Have you ever been traveling down a proverbial road and all of a sudden, a tree falls across it? And you would do anything – go over it, under it, around it, or through it – to get to where you’re going? Well, that’s what happened to me. I want to share with you where I was, where I’m going, and the tree that tried to stop me but ended up being just a little obstacle that did not keep me from reaching my goal. 

If you had told me a year ago that I would be receiving chemotherapy for hairy cell leukemia – while finishing aesthetician school, remodeling my spa, and keeping books for three businesses – I’d have said, “No way, not me.” Although I’ve always loved skin care, my degree is in biology. I worked in the corporate world doing research and development for pet food before I left to help my husband with our businesses. 

Throughout this time, I noticed my skin changing and getting worse. It was like teenage acne – horrible, cystic acne that was painful and embarrassing – and I had never had acne. I remember getting ready in the morning and trying not to use a mirror, so I didn’t have to see my skin. I would turn down friends for lunches and decline invites to parties depending on how bad I felt. I went to several dermatologists, plastic surgeons, and nurses. I tried several topical and internal medications, one of which dehydrated me so badly that I was put in the hospital. I knew there had to be something better than this. 

SEEKING SKIN RELIEF 

I started doing my own research, learning about ingredients, wellness, and holistic therapy, and my acne was getting better. However, I was still having a lot of breakouts. My mind was blown when I learned about aestheticians. There were trained people out there just for beautification and the preservation of skin. Since I live in a small town, I did not have easy access to aestheticians, but I found one in Seattle, Washington who goes by The Master Esthetician and changed my life. We did a virtual consult, and I got set up with the right ingredients and supplements. After about six months, I could see a huge change. I felt better, I wasn’t embarrassed, and I even had several compliments from friends and family. I thought wow! I want to do this! I want to help people! 

GOING INTO AESTHETICS 

Since I love all things beauty and antiaging, I loved the idea to help someone feel like I did. Soon, my friends were coming to me for advice about regimens and products that best suited their individual concerns. 

My friends and family encouraged me to go to aesthetics school. I figured, why not just see if I can get accepted?  I googled aesthetician schools in Georgia and watched a YouTube video where a lady described how to complete your practical exam for the state board of aesthetics. In the description, I noticed that the video was made by the Ogeechee Technical College, which was in Statesboro, Georgia and only 45 minutes from me. So, I got online, applied, and was accepted. When the lady from the video walked in on my first day of class, I knew I was in the right place. 

I was thirsty to learn and soaked up all the information I could with the goal of opening my own spa one day. I even purchased a building and started remodeling it. I contacted brands and was ready for the day I received my license. I had a plan in place and was on the road to meeting that goal.  

THE TREE ACROSS THE ROAD 

However, I got COVID-19 in January and did not bounce back like I expected I would. I’m young, I’m physically fit, and I eat healthy whole foods, but I just kept running a fever and felt exhausted every day. I really pushed myself to go to school and just kind of shook it off, thinking I would feel better eventually. 

My husband was due for his yearly bloodwork but kept putting it off and never scheduled it. Finally, I told him I would go with him and also get my bloodwork done. Long story short, my husband was perfectly fine, and I was diagnosed with hairy cell leukemia. I was not going to feel better. My symptoms were not the aftereffects of COVID-19 but some horrible disease I’ve never even heard of. As it turns out, it is a very rare form of cancer that only about 1,000 people a year get. Out of those, only about 2% are women. Therefore, it’s so important to get your bloodwork done regularly because this could have been caught earlier. 

So, there it was, my tree across the road. It was the end of May, and I had just a few more months left of schooling. I knew that if I missed school, I wouldn’t be able to complete the program. I had worked too hard to stop then. I asked my doctor if I could put off chemo until after July but was told that it would not be best.  

While undergoing chemotherapy, I took my online tests. Chemotherapy weakens your immune system, so I wanted to limit the amount of exposure to other people as much as possible. My professor arranged for me to meet before school hours to take my final exams. Shortly after my first round of treatment, I took one of my state exams and, after my second round at the end of September, I took the practical exam to finally reach my goal and overcome the tree that thought it could block my road. 

 FINDING THE UPSIDE 

I guess by now you’re thinking, so what, everyone has obstacles to overcome. But I haven’t talked about the best part yet – how this experience changed me in so many ways. I went through the chemotherapy, can relate to cancer patients, and am able to understand what it does to skin. This experience has made me want to volunteer at the Cancer Center and provide express facials for the patients. It can help them fill time during the long, boring day, and it will keep me grounded knowing that I have been where they are and understanding how it feels. For me, being an aesthetician is not just caring for the skin you’re in. It is the total health and wellness of the entire body, inside and out. It is really listening to a client’s needs and learning their lifestyle and habits.  

It has been a journey and one that I will continue to travel. The message I want to convey is to never give up. Set a goal and make a plan to reach it. If you encounter roadblocks, find a way to keep going even if you have to incorporate that roadblock into your daily life. You can achieve anything you want to achieve. You must believe in it but mostly in yourself. You can do this! 

If you feel yourself getting burned out, step back for a moment and think about why you became an aesthetician in the first place. Give yourself permission to take a break from it and re-group. You’ll feel better and your clientele will be all the better for it.