Sometimes all you really need is a road trip with good friends. Laughing to inside jokes, listening to the best tunes, letting the wind blow through your hair. There’s something special about going on a road trip with your best friend. Join me for a virtual road trip as I tell you about my epic weekend. 

Keep reading and you’ll walk away knowing:

• What happened to make this weekend epic

• How I can make every situation into an awkward one

• My road trip “aha” moments

I’m so excited to tell you all about it!

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The BEST Weekend Ever

I don’t know about you but some of my best thinking happens while I’m driving. When I’m driving on a road trip I can get really deep in my thoughts and have some pretty monumental, life-changing thoughts. 

So I thought what better way to share about this weekend than record this podcast while I’m driving home!

Workaholic

I feel like a lot of us in the beauty industry can understand workaholism. When I was behind the chair full time I loved working and I really loved when people validated that I was good at what I did. 

How many times have you heard a beauty professional say, “oh, it’s not work, I love my job”? 

I know I’ve been guilty of thinking I could push myself and never take any breaks because being creative is fun. Turns out, the hustle is only sustainable for a while. It landed me in the ER with a stress-induced panic attack. 

So last week, when I was feeling burnt out and couldn’t get anything done, I started beating myself up until I realized I needed some time off. 

This was hard for me to admit because I kept trying to convince myself I had “time off”. When in reality, the “time off” in question was me recovering from a collapsed lung. Not the beach vacation most people think of when they hear “rest”. 

Even though I wasn’t working, recovering from an injury isn’t the same as doing something entirely for myself, just for fun. 

A good friend recently reminded me that we don’t work this hard to not enjoy our lives. 

The struggle comes when we genuinely enjoy our work, because we truly feel like we are having “fun” at our jobs. And that’s freaking awesome! But it’s important to find things that we enjoy that have nothing to do with creating an income. 

10th Time

So this weekend, I went and saw two Backstreet Boys concerns and I got to meet them in person and it was genuinely surreal. 

*insert teenage girl scream here*

Not to brag or anything, but I’ve seen the Backstreet Boys close to 10 times now. The first time was when I was in Grade 9, then I saw them when I was 24, then in 2006 in the UK and I wouldn’t see them again until 2013 and the last time I saw them was in 2019. 

You could say our relationship is getting pretty serious. 

Fangirl Moment

Out of all those concerts, I had never done a meet and greet before. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. 

Now, adult-Dawn, 39-year-old Dawn understood that they’re just people and it’s no big deal. But teenage-Dawn… the little 12, 13, 14-year-old girl inside of me was actually freaking out. 

“OH MY GOSH!! IT’S NICK CARTER!! I’M GOING TO DIEEEEEE!!!”

The meet and greet happened so quickly, it was almost a blur. I knew what I wanted and had been given some tips prior, but when it came down to it, at the moment, I completely froze. 

I walked in and saw Howie and said hi, then AJ put his hand out for me to shake and then there was Nick and I couldn’t even form a word, I was so star-struck. Then I turned around and asked them to do the pose, we took the picture, and then it was like “okay, you’re done.” 

Kevin and Brian shook my hand and I was so embarrassed. It has all happened so quickly and all I could do was stand there like a deer in headlights. 

You see, when I’m nervous I don’t come across as nervous. You won’t find me with shaky hands or an anxious demeanor. Instead, when I’m trying to look chill, it looks like I don’t care. 

So I was feeling all sorts of self-conscious and disappointed in myself because it wasn’t the interaction I wanted it to be. 

In all honesty, a small part of me was embarrassed about how the Backstreet Boys had perceived me in that short interaction. I was desperate for a do-over. 

A Second Chance

I was throwing around the option to purchase meet and greet tickets for the next concert I was going to. But then all these feelings came up about spending money again.

It was then that I realized I’m still controlled by the fear of what people might think of me and I really wish I wasn’t. 

Did I want to wake up the morning after the second concert and regret not purchasing the meet and greet tickets? Not in the least. So I bought the meet and greet tickets. 

I was already feeling more confident about the second meet and greet since I was more familiar with the process. I decided to go with a couple of other friends and do a “group” meet and greet. Which meant we got to have a bit more time with the Boys. 

Part of me was a little embarrassed that they might remember me. Would they think “omg, she’s back again”?

I beelined it straight to Nick Carter, I wasn’t wasting any time. This was my second chance and I was going to make it everything I had wanted the first time. 

I actually had a conversation with Nick Carter!! (13-year-old Dawn’s dreams have come true)

And to be honest, I felt really proud of myself. Regardless of if I made any sort of impression on them or what they thought of me. 

It all goes to show that generally, the first time you do something, you’re gonna suck at it. 

Getting that second chance to do the meet and greet was everything I could have asked for. I was still buzzing from it 48 hours after (I think I’m still buzzing from it, tbh). 

I needed to do what was going to make me proud and happy for myself. 

So I’m giving you permission to do whatever makes you happy. If it’s not hurting anyone else, who cares? We don’t work this hard to not go and enjoy life. You’re allowed to spoil yourself. 

I kept joking with everyone after the concert that I can die happy now. I even accidentally touched Nick Carter’s bum (something 14-year-old Dawn only dreamed of in her diary). It was seriously SO.MUCH.FUN. 

Don’t let the fear of what people may think or the fear of embarrassment control you into a decision that will lead you into living in regret. 

So, that was my insanely fun weekend! If you love the Backstreet Boys, please let me know. Shoot me a DM over on Instagram @dawnbradleyhair with your favourite song and we can become BFFs. 

I’d love to know what the one thing is that you wanna do for yourself. It’s important to celebrate your accomplishments and take time for yourself. ‘Cause friend, you’re a big deal and you can do hard things. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t also make time for some fun things. 

Until next time, friend. 

Let’s be besties?