How Did I Get Here? (the abridged version)

As a kid, I used to dream of working in magazines or advertising, so I could create content that would lift up women & help them love themselves. So, when I went off to college at the University of Missouri, I started in journalism for that reason, but I quickly found that it wasn’t for me. On the first day of orientation, one of the journalism professors stood in front of us in a massive auditorium and told us all, “In journalism, there is no room for your opinion. If that’s a problem for you, this career isn’t for you.” Welp, that settled that! I knew I had too much of myself to give, Journalism was not for me. 

My next stop was in the only design field offered at my school. Interior architecture. I am a creative soul and design was relatively easy for me. It was also well-respected in my family and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t searching for my family’s approval (but that’s a whole conversation for another day lol). So, I thought “well, maybe I can make people happy by giving them beautiful spaces to live in!” 4 years later, I graduated from Mizzou with honors and immediately began a graduate program at the Rhode Island School of Design, because that’s what the next step was.

Subway Platform Selfie

But after 3 years of school there and 2 more years working for a big architecture firm in NYC, I realized that holy cr*p, this was not the right fit. In that industry, if you don’t absolutely LOVE it, you’ll get destroyed. I got destroyed a little bit.

With and Angus Mitchell - son of the master stylist Paul Mitchell

So… to the shock (and horror) of some of the people in my life, I moved on from architecture and design to pursue something I had wanted to do since I was a little girl. I moved to Chicago and became a hairdresser, still with the same ultimate purpose in mind - “I will make women feel beautiful and that will help them be happy, strong & powerful!” I loved doing hair, and I was really good at it! But the lifestyle and hours didn’t give me the flexibility I wanted to grow my family. And if I’m being completely honest, I knew my parents didn’t respect it as a career (there’s that family approval thing again). 

So now, here I am. A wife and mother of 2, and my purpose is still the same. But over the years it has been honed to a more specific mission: To empower other women to be their biggest, brightest & most confident selves. 

And in this season of life, I’m saying “YES” to all the avenues and tools to help me accomplish my mission.