathering event was in town being held at the Aria. It’s a huge educational event that a bunch of the students went to, to assist and volunteer help for other stylists. I couldn’t go because of my work schedule and they really require your complete help which I could not guarantee since I would have to go to work afterwards and work some more.

I went to have dinner with a friend at Mastros at Crystals and I saw a ton of my school buddies on the way there leaving the Aria after the event. It upset me in a way because I would of loved to have gone and been a part of it, but I just know my body and know myself and didn’t want to overwork myself and feel sick.. I felt a slight bit of jealousy but I knew that next year I’d go and actually be a part of it and see what it’s about.

I got to Mastros and sat down and the waitress we always have told me there were a group of people who walked in that had a doll head in their bag and it looked like a dog lol. So I looked over at the group and one looked like my friend but it wasn’t her so I didn’t really pay attention to who it was sitting at the table until I glanced over again and seen Kelly Cardenas sitting with them. I then started to tell my friend that he was a big name for Paul Mitchell and owns his own salons etc. etc… So our server comes back and I ask her if she has their table, but she didn’t her friend did so her friend came over and talked to us and told me that she would tell him I said hello and that I go to PM the school here in town..

I just sat there for a minute staring at their table back n fourth and all I could think about was my future and how attainable it felt for a minute. The more I glanced over the more I could feel their energy of just success and maturity. I know it sounds weird, but it was so strange to FEEL that. That this man has worked so hard to get where he is today and has his own salons and has truly made a name for himself in the beauty industry. It was just so amazing to me to know that he had worked years to get to where he is and that if I work very hard at this that I could to be just as successful as him..

Our food came out and she circled back and told me that he said he wanted to buy me and my friend the butter cake that Mastros has (WHICH IS SOOOO FUCKING GOOD) and to talk to him before they left! I thought it was so cool! I was so damn appreciative that I ate the cake and walked over to him and told him thank you for the cake. I told him that his salon was one that I was looking into and he told me to come in as soon as possible to check out the salon, the sooner the better and that they’re there for me if I plan on wanting to go to his salon after graduating. It made me so happy and made me just feel like even though I have certain questionable thoughts about PM itself, that he’s probably one of the most nicest and realest people in the company.

The poster our group made for learning stations for color week! 🙂

School has been going alright and I’m about half way done. I feel like I’m definitely understanding color and color application a lot better. I’d definitely like to become a color specialist because it’s fun to me since I feel like hair color just completely transforms someone depending on how drastic they go with it. My cutting skills have been getting better as well and I’ve been watching my cutting and coloring DVD’s at home more to get down the techniques better. I want to get better at upstyles so I need to buy another doll head with long hair soon so I can get that going. Up styles are definitely going to be something I want to master before graduating because I enjoy doing them I just can barely do them lol.

The time we got assigned seats because our class wouldn’t shut the fuck up lmao.

The memories I’ve made at school have been some of the best. I’ve met some of the most free-loving people. I’ve never really had a group of friends that I hang out with like I do with Paige, Jayven and Callie. Having them in my life has definitely made school worth going to and made it a lot more enjoyable. We’re the Paul Mitchell sorority. xD

This time here was the time we literally spent like 15-20 min of our already clocked lunch break trying to get this fucking chair in Callies trunk since we all didn’t fit in her car and she had like 5 chairs in there already lol. This thing wouldn’t fit so we decided to put it in my car and I forgot it was in the back of my car until I drove to work and heard something big bashing into my car door lol. So I gave it back to Callie the next day lmao good times.

I’ve been really pushing myself to do everything I can at school so that when I graduate I can really have all the tools I need to go anywhere I want with my license. I’ve been pushing myself out of my comfort zone to try new things or things that intimidated me like updos. So even though they’re still a bit rough, I’m proud that I’m even trying.

This whole Journey has just made me realize that becoming a cosmetologist is a big self challenge. Being a cosmetologist in my opinion is nothing but a self challenge of how creative you can really be and what you can create and call art. It’s hard because I’m so used to needing control and needing to know exactly how to do something that sometimes I forget to think outside of the box and find ways to do things my own way and to work smarter not harder.

I expect a lot from myself because I only have a year in school and then it’s onto the real world, but a year is not enough time to learn everything from A-Z. It takes time to learn different techniques and school is honestly just there to help you pass state board. It’s up to you to get the education you want by asking questions and just really being involved with school and that’s just what I’ve been doing. I’ve asked more questions, I’ve studied my workbook, I’ve pushed myself to do more up-dos which are difficult for me. I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone and just seen what I can come up with and see how I do. I’ve definitely launched my Take Home Team and came up with new and better ideas for the team itself because when I graduate I want to make sure the team is very well established and a bigger part of school.

I want to leave school with good standing and to feel like I learned what I needed to while I was there. I’m half way done with school, I’m pushing myself to learn double of what I’ve already learned and want to try and just get better and better. I’m showing up to school with game plans now to really get work done and get my book work turned in, so I’m proud of myself for that.

The last thing I want to do is graduate and not know anything because I did what I needed to get by, which is what I see a lot of people doing. I want to know every logistic of the cosmetology industry so I can work in whatever field I choose whether it be hair, skin, nails etc.

I’m just glad I have Nick to calm me down from all the stress between work and school. I feel bad because I know sometimes I rant more than others and he doesn’t deserve to hear me bitch all the time but I definitely have my days.

He just keeps me grounded through all of this otherwise I’d be beyond stressed with the pressure of everything going on.

We actually did our first zip line together lol. He came to town for his grandmas birthday and we went to go see Thunder from Down Under with his mom and grandma and it was the most hilarious thing ever. The shit they do to these girls that come on stage is hilarious lol.

We actually did this more so to celebrate the 1 year that we’ve known each other.. It has definitely been very hectic for both of us and still trying to get to understand one another and work things out long distance. It’s not easy but he makes it worth it and makes life easier and I love him for that. This weekend was truly epic and filled with so much love and emotion. I’m excited to see what next year holds for us because I know it’ll be rewarding considering the fact we’ve both been patient with each other and pushed aside anything standing in our way to keep us apart or upset at each other.

Still going strong! 🙂

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I love him 🙂 ❤
Demanding Schedule and Starting School

25 Jul 2016

So these past 4 months have truly been a busy blur!

As many of you know, I finally started beauty school

I started at Paul Mitchell back in February and have been loving it thus far.

I’ve come across some seriously amazing and talented people while in school.

I became president for a product knowledge team called “Take Home Team” so every Thursday I go into core which is the very beginning of the whole Paul Mitchell program and I teach the new class about products and what the products do and what ones to try for certain hair types and hair conditions as well as how to sell them to a client. Learning how to pitch everything to the students has been helping me very much in getting to understand the way I teach and my verbage.

Being the team’s president has truly opened my eyes to what it’s like to teach and I really enjoy it. I just feel I understand it and can understand the students with any questions they may have. From the expressions on their faces to the way they communicate things to me, I can immediately see how they learn or if they’re enjoying what we’re talking about and if they understand it or what I might need to go over again. If they’re not enjoying it I start to think of what I can do to turn things around and make it more fun for them and easier for them to understand about what I’m talking about.

Not only is take home team helping me but I’ve decided that it’s the career of choice I want to choose! What I mean by that is I want to assist in Vegas for about a year and then move to San Diego within 2 years and work at a name brand salon (Robert Cromeans, Bumble and Bumble etc.) so that I can be a stylist and work my way up to being an educator for whichever brand I choose to represent. But this isn’t the end of the road for me once I do become what I want to be. I’ll be going BACK to school for graphic design once I establish myself a little better so that I could ultimately be my own boss. If in 5-10 years I can have a very solid clientele I can trust then I can easily take clients out of my own home. I want to have my own chair and supplied all out of home. It would ultimately be a dream to really remodel my home and turn it into whatever type of spa/salon I’d want for my clients so that I could always be with my loved ones and simply live a semi-laid back life from home and that way if I ever want to travel the world I don’t have to worry about being anywhere for work I could take my work everywhere I go especially if I was a graphic artist.

I graduate next February but I can graduate earlier in January if I continue to arrive on time every day without missing any school. State board just changed their law again so I’m scheduled 1600 hours instead of 1800 which means I won’t be there that long (hopefully). Plus, once I hit 1250 hours I can start staying late so that I can get all the hours I can and graduate earlier.

The school’s education system is super rad. We get to have really awesome guest speakers like Tim Storey.

It’s a fun environment and everyone is so energetic. I really feel like I fit in and that’s the best feeling ever. Sometimes I feel like everyone is doing way better than I am but I know with skill and practice I’ll get progressively better I just want to be good NOW and I just need to have a little more patience with the whole program. I believe the more I continue to work with people the more I’ll be comfortable with everything but what I truly feel will help is if I start doing friends’ hair since I’ll have that extra comfort.

Not to mention my best friend Paige has really been helping me take school to the next step of enjoyment with all the crazy shit we get into lol. We started our own instagram for our hair movement aimed towards blondes. If you haven’t followed us already definitely check us out!!! Instagram: @hausofhousewives

tag #housewifeblonde in everything blonde you post! 😀

Our cosmetology sorority frat party!

I did my friend Shyannes hair a couple months back and I’m actually impressed with the way it came out!

She was originally like a golden toasty color and wanted a white/pastel pink so I lifted her hair just a step lighter with 20 volume developer to get it a little more yellow so I could tone it with a violet base toner to cancel out the yellow and then I applied the pink over it and got a really pretty gold/white/pink out of it. She had a balayage done and I didn’t want to mess up the work her stylist had done so I made sure to leave out certain pieces and not touch more than I needed to on her hair. I just worked with the outline work of everything and went with that.

I also practiced my haircuts and styling on my niece who I love so much!

I also colored my hair electric royal blue on accident.. I really had no idea what color I was going to get when I put the Joico Sapphire Blue on my hair but I really really love the way it faded.

I also tried coloring my hair a light lavender and did the same shit again! it came out super vibrant like the blue but faded into an orchid lol

So my hairs been doing some really fun shit lol.

Other than school I’ve just been laying really low. Haven’t been going out much at all and it sucks because I want to but I’m always tired.. If I’m not tired then I’m working on school work.. School has really been taking up allot of my time especially since I want to start getting better at everything so it’s going to take more dedication.

There are those days that I don’t have anything to do and feel a bit lonely just because so many of my friends have plans already made for the weekend and I can’t exactly make plans right now because idk how I’ll feel the day of. I get really tired these days and 16 hour days take a toll on my tiny body so I sleep whenever I can.. This lifestyle isn’t going to be forever so I just have to stick it out for the next couple of months and keep telling myself no one said it’d be easy, but worth it.

Overall I would say I’m doing great and just waiting to graduate. There’s things that have changed at school that I’m not exactly happy about but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed or delt with. Work changed management so that’s another big thing that I’ve been having to deal with because it isn’t easy..

And if anyone is wondering how Nick and I are doing we’re still doing very good! We have our moments like any couple would but overall we’re doing pretty amazing still and just waiting to see each other again. It’s been really hard having him away with so much going on because I just really need a hug and kiss sometimes and instead I have to wait until I get home just to talk to him.. So it’s hard I won’t lie but we get through it and he helps me feel better and understand things which is why I love him. We got to spend the 4th of July together which was amazing because I haven’t spent the holiday with someone special in years.

So stick around guys! I’ll be posting allot of more good stuff soon! It’s been months since I’ve wrote a post but I’ve just been super busy and editing photos and writing is very time consuming. I hope everyone’s enjoyed this post, stay tuned! 🙂

@brianjameson

@beautybybrianjameson

@hausofhousewives
Vibrant Pastel Hair Project

21 Mar 2016

So yesterday my friend Lisa and I collaborated on putting together some fun colors for my hair!

I’ve never had this many colors in my hair at once… At least not in like 7-8 years lol.

I was so tired and out of it because I took my allergy medicine the night before and just didn’t have the energy to really talk about exactly what I wanted I just had Lisa explain to me what she was going to do and just let her do her thing. I was just not smiling because of how out of it I was so if anyone is wondering why I didn’t look like my happy go lucky self, it’s because of that haha.

I was a bit nervous but I trust her with my hair and her ideas. I seriously did not expect for my hair to turn out as amazing as I feel it did! I love the vibrancy of the color!

We used Pravana Neon Blue, Neon Green, and Violet.

To style we used Bumble and Bumble products.

Lisa had been wanting to do fun colors for her portfolio and I could understand wanting to do something crazy because many people can’t get wild colors because of work or it’s just not for them and I’m so easy going and love things that are crazy so I let her do her thing with my hair and I’m truly amazed with the outcome.

Not to mention a popular hair stylist instagram posted our picture! The feeling of that was awesome because we put allot of hard work into making sure the pictures looked professional and unfiltered to really see the color for what it was.

If anyone is interested in trying this look out or something similar, feel free to contact her:

Website: http://headrushbeauty.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Head-Rush-Beauty-by-Lisa-Marie-241782062523973/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ltllisa/