Has a Phone Call Ever Changed Your Life?
23 is my favorite number. I realize that’s a very “un-adult” thing to say, but it’s true none-the-less. Why should you care about my favorite number? You don’t - nor should you. However, this little tidbit sets the stage for my launch into 1/1/23 when at 8:05 PM I got a phone call that changed my plans for the year ahead. Because I have an attachment to the number 23 you might understand my enthusiasm for the recent flip of the calendar page. I was stoked and ready! … but let me back up.
At my last post, I had started working for a plastic surgeon as a master aesthetician (sometimes referred to in industry as a “medical esthetician”). Having set out NOT wanting to have anything to do with potentially toxic cosmetic procedures, it was a shock to find that I actually enjoyed watching skin transform under the light of a laser or the head of a needle. I watched wrinkles disappear. I watched skin tighten. It’s truly remarkable.
I fell in love with my patients. I was truly invested in each and every one of them. Not only in their skin but in their stories. I want to know what happened with the rental in CA. I want to know how the gender affirmation surgeries are going. It breaks my heart that I could no longer stand the 10-hour days, six days a week.
Deciding I needed a change of scenery and a better life balance, in November of 2022, I found a medical spa with a decade-old brand that was under new ownership where I had more flexibility and choices. I loved my new space! I was finally planted in a place where I felt like I could bloom. I had already started bringing some of my tools I had kept in my home spa to the space. I was ready for action and committed to the cause. I was building out a skin care plan and deciding what products and services to offer.
And then, seven weeks into the job, on 1/1/23, I got a call from the owner of the spa, that he had run out of money. Through a series of unfortunate events related to the original business transaction, we were through.
This call left me with a myriad of questions, most of which as I type this, haven’t been answered yet.
Over the course of the last year, I had put aside my personal wants, wishes and desires. Instead, I focused on growing my depth of knowledge and practice as an aesthetician. I took a certification coarse in working on skin of color called Fearless Beauties. It was a game changer - especially in the new spa where 75% of my clients were a IV & V on the Fitzpatrick Skin Type scale. I was able to get more practice doing medium depth peels, which can only be done in the state of WA at a master-level. The learning was tremendous and I grew leaps and bounds. I focused on building relationships with the spas I support for the organic skin care brand that I’m a trainer for. It was a full dip into multitude of options in this industry, and just a sliver of what’s possible. It made me fall in love with the industry and my role in it again and again and again. To finally find MY place in the world of “work” feels remarkable. And a new adventure awaits!
I’m a life-long lover of learning. That will never stop. I’m also shy about what I’m planning next. My choice feels too bold. The idea is too tender to allow it into the light quite yet. For now, I’ll keep it in the greenhouse of my heart until it can withstand the cries from traditionalists who won’t believe I’ve got the courage to make such a bold move.
I hope you’ll stay with me to find out what it is and watch the process unfold. Remember, it’s all about the journey. And, as one of my more recent Instagram posts says “Shame has no place in learning. You are always learning.” Stay true, dear heart.
