Jayda Berhorst here! I'm excited to get this blog kick started! The J's Esthetics blog will be about (obviously) all things esthetics; but also, about life experiences, how to manage work & home life, the highs and lows in the salon world, working with the public, etc. I'm all ears from readers for recommendations or suggestions on what they would like to read about next!
I'm going to start this blog off with story time about my esthetics journey, and how it is not at all what I imagined it being at the beginning. It is great to have a picture in your head about what you want your life to look like, and goals to work towards, but it's also good to understand that it doesn't always end up looking like that picture... and that's okay. This doesn't mean you've failed; this just means you were meant for a different path.
After graduating high school (with a class of 48), I had no second thoughts about getting out of my small town in Missouri called Eugene. I packed my bags and headed for Colorado, where I planned on getting my Esthetics license. Two of my three brothers were living in Colorado at this time. One was attending University of Colorado Boulder for Astrophysics (NASA was calling his name). The other was attending Colorado School of Mines for Material Science Engineering (they obviously got all of the brains ;). The Astrophysics brother is now educating young minds as a high school science teacher in our small hometown, and the engineer brother is designing rocket engine parts for NASA... talk about a plot twist - the perfect example of your path changing from what you imagined.
Anyways, it was the perfect scenario, I'd move to Colorado, at least my brothers were there so I wouldn't be alone, I'd graduate from esthetics school and get a job at a medical spa, it would be great! So, I started my esthetics program and LOVED it. [Real quick fact: The Colorado requirements for an Esthetics license is 600 schooling hours, and Missouri requires 750 hours.] Knowing this before going in, the counselor at the esthetics school in Colorado assured me that there were extra courses I could take to gain the extra hours, just in case I wanted to go back to Missouri and work as an Esthetician there. Three weeks in I had a meeting with the NEW counselor (the precious counselor I had made a plan with was no longer employed there), and she informed me that there were not actually options for me to gain the extra clock hours, and that if I moved back to Missouri, I would have to start over with esthetics school completely. To play it safe (and listening to my gut) I packed my bags once again and back to Missouri I went, where I enrolled in the Merrell University Esthetics program in Jefferson City Missouri (just 30min from my small hometown). So much for getting away and starting fresh in a big city. Little did I know there would still be so much in store for me there! (I later went on to win 2nd place for 2023 Jefferson City's Best Esthetician!)
I graduated from Esthetics school with excellence, and once again, had nothing tying me to the small town in Missouri. This was my 2nd chance to get out of dodge. So, I packed my bags once more and was headed to Florida, where my mother currently lives. Once again, at least I wasn't there alone, nothing was holding me back, it would be a great fresh start... what could go wrong?
Two weeks before making my big move to the sunshine state... a friend convinced me to go to a (field) party. Yes, you read that right; in small towns in Missouri there's no better time than a party in the middle of a field, with a DJ set up on a goose neck trailer, with lots of beer and all of your friends from surrounding small towns. What I thought would be the perfect goodbye Missouri celebration for me, turned out to be so much more... I met a boy (now my husband). Within those two weeks, this boy had unknowingly convinced me to stay. Turns out my fresh start would be with him!
This was a total leap of faith, and it was terrifying. "I'm not really going to stay for a boy, am I?", " How the heck am I going to make it as an esthetician in such a small town?", "All of my bags are already packed", "Where am I going to live" " Where am I going to work?" "This is not at all what I planned." These were all thoughts running through my mind.
I temporarily moved in with my grandpa, in Eugene (once again back to that small hometown), until I could figure out a plan. The owner of the local salon that my mother worked at for years and years as a hair stylist (my happy place growing up, Trendz Hair Studio) was gracious enough to offer me a room to booth rent, so that I could offer esthetics there. This was the start of J's Esthetics!
Feeling unconfident that I would have enough clients to support myself in this area, I continued my search for a job elsewhere. I was lucky enough to land a job as an Esthetician in the nearest "big" city in Columbia, which was an hour from by hometown. Making this commute every day got old fast. I eventually got a small apartment in Columbia to be closer to work. Working in Columbia Tuesday-Saturday, I still continued offering esthetics at my hometown salon in Eugene on Sundays and Mondays (I think even then I knew deep down this is where I belonged but didn't want to admit it - because it wasn't what I "pictured"). After working in Columbia for 2 years, I was miserable... it was not at all what I imagined and was definitely not where I belonged.
Still hesitant that I could support myself by working at my hometown salon alone, I later moved to Jefferson City where I started a job at a medical spa. This was my absolute dream job; although in a smaller city, this was exactly the type of spa I had originally "pictured" working at. I gained so much experience and knowledge working there... but still something just didn't feel right. Was it time to take another leap of faith? This was another terrifying moment. Putting full faith in my abilities to gain clients in such a rural area, I finally took the jump and went full time booth renting at Trendz Hair Studio - where my love for the beauty industry all began. Trusting myself completely and following the unexpected path was the best thing I ever did. I'm now happier and busier with clients than I could have ever imagined in the little town I originally couldn't get away from fast enough.
Although this path was completely not what I expected, I would not change it for anything. Life will throw you so many curve balls, and although in the moment it feels like nothing is going your way, there truly is a reason for everything. There were so many unsure feelings, and signs that I was not meant to move away. At first, moving back home felt like some sort of a walk-of-shame. Now I understand, that wasn't the case at all. Just because I didn't succeed elsewhere, didn't meant I couldn't be successful. As long as you find your passion, and put your heart and soul into it, you can be successful - in the big city, or the small town you started in. It is so important to have big goals and shoot for the stars but recognizing that your goals may change or look a little different from where they started, is crucial for success as well. If I told 19-year-old me that I would be a successful Esthetician, in my hometown of Eugene, Missouri, married to the guy that I met at that field party, and completely thriving; she would probably laugh in my face, not knowing how happy she would be with trusting another path.
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