Why is it that the best advice often comes from the stranger who is standing behind you, pair of scissors in hand, chopping away at your hair? That's right, I got some really great advice from a hair stylist yesterday...
It was late and we were both tired.
I sat in the chair, not saying much, but wondering whether my new haircut would make me look more like Hallie Berry or Harry Potter.
The stylist, clearly tired, decided to make small talk.
She asked me what I did for work, what I planned on doing this weekend, etc...you know, the usual questions.
And that's when I asked her if she always knew she wanted to be a stylist.
I was surprised when she immediately replied, "Yes!"
The way she said it, with such emphasis made me say,
"Wow, must be nice to have always known what you wanted to do."
She nodded and proceeded to explain that even though she'd always known what she really wanted to do, she went to college and majored in what other people expected her to major in, but all the while, what she really loved (hair) was sitting in the back of her mind, nudging at her.
Finally, with encouragement from several friends, she decided to stop pursuing her MBA and do what she felt she was made to do- become a stylist.
She said that it involved a lot of sacrifice and that of course not everyone was supportive of her decision, but it made her happy.
I sat there, kind of stunned as I listened to her.
I was stunned because, for a while now, I've been tossing around the idea of pursuing the things I'm really interested in, namely writing and film making.
From the way she spoke to me, you would have thought that she knew exactly what I'd been struggling with and thinking about for the past couple of months!
So, I left her shop with my new Hallie Berry-ish hair cut thinking that life involves risk.
Sometimes, at the risk of causing the people we're closest to slight dissatisfaction, we pursue what we love.
This is a sacrifice, but when an artist does what they were created to do, the world is a better place for it.
It was late and we were both tired.
I sat in the chair, not saying much, but wondering whether my new haircut would make me look more like Hallie Berry or Harry Potter.
The stylist, clearly tired, decided to make small talk.
She asked me what I did for work, what I planned on doing this weekend, etc...you know, the usual questions.
And that's when I asked her if she always knew she wanted to be a stylist.
I was surprised when she immediately replied, "Yes!"
The way she said it, with such emphasis made me say,
"Wow, must be nice to have always known what you wanted to do."
She nodded and proceeded to explain that even though she'd always known what she really wanted to do, she went to college and majored in what other people expected her to major in, but all the while, what she really loved (hair) was sitting in the back of her mind, nudging at her.
Finally, with encouragement from several friends, she decided to stop pursuing her MBA and do what she felt she was made to do- become a stylist.
She said that it involved a lot of sacrifice and that of course not everyone was supportive of her decision, but it made her happy.
I sat there, kind of stunned as I listened to her.
I was stunned because, for a while now, I've been tossing around the idea of pursuing the things I'm really interested in, namely writing and film making.
From the way she spoke to me, you would have thought that she knew exactly what I'd been struggling with and thinking about for the past couple of months!
So, I left her shop with my new Hallie Berry-ish hair cut thinking that life involves risk.
Sometimes, at the risk of causing the people we're closest to slight dissatisfaction, we pursue what we love.
This is a sacrifice, but when an artist does what they were created to do, the world is a better place for it.
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