Dropping everything at the age of 26 and starting over would be scary for anyone. Quitting your job and calling your parents to tell them you’ve decided to go back to beauty school is a terrifying phone call to make, but I did it. I received my esthetics license in 2006 (20 y/o), but I felt like something was missing. I needed more from the industry then what I felt I could have through skin care alone. So I found a school and signed my life away.

The few days before starting cosmetology school seemed like they should be full of excitement and the promise of new opportunity, but I felt the exact opposite. Fear and doubt consumed my mind. It was anxiety and a fear of failing, a fear of not doing my best and not getting what I wanted out of this path I chose to take. I tried keeping myself busy with chores and preparation, but it seemed to make things worse.

I sat on my couch and turned on a movie… Vidal Sassoon: The Movie. It wasn’t a conscious choice; it was almost like it turned itself on. I watched it for a few minutes and got up and kept getting myself ready. That movie stayed on and played on repeat in the background for two days. His voice calming me and helping me to realize that everyone has doubts. What you must do is move forward and get on with it.

I walked into school on my first day feeling like I had Vidal on my side. I took every single opportunity that arose while I was a student, even if it scared me, because it would only push me out of my comfort zone so I could grow. I did well as a student, I made myself proud and I even graduated early with a job waiting for me.

It goes beyond school though…

The Hair Nerds was something I was drawn to, these girls became my friends and showed me that there was a place for ME in this industry where I could create my perfect life/career, and it was with them. About a year after graduation I found myself sitting across a table in Las Vegas, at my very first NAHA, from Eden Sassoon. All I could think to myself was her father is why I get to sit here.

We sat, she shared stories, we talked about him and as we were discussing the future, a white bird flew down and sat a few tables away (we were inside of a giant casino) and Eden stops and says, “That’s my dad, that’s him telling me this is what I’m supposed to be doing.” I felt a shared moment in that the memory and legacy of Vidal Sassoon helped me push through and there I was living my purpose.

With lots of hard work and constant reassurance that I AM doing a good job, we’ve made Hair Nerds into what it is today. I’ve created a life I love and wake up excited for. I haven’t built a career for myself but turned my dreams into reality. I get to travel for a living, meet and talk to absolutely amazing hairdressers and people, hear stories no one else does and be apart of something so much bigger then I ever thought possible in my life… and I pay homage to Vidal Sassoon and the influence he had over my subconscious in those moments I was entering a different part of this industry.

If it weren’t for him giving me the courage to walk into school that first day, I wouldn’t be living the life that I am. Thank you Vidal.

xo Hair Nerd Annie

Thank You Vidal