I thought it was time for us to take our friendship to the next level.

I know I overshare a lot over on my podcast  but I’m willing to bet there’s still a lot you don’t know about me. So why not have some fun and get to know each other better? You in? Cool, let’s get going!

 I had my lip pierced.

So I went through this kinda-sorta punk phase when I was in my early twenties….if you haven’t noticed the scar under my bottom lip yet, you’ll for sure notice it next time you see a picture of me. I was young and was starting to explore what it was to be my own individual, I felt liberated, and piercing became a way for me to express myself. Honestly, I really wanted a tattoo but, at the time, they were too permanent for me to consider, and taboo within my upbringing.

I pierced my lip twice because after I let in grow in I missed it. I didn’t realize the scar would last forever, shoulda just started with the tattoos haha! My first body piercing was my belly button when I was 16. It was really the only rebellious act I did as a teen, and by rebellious I mean, I didn’t ask my parents first, and I remember being so scared that i’d  get in big trouble  when my parents did find out. They were disappointed, but not upset, phew!  ( I was a pretty good kid and followed the rules while living under my parents roof , my rebellious years, if you can even call them that, happened in my 20’s)

I’ve only broken one bone. 

Besides maybe a toe or two from dancing in my kitchen (I’ve got some serious dance moves) I’ve only ever broken one bone. It was when I went ice skating for the first time. I was 5. I remember telling my mom to let go of my hands because i wanted to do it myself (a common theme in my life, ask anyone who tries to help me) I remember someone skating by me fast and losing my balance and falling. It’s a blurry memory but I do remember saying over and over ‘it’s broken’. It ended up being spiral fracture and I had to get pushed around in a wheelchair which is still how some people from my childhood remember me. 

I pull my hair out.

It’s called Trichotillomania. And this is really the first time I’ve ever publicly put it out there. I used to be so ashamed and embarrassed of it, especially once I became a hair stylist. Up until the last couple years I would try to hide it from everyone.

I remember in grade 8 realizing I had pulled all of my eyelashes out. I would carry black eyeliner around with me at school and in between classes reapply it in hopes to disguise the fact that I had no lashes. I remember a couple girls in my class pointing it out and laughing. I wanted to crawl under my desk and hide. I’m pretty sure there are few things worse than feeling embarrassed and laughed at as a teen.  I also avoided getting my hair cut because I had given myself bald patches. I didn’t want to be pulling it out  but it happened like it was involuntarily. I had no idea it had a name or there were ways that could help me cope with it.

I’ve wrestled with this since I was an early teen. I recently learned its a form of self harm, which totally threw me for a loop. Self harm? Me? No way, that’s not me! But the more I read and explored it all it made a bit more sense. 

 I tend to find that when my stress and anxiety are being managed well I pull less. I would love to someday not ever feel the urge to pull again.

I never wanted to be a hairstylist.

Seriously! After high school I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I didn’t want to do hair. I knew I had a knack for it from taking cosmetology in school, but I totally had this stigma around college and not getting a university education. Even my high school hairdresser told me that if I wanted to have a good career and make decent money not to go into the industry. haha! I should get in touch with her now.

All things considered, I still battle with the feelings of’ ‘not enough’ because I don’t have a university degree. It’s just something that got stuck in my head somewhere along the way, but has been the best motivator to push forward and create a career that I love, enjoy and feel successful at. Plus, I get to do a bit of everything, run a business, do math ( angles of cutting hair), know my chemistry (mixing hair colour) and be creative. Could it get any better?  

I’m a total commitment phobe.

I pretty sure I hyperventilated when I signed my first phone contract. I’ve never liked feeling tied down to something. It makes me feel trapped. It’s a mental form of claustrophobia for me. I’ve  always said it’s like putting me in a room with multiple doors  and leave them all open, I’ll be happy and never feel the need to leave; close those doors and I’ll be scratching my way out of that room within seconds. I would like to say there is something deep in my past that created this fear in me, and maybe there is, but maybe it’s just part of my DNA. Either way, I’m aware of it. And even signed a 5 year lease on my salon here in Calgary! I’d say that’s a win!

So there are my 5 things.

So we’re basically bff’s now huh? Thanks for reading this, and learning a bit more about this quirky gal and what I’m all about. Are we more alike than you realized?  I dare you to share with me in the comments what some of your 5 things are. 

 d