Can I tell ya something personal?

I’ll warn you in advance that this blog post is about to get really real. 

We’re gonna start off with a little time-travel back to my early 20s…

It’s the early 2000s, chunky highlights were in, low-rise jeans were a thing, and the Backstreet Boys were still coming out with hits. 

It seemed like a simpler time…

I was living in London, out on my own in the world for the first time and let me tell ya, I was LIVING it up. 

Not only was I working in the Aveda Global Headquarters, but I was meeting new people and experiencing things I’d never experienced before…

But that’s not always a good thing.

It was at this time that I started using drugs recreationally. Holy cow did I realize they were fun! (I mean, obviously or else no one would be using them, right?) I loved the freeing feeling that they gave me. (Hello to no anxiety in social situations ‍♀️)

There were people who wanted to hang out with me and we had a blast together. 

Until we didn’t.

I’ll never forget the night my friend Jen said to me: 

“If you can’t have fun without being high, maybe you need to think about that.”

Yikes, right? 

That was the moment I knew I needed to make a change. I made a few attempts to do it on my own for months. But I ended up falling back into the same pattern and starting over on a blank slate. 

On Sunday nights I would say to myself:

“I’m not going out next weekend…” 

Only to have changed my mind by Friday and I’d go out partying for 48 hours straight telling myself this will be the last time. 

I can still remember the exact moment when I got real with myself. I realized that I couldn’t do it alone.

I reached out to my friend, Sarah, and asked her to help keep me accountable. 

Wanna know the craziest part? 

She never once asked me about it again. Just knowing that she knew my goals and she could ask me about it, kept me sober. 

Having a supportive community and accountability is HUGE. 

Not only in life, but in your business as well. 

How many times have you said:

“This is going to change…”

But ended up falling back into old routines because you didn’t have someone to keep you accountable?

I totally know that feeling. It’s honestly something that’s been really hard for me. Girls can sometimes be really mean (that’s a story for a different day) and that’s caused me to shy away from community and trusting others because of it. 

This is why I’m so passionate about creating a community where everyone feels safe and belongs. Changing the hair industry isn’t just about charging our worth, it’s sharing our passions, and journeys all while uplifting others around us. 

I’ve bet you’ve felt like this industry is just one big competition.

And I want to change that… 

With your help. 

If you have your own version of this story, where accountability saved your life, I’d love to hear about it and cheer you on. Why don’t you shoot me a DM over on the ‘gram?

Let’s be besties?