I finished my last three pedicures and took (and passed) my last final! All that is left now is counting down the hours and then GRADUATION!!

Now that I’m almost finished, most of the services go to the new students unless it’s something they haven’t covered yet. So for these next two weeks, I’m pretty much on my own. I’ve been filling the time by working on — you guessed it — GEL. I still don’t know what it is about me and this product, but I am determined to get it. I know some people don’t want to be bothered by gel and only specialize in acrylic, but I still want to be able to offer it. School makes it seem like you either offer acrylic or gel, which makes me wonder: How many nail techs offer both?

In addition to practicing my gel applications, I also get to practice on the new students. I was able to do a fill with four broken nails and gel-polish on one girl and she loved it. A couple girls have observed me doing a few services and I’ve been able to share some tips on my school experience with them. They seem very receptive to the ideas and it feels good to be able to help someone out. I remember when I first started school (it seems so long ago). I am so grateful for my classmates who always answered my questions.

Attending nail school still seems like a dream to me. I can’t believe that I will finally be able to do something that I’ve loved for years as my career. Pursuing this dream has been the best experience. As graduation gets closer it feels like a huge weight is being lifted off my shoulders. That weight consisted mostly of dragging myself to a job that I hated. It’s funny, I used to be so creative, but in the workforce creativity has to be toned down, so much so that pretty soon it became nonexistent. Going to school forced me to get back in touch with my creative side, step way out of my comfort zone and work extremely hard to accomplish one of my biggest goals. I never thought I’d get the opportunity to do this. And now here I am. Pretty soon I’ll join a group of the most amazing people in an awesome industry. I absolutely can’t wait. And I thank you for your help in arriving here.

— Starr