(Continued from Part One)

I decided I would take this challenge and make it my own. To me, this was more than just a job training program. I was going to use this environment as a form of life re-training. I seated myself next to the most difficult girl in the class, in order to help me rebuild my patience and to practice stress management. I re-learned my people skills by building an extended rapport with one stranger after another – because a decade of cubicle existence eroded my social skills entirely. Going to a school 99% populated by young women and gay men put me well outside my comfort zone (only to the extent, mind you, that it rendered me the gross minority… lest anyone think I’m uncomfortable around women or gay men!), as did the particular social environment a cosmetology school contains – but I avoided closing myself off to it, or putting up emotional barriers, so that I could expand my resilience and my adaptability.

It’s a start, really, but I feel as though I’ve made some personal progress. I do recognize that this field is one in which you need to be “On” while on the job. By “On” I mean you can’t just settle into your cubicle and tack-tack-tack on your computer until the day is finished. At a salon job you are on your feet both physically AND mentally! Your skills can be the best but you’re not going to make any money if you can’t play your social game up to the nines! Put yourself in the salon chair… who are YOU going to recommend to all your friends? The quiet one who gives you a nice haircut but seems somewhat unapproachable, or are you going to recommend that guy who is personable, funny, friendly, and just exudes confidence? It’s a mental game, and as ridiculous as it may seem, it’s almost MORE important for me to put on the “walking-party” mindset than to focus on my actual skills.

This is the part I find the most difficult. I’ve become more task-oriented over the years, and focused much less on my social skills, so it’s very tiresome for me to be “on” for an extended amount of time. However, the more I do it, the better I perform. The better I perform, the more clients I get, and the more products and services I sell, and ultimately – the more fun I have while at work. That would be nice. It’s been some time since I’ve had much fun at work.

So I am now a graduate. That’s a term I didn’t think would ever be attached to my person. I had always figured my days of being enrolled in full-time school were behind me. I didn’t think I’d ever have “classmates” or “educators” again, and I really didn’t think I’d ever have a dress code again! It was like a throwback to my Catholic school education! I’ll be honest with you – I really enjoyed being a student again. You would think that a man my age would be reminded of his age when surrounded by 18, 19 and 20-year-old school “kids,” not the case – it made me feel much younger. I was as old or older than almost all my educators but I felt like I was every bit the 20-something I was when last I was in school. Isn’t that something? I wasn’t teaching or leading, I was just able to sit back and learn new things. I was making new friends, pulling a prank or two, and all I could think was “I wish I had done this 10 years sooner!”

Near the end most of my fellow students had the mindset of “Can’t wait to get outa THIS place!” I  too was looking forward to leaving, but a part of me was wishing I could stay just a little bit longer. I left the campus feeling a weird sort of bond with the school I was walking away from. It was partly due to the 60+ students I had made friends with, and it was partly due to the dozen (give or take) educators and administrators I had gotten to know and respect, but it was also because of the way school, as an institution, made me feel about myself. 11 months ago I had walked into those glass double-doors a somewhat defeated man, and 11 months later I walked out with a new lease on life. One with new aspirations to fulfill, new goals to achieve, and all-new possibilities to discover.

I was a motorcycle-riding, college semi-educated, post-punk computer nerd who woke up one day and decided to go to beauty school. I had no idea how it all would end, but I knew this was going to be a story I just had to write and to publish! Undoubtedly I will further document my new career as it unfolds, but for now I have completed my 1,500′th hour, and I have to close this book.

Sorry, it’s state law.