Everything & Nothing

Imagine this: you’re driving home after work, your playlist is on shuffle and your favorite song comes on. Most of us are turning the volume up and singing along, right? I would like to think that everyone has done this at least once or twice. Who doesn’t like to sing in the car? Recently, however, I have graduated to something far more embarrassing. My daily commute features thirty minutes of nonstop yapping to an imaginary audience full on podcaster style. That’s right, you heard it here. I’m talking to people nobody else can see. Only mildly troubling, wouldn’t you agree? I’ve been spent a good few hours pretending to run a successful podcast where I talk about really whatever comes to mind: things I like, things I don’t like, commentary on beauty, health, and wellness, and what is in versus what’s out. A smorgasbord of discourse on all the things that matter to me. Then I figured, why not write these things down instead? I’ve always had a love for putting my thoughts onto paper, and as I have gotten older and found myself entering the workforce, I don’t write nearly as often as I used to. I want to change that.

A little bit about myself: I am a twenty-something small town girl who still hasn’t left home. I hold a license in esthetics which I practiced in conjunction with attending community college, however, a year of working as an employee in the beauty industry affirmed that self-employment is my key to more personal and financial freedoms. I left my job in esthetics and was lucky to get a high-paying fine dining job. For about 8 months I have suffered through a swing shift, saving as much money as possible. Because let’s be honest, there’s something humbling about closing a restaurant at midnight, knowing tomorrow you’ll still wake up with much larger dreams. I have found that the hardest part of it all, the thing that takes the most discipline isn’t saving every penny or even showing up for the work itself. It’s reminding myself that I’m not just saving money- I’m buying myself more options and I am on the right path.

I am very happy to say that now all my ducks are in a row, and I will be rejoining the beauty industry as a self-employed independent contractor. Up until this point, I have never quite felt the passion for my work that I do now and it is beyond energizing. I’ve since realized that I never fell out of love with esthetics, I just fell out of love with how I was doing it. Exploring my work through this new lens has given me the confidence to take an indefinite hiatus from community college, allowing me to save more money and focus on the areas of my life that are giving me joy and leading me to the lifestyle that I want.

On a much less serious note, when I’m not working, you can usually find me on a long walk, at the gym, out on the golf course, or just spending time outside. Hiking, fishing, and camping are three things I’m always trying to make more time for—especially now that the weather is starting to warm up again. Lately, I’ve been trying to balance that slow living feel with the hustle that one requires to see their goals met.

With that said, I guess this is a season of life where I’m learning to slow down but never stop moving forward, figure things out as I go, and lean into what feels right.

If you’ve read this far, I just want you to know how much I appreciate you. I hope something here resonated with you, even in a small way. I don’t fully know what this space will become yet—but I know I have a lot to say, and I’m excited to finally have somewhere to say it.

With love,
Lex