On a warm, Florida winter afternoon, I pulled into the school parking lot that I had pulled into hundreds of times before. I went to the same school from kindergarten to eighth grade, the school where my mom has worked for almost 30 years. And I got asked to return to teach a class on makeup and skincare to the middle school girls. (It was my mom that asked me to come do the class, but it still counts, okay?)
It crossed my mind that if my outfit wasn’t cool enough I might end up in whatever their version of the Burn Book is, so I chose that trendy black Free People jumpsuit dupe that I got off Amazon, and paired it with a reworked army jacket and black suede booties. I guess you could say this is my version of professional. I walked in with my one year old daughter on my hip, handed her off to one of the teachers, and got to work.
I stood in front of the classroom where I learned how to write a paper that would get me a 5 on the Florida Writes Test. The classroom library to my left was still stocked with the books I used to read for hours on end, including the iconic The Clique series. But I was blown away at how much more these girls knew about makeup and skincare than I did at that age. They were so smart and cute, asking if I liked powder products or liquid products better, and if I made the skincare myself. (I personally do a combo, but generally prefer powder, and no I don’t formulate the skincare…In case you were wondering.)
We also talked about how someone becomes an esthetician, and what the process looked like for me personally. When I was in middle school, I had never even heard the word “esthetician”. It never crossed my mind that there was any other option for me than traditional college. Especially now, as time goes on and inflation rages, I think it's extremely important that everyone- especially young girls- know they have options outside of accruing loads of debt before their 21st birthday. And if they work hard and make good decisions, they can absolutely be successful, no matter what their family/home situation looks like.
I also really wanted to explain the importance of skin health, and the difference between quality skincare and skincare trends online. Our skin is the largest organ in our body- treating it properly from birth is not a fun little thing the girlies do. It's for the improved health of everyone. I know I've probably aged out of being cool in the eyes of middle schoolers, but I'm still going to preach my mission to them (at them) anyway.
I really loved getting to chat with the girls and share the little bit of knowledge I’ve accumulated since being their age. It’s something I would be happy to Deux More of (sorry- had to), so if you know of a teacher that wants to host a class for their middle or high schoolers, reach out via the comment box on our site.
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