And so it begins...

  I cannot believe my first week is over already, it went by so fast! I honestly cannot begin to tell you how amazing my school is. The atmosphere is infectious, everyone is there to learn and is excited about it Everyone I've met, future professionals and staff, has been so nice and helpful. The "Paul Mitchell culture" is a real, tangible thing and I love being a part of it.

  Okay, let's get started! First I want to tell you about my CORE learning leader, Tabs. She is Ah-May-Zing. Just sayin'. She is so funny and personable and really knows everything we are learning. She is excellent at making everything easy to understand and knowing when we need a break or change of scenery. She has extremely high expectations that we learn. Tabs also likes to burst bubbles, which is both funny, scary, and informative. Trust me, you would love Mama Tabs!

The beautiful Mama Tabs -  move over Jennifer Hudson!

  The main thing I am sure you want to see is my kit. Now, I'm going to be doing a separate, in depth post with a lot of pictures, but I do want to tell you about Kitmas! Our first day we got all our books and a "bonus present", a foll set of rollers! The next day we came back from lunch and in the theater Christmas music was playing (Alvin and the Chipmunks) and seven huge decorated boxes were waiting for us! We all ran in like kids on Christmas morning, it was hilarious and great.

Merry Kitmas!

A look at the tools!

A quick look at it all.

  It's not all fun and games, we did a lot of book work this week, too. Mostly we worked from our product knowledge work books, learning about all the Paul Mitchell products. I can't wait to use them all and see how they interact with each other and different types of hair. We also started to learn some basic anatomy of the hair, skin, and bone structure. It's a lot to learn, and it will only get more intense when we start color next week, but I can't wait!

  Towards the end of the week we got to do what I know all of us were dying to from the second we stepped in the building, get our hands in some hair! Tabs did a wash and style demo yesterday when we learned about draping. We did pin curls, roller sets, and finger waves, oh my! Actually, I loved every bit of it. Pin curls was probably the easiest thing we did collectively, but we spent the least amount of time on them. Roller sets probably got the most amount of time, we did them for two days. Yesterday we actually got to do a full roller set and left it for Tuesday to see what they look like finished and styled.  Okay, finger waves. From what I can tell they are the viewed as the most difficult thing most people do in cosmetology school. They came so naturally to me! I honestly loved doing them, and can't wait to try them again.

My very first finger wave!

A full finger wave side view.

Finger wave front view.

My roller set, front view.

My roller set back view, I promise it was less crooked when I finished!

  We also had our first Pow Wow this Saturday. The entire school gathers in the theater and we hang out, dance, and have "facings" where you can get up on stage and recognize anyone, future professional or staff, for absolutely anything. It was a wonderful experience. A few of our CORE girls got up, and our class was faced by quite a few people, including Mama Tabs. She also faced me for rocking finger waves, and for showing everyone how I did it and trying to help. Honestly, I left that Pow Wow feeling invincible, it was so empowering.

  It was such a wonderful and reaffirming week. Everything we did felt so natural and comfortable to me. I know that can't continue, and that I will have my challenges, but having a good week right off the bat was exactly what I needed. No matter what the rest of this journey brings I know I will love it. Here's to the next five weeks of CORE, and the rest of my life!