If you're anything like me, you quickly realized regular school wasn't for you. No matter what you switched your major to, nothing felt right. I felt like I was stuck in this repeating cycle of getting inspired by an idea for a career path and then it would quickly go away once I started to pursue that interest. Nothing was able to continuously inspire me until I found beauty school.

I had always thought about going to cosmetology school, but it never seemed like a feasible thing. So many people say that going to beauty school is a cop-out and a way of getting out of "real" college, but I'm here to prove those people wrong. Here's what I learned during my journey of learning how to cut and color hair and why it was the best decision of my life.

1. It's more than just hair

I mean this in the literal and figurative sense. You don't learn just hair. You learn hair, makeup, nails, and body and facial waxing. So there are a lot of things that you are able to do with a cosmo license that I had no idea about. At the salon I work at, I can even do spray tans! But there is so much more to it than just hair, too. You become friends with so many of your clients because you see them every four to six weeks, so you build relationships with a lot of them, especially because people LOVE to talk while they are getting their hair done.

2. You'll have a self-declared degree in therapy

Like I said, people love to talk during their hair appointments, and it's not always going to be an update on the fam. They are going to have rough days, they're going to have struggles at work, or maybe they just had a fight with their significant other or best friend and they're dying to rant to someone who has no obligations to anyone else besides them. They feel that you're going to be on their side, so that's exactly what you need to do.

3. Patience

You learn how to be more patient with people in general. Whether it's dealing with children who can't sit still, processing color, or clients who have no idea what they want, these things will no longer stress you out and have you tugging on your hair because you're going to have more patience. I realized pretty quickly that getting frustrated with something that isn't happening as fast as I wanted it to will only slow me down even more. So take a deep breath, reassess the situation, and continue on.

4. Communication

This might be the number one thing that you're going to get really good at, which isn't a bad thing because you need communication in a work and home-like setting. I really learned how to effectively talk with someone. Slow down and think about what you want to say before you say it so you don't confuse your guest or yourself.

5. Dedication and persistence

I love a good hair challenge because it makes my mind work. I've become very dedicated to a lot of things since going through beauty school. I'm dedicated to learning as many things as I can in my career. I'm dedicated to the brands that I work with and use on my clients. I'm dedicated to my salon and to the guests that I take care of every day. Being dedicated to hair has opened so many doors for me. There are so many different opportunities that can come my way as a hair stylist, and as long as I'm dedicated and persistent, I can do anything in my field that I want to do!