How It All Began!

Never did I think I was a writer, so I always put off blogging! So what changed? Well, for starters, confidence! Also, loads of encouragement from family and friends. Lately, TONS of people have reached out to me about my journey. They either have questions, are showing love, or a kind of combo. I figured, "Why not make a blog to keep everyone updated with something other than pictures?" So here we go! Oh, and head's up, this one won't have pictures but others will!

Something I hear most is, "It is so amazing that you are following your passion, but how do you do it?!" I'm a stubborn woman, always have been. I'm a person who craves stability, knowing when and where her next paycheck is going to come from, and knowing that my job is secure. So...needless to say...I MAY have put off following my dream of becoming a makeup artist for a while. Ok, so I definitely did. At the time I thought I had it all planned, might not have been happy, but it was comfortable and familiar. Back in 2014, when I was first introduced to makeup, I was just about to become a counselor, was in a relationship, and was planning on "moving to the big city" AKA, Seattle (haha). Makeup was a fun hobby. Yeah, it set off a spark I had NEVER felt before. Yeah, I could picture myself doing it while I was old and grey. But that kind of life was for other people...right?

Fast forward a year and a half. I was nowhere near being happy, let alone feeling fulfilled with my life. But, again, I craved stability and I tried to convince myself that it was just a funk I was going through. I had a job, family, a relationship, but none of it was what I wanted anymore. I found that I had completely altered my life, my dreams, my goals for people around me. I found that I was DREAMING of makeup. I would take my makeup kit with me to work and do gashes on me when I knew I wouldn't have clients. When I would have the group topic of "Goals", almost all of mine were makeup related. But hey, that kind of life is for other people. For the next year and a half I looked up makeup schools and makeup jobs, secretly trying to plan how in the world I could fit it in to my life without changing anything.

Then my world turned upside...or so I thought.

Everything that had been my stability was no longer that. I no longer had a relationship. I no longer had a job that made sense to me. And my family was giving me SO. MUCH. CRAP. for not pursuing makeup. I CLEARLY remember one of the first moments I started to accept that it was time to stop fighting fate. I was sitting at my kitchen table, playing with my food and feeling sorry for myself. I wasn't feeling sorry about a lost relationship, or dreading going to work the next day, it was honestly me beating myself up for not having the guts to do makeup as a job. All of the sudden, SLAM!!!!!! My dad had banged his hands on the table and gone, "You're being a coward!! You are settling and living your backup life! Why in the world aren't you going for what you want?! Yeah, you keep saying 'it's a cutthroat business', 'it's so hard to get in to'. And?! You are TALENTED! Devon, you watch one Youtube video and you're making a heart. IMAGINE what you could do if you went to a school, or even just TRIED! So what if you fail?! You have a career that you can fall back on (counseling), and your mom and I will be here. But guess what, you won't fail. Stop being a coward."

Yup. My dad put me in my place! But did I listen at first? Of course not. I would say it was about three days later that it finally clicked. I was out at my favorite spot in the world, the ocean. I remember I was sitting on some rocks, looking down at a shore that NEVER was there before- ya'll I went to this place almost every day for about three years. The tide had gone WAY out, and the rocks had an easy path down to the shore. Aside from being stubborn, I'm also VERY clumsy. I talked myself out of climbing down those rocks for about 20 minutes, when allll of a sudden, my dad's words came to mind. "YOU'RE BEING A COWARD!" So up I jumped, and down the rocks I went. Not a single stumble. I laughed. I danced. I cried. And most importantly, I prayed. And just like the slam of my dad's hands on the table, SLAM came the knowing of what I had to do...

I had to move to LA and become a makeup artist.

There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. I went home, overjoyed, and told my parents. Their response? "It's about dang time!" 6 months later, I packed up a trailer and moved to Los Angeles. Two years later, I'm writing a blog about it.

My hopes for this blog? That it helps inspire someone. Take the wise words of my dad, "Don't be a coward. Don't live your backup life". This could be something as simple as picking up a hobby, to applying for that job you want. I know a lot of people have families, and I understand that big changes aren't as easy as my start to this crazy journey. But think of it this way, can you follow your dreams in the life you have? Trust me. If you are being called to do it, there will be a way for you to.

Take that jump. Kick fear in the shins and tell it "Not today!"

Thank you for being part of my journey.

Until next blog!