In April, I graduated from cosmetology school. During those nine months, I made an effort to show up everyday and apply myself as much as possible. I was proudly one of the first people in my class to receive my diploma. Along with that, I was able to pass my state board exam, which was a pivotal moment in the commencement of my career. These past few months have been life-changing. Achieving this at a young age feels incredible. I returned back to the Vineyard and started working full-time at "Maggie's Salon." I had been working there for three years more behind the scenes but now I’m needed more on the floor assisting and mixing colors. The next big thing that happened last year was that towards the middle of summer, I was allowed to start taking clients. To be honest in the beginning, I was not confident, I had practically just finished my training and was now expected to jump into working on hair full-time. I was shy and nervous, but as time went on and my clientele expanded, I began to feel more confident in my skills. I owe a lot to my coworkers, they have been so kind in teaching me new techniques and ways to improve the skills I had already acquired. I have been slowly expanding my services. I have been doing color, style and a few chemical treatments. During this winter, I have been practicing more with mannequins doing foils and haircuts. I’ve been comparing techniques to help choose which I like best, and with that learning to do the services quicker and more efficiently. Maggie has encouraged me to bring in models so I can get more comfortable cutting real hair. My goal is that by this summer, I will be allowed to give haircuts to real clients. The realization of my dreams coming true is so thrilling. I am so grateful for the opportunity that MVYouth has presented me. Thank you for opening this door for me and allowing me to achieve my dream. 

The past few months at Toni&Guy have been life changing. I have been able to grow not only as a person but also as a hairstylist. I’ve been loving being able to express my creativity here, improve my skills that I already have, and being able to learn new techniques. I can service clients at the school, give out hair cuts, and style outs. Soon I’ll be allowed to do color on clients. When I don’t have a client, I’m giving my mannequins a new hairstyle everyday. As a full-time student, some days have been harder than others, but I’ve had the best peers and teachers supporting me and helping me get through it. I love the staff from Toni & Guy, as they have been so helpful in helping me learn new things and improve in the skills that I already had. They’ve shown me what I’ve been doing wrong, taught me how to fix those mistakes and how to avoid making them in the future. They’ve also taught me to see mistakes in other people’s hair and how to fix them.

Since there isn’t a campus at the school, I’ve been living in an apartment. Trying to adapt to city living has been an interesting experience, but I’ve been enjoying learning how to navigate the world on my own. Though I will say that living on my own has been difficult. Not having roommates or my parents around has been very different for me. I’m used to always having people around. Though I have been loving this time to myself, it’s helped me focus and make sure I stay on top of my work. When I can, I go home to Martha’s Vineyard and visit my family and some weekends I work at Maggie’s Salon. I’m very grateful for Maggie and the girls for teaching me a few tips and tricks before I went to school. Most of all I am very thankful for MVYouth for supporting me. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I am now one step closer to achieving my dream.