Who am I ?

Ok, I want you to do an experiment? I know, homework, it sucks, but humor me. One day, after you do your morning rituals infront of the bathroom mirror, avoid looking at yourself for the rest of the day. Yes, this is a hard request for some since mirrors seem to be everywhere and the rearview one is a necessity but try to avoid looking at yourself. I've become quite good at it. As a hair stylist who uses mirrors everyday to actually do my job, avoiding looking at myself is something I learned early on for self preservation, so I know you can do it for a day.

Now, before you get back infront of that mirror for your night rituals, create an image of yourself in your head. Try to be as detailed as possible...eyecolor, eyebrow shape, nose, lip (shape and color), hair style, color and length, neck, chin...etc. Got it? So, look.

Take a good, long look while you compare the "you" you pictured in your head to the "you" before you. How "right" were you? Is your hair longer? darker? your brows shaped differently? Are you the "head shot" you think your putting out there in the world? The "true you". If not...would you like to be? But thats another post...

What Now?

I couldn't wait to get out! I hated school when I had to go as a kid and the last year and some that I was back just dragged...Don't get me wrong, I learned alot, met some great people, and had a good time along the way. But I was ready to be done. Not for any other reason but to get back to some sort of "normal" with my family (my son especially) and with my sleep patterns since school was at night.

However, the other part of "getting out" is my current dilemma. Did you know that:

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2002 Economic Census, which is

the most up-to-date data available to the public, there are:

-- 85,492 establishments in the category "Barber Shops", of which 81,432 are non-employers and 4,060 are employers.

-- 474,367 establishments in the category "Beauty Salons", of which 400,414 are non-employers and 73,953 are employers. Estimations about the nationwide number of hair stylists can be found at the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Here too,there is no specific category "Hair Stylist" in the system of occupation categorization. Hair stylists are included in the category "Hair dressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists", with no further distinction.

According to the data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,there were 670,000 barbers, hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in 2004, of which 48% were self-employed. In May 2005,there were 338,910 employed barbers, hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists.

So where does that leave me? With an empty book trying to figure out ways to fill it. Oh, don't worry...I found a salon. The Beauty Bar has provided me with a comfortable chair and station to keep my stuff in. But the rest is up to me...check back later...