Take the Window Instead
100 Life Lessons I Learned from How I Met Your Mother
I originally wrote most of this for the 100th episode of How I Met Your Mother. I just didn’t finish it in time. But now, almost a year later, here is that list, finally finished. Enjoy
My Paul Mitchell Admission’s Essay
I can clearly remember my first year of college: it was the year 2008, and I was going in as an English major with a minor in psychology. All of my hopes and ambitions were suspended in mid air, and I knew that if I just kept climbing that ladder to success, soon my goals would be right at my fingertips. The first year of college was one of the best years of my life. I joined a sorority, Chi Omega, I had good grades in every subject, but in the back of my mind, was this terrible nagging feeling as if this wasn’t it. I found myself thinking, “I should be a lot farther by now.” As the days went by these feelings grew stronger and more overwhelming. My grades dropped. I lost my passion for writing. I changed my major twice in one year and tried to keep going. Deep down I knew I needed to take a step back from school and discover what I was passionate about; for two whole years I was too afraid to do it.
Many aspects of my life contributed to my fear. The pressure of my constant forward thinking, along with family expectations weighed on my shoulders. What would I end up doing? Where would I live? What would my parents think of me? What would my friends think? How would I feel about myself? One day, something shifted in my mind. I couldn’t take it anymore; I woke up and made the decision that this could not go on. I dropped my classes, and worked up the courage to tell my folks. As soon as the words, “I’m done,” left my mouth I felt instant relief, and it didn’t matter that my parents were angry, and that my friends didn’t approve, because it was in that moment I had realized that no one knows me better than I know myself. I got a job working in a restaurant as a server, and moved in with my younger sister in Clemson.
About a year before I called it quits I became more aware of the way I present myself. I would look at the girls in my sorority and wonder why I couldn’t be as fashion forward as them or why I couldn’t do my makeup as well, so I started to practice. Soon girls in my sorority were calling me to do their makeup! One even asked me to do her makeup for her wedding. The girls would call me seeking advice on hair and makeup products- which ones did I prefer? I enjoyed helping them and the best part was that when I styled their hair, and did their makeup it would fill them with confidence.
I met these two girls, who were in the esthiology and skin care program at Aveda. Together we discussed different options for me, and the possibility of me going to school for cosmetology; they told me what to expect from cosmetology school, and just getting to know them and their goals made mine seem attainable and not as out there as I thought. They recommended that I go to Paul Mitchell The School in Charlotte. I immediately started doing research, and when I was done, there was no question about where I wanted to be. So here I am, applying to my dream cosmetology school, with the goals of specializing in makeup and color, working in the fashion industry, or opening my own salon one day-perhaps even both! I am excited, eager to learn, and determined to succeed.
