A Visit to the Aveda Cosmetology School {Columbus, Ohio Photographer}

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Be daring, be different, be impractical; be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.
-Cecil Beaton

Something's happening here.... I hit a "milestone" this year, & I suddenly feel as if I have come up out of an underground bunker - a safe haven of sorts. My mindset has always been "life is short" & "grab the bull by the horns", but somehow this past year even that took on a new intensity. I have been refocusing & re-evaluating. Instead of turning right, I go left. And so, after many years of going to a regular hair salon & having a regular experience, I decided to go to the Aveda School on N. High Street in the Ohio State University district. A couple weeks ago was my third visit, and I'm hooked!
Apprehensive at first (I mean it's MY HAIR for cripes sake!), I decided to just go with it & get a trim. Really pleasantly surprised! Since that turned out well, I went back for low lights - REALLY LOVED them! Oh, and even better that being pleased with the results... you get either a neck and shoulder massage or a mini facial each time you go! Their mantra is "Beauty on a budget." Well, you get a little more than just beauty on a budget! Before anything is done, a supervisor consults with the student on what will be done, stops by to check mid visit and again stops by at the end to review the work done. My uncertainties were allayed. I felt I was in good hands - literally!



I leave the Aveda school energized - and not just from the pampering.  During my last visits, I was paired with Sharanda and Gendala, who do great work. The setting of the "school" environment is filled with passion and energy. I remember when I was in college, we were all so full of energy, and the passion of getting out into the world to make our mark. These students are so full of love of what they are doing and open to learning - following their bliss. That openness is what I really love - so many possibilities, so much to learn, so much to try. And that meshes so well with where I have found myself now... coming out of that underground bunker of the common & ordinary. There are so many possibilities, so many things to try and so much to still do & learn... & really so little time. I'm sure some of this urgency is from the fact that my sweet mom passed away so young at the age of 58 and I'm acutely feeling just how young she was.

So... be daring, be different, be impractical & not a slave to the ordinary!

On my last Aveda visit, I took along my camera to document the experience!