Week 12: Ending the Semester

The first semester of nail school is now in the rear view mirror!

I am now officially 50% done with my education to become a licensed nail technician, and what an adventure it has been! In retrospect, the time has flown by quickly, presumably due to how busy the schedule has been between taking written tests and completing practicals. Although I attempted to prepare myself in advance for nail school, I was not completely certain what to expect. But now that the first half is done, I definitely feel a sense of accomplishment, and I can barely wait to commence the second half. But for now, here is a review of the final week of nail school.

During this week, we had practical finals on artificial tips and sculpting liquid and powder extensions. I think I performed the practical finals adequately. In my opinion my greatest challenge is speed; it took me practically the entire four-hour class time to complete the practical finals. I think that Thelma sensed the importance of the practical finals and cooperated by remaining silent and uncomplaining as I twisted her hand this way and that. I have included a picture of Thelma with the completed liquid and powder extensions (sans polish) so you can judge how well I did.

On the final day of class, we had our final written examination covering all the chapters we studied during the first semester. I had studied quite a bit for the final test and consequently I received an A. To date we have not received our comprehensive grade for the semester yet. Although test scores only make up about 30% of our final grade (other scores include workbooks, labs, daily assessment, etc.), I am hopeful I will receive an A for the semester.

Near the end of the week, we had a small award ceremony to recognize various students, including the Nail Tech I and II students that completed the most client services. I was fortunate enough to be one of the recipients of the Best Attitude award, which I like to call the Best Attitude Displayed and Serious Student award. I have included a picture of me posing with my award of a polish collection and cuticle oil. I have learned a nail tech cannot have too many polishes or too much cuticle oil so the award is much appreciated!

With the completion of our first semester we will be on a hiatus until our second semester begins next March in 2020. So it will be some time until the next installment of this nail student blog appears. However, at this point I plan to attend the ISSE beauty show in Long Beach January 25-27; thus I may report on my visit to the event in this blog. If you attend the ISSE show and see me, please stop and say hello. But be warned, your picture may appear in a future blog!

Before signing off I wish to thank the instructors Ms. Cornwell, Ms. Morales, and Mr. Waddy for being so kind and supportive throughout the semester. I also wish to thank my classmates as well (picture included) for a thoroughly enjoyable semester. I look forward to seeing them all again next year.

Until next time, I extend my warmest wishes to all for a wonderful holiday season and a joyous New Year!