True Beauty

My mom would tell you I started getting into beauty in elementary school. I always was a girly girl. My Barbie dolls got haircuts the minute they came out of their boxes. Because, Mattel, I can do it better. I can remember my Christmas presents were always makeup kits and if you were within a square block vicinity you were getting a makeover by Kristine.Imagine my joy when I got to high school and I had the choice of Cosmetology as an elective! Uh heck yes!!! One of my first jobs was at Peter of London Salon in Kendall, I was exposed to some of the best stylists in Miami. But learning about real beauty didn't start until I got to Amsterdam almost 10 years later.You may think, uh, you lived in Miami and Los Angeles and you didn't learn about beauty there? Uh, no. Those cities taught me about vanity. I learned haal het mooiste uit jeself (get the most beauty out of yourself) from Rob Peetoom. My instructors taught me the value of looking at the face shape, hair type and lifestyle to figure out the best cut and color for each client. Rob Peetoom taught me how to embrace my natural  beauty. Amsterdam showed me how to find my inner beauty. I started doing the work in Holland.The work. The real real. The deep stuff. When I moved over seas, I had been diagnosed with depression and my therapist wanted to put me on mood stabilizers. I was constantly thinking of ways to commit suicide. No one could pin point why I was so depressed but I knew. I knew that the life I was living at the time was not conducive to my morals. I think the living two lives was starting to make me crazy. While there I found the book "The Art of Happiness" by Howard Cutler and the Dalai Lama. The basis of this book taught me that happiness starts in my mind, that compassion is where intimacy is developed and that pursuing things of virtue is beneficial to my inner peace.I wasn't healed completely, I'm not sure that I ever will. Coming back to the States and moving to Tallahassee, I got a rude awakening. As pretty as I could do my makeup and as chic as my wardrobe was, I was not a nice person. I was still so prideful, arrogant, selfish and drunk. I was riddled with resentment and entitlement. I looked good in pictures but do not come face to face with me in real life.Thankfully, the development of Sociallyloved began to establish some virtues in me. Developing the concept, developed me. I learned about patience, really looking deeply at processes and figuring out if they are going to get me to where I really want to be. Let me tell you, that. is. HARD. It's completely painful to invest in something and realize that it's not going to work, that you have to scrap it and start over. But it's so much easier than allowing pride to cause me to fail. Sitting with our clients who were doing the same thing in their own businesses taught me that I am never ever alone, and neither are they. I learned that everyone, everyone, needs a hug and more so a prayer.I have learned that as much as I hate doing something, some things need to be done to get the results I want. Consistency and discipline is key. I realized this the most in prepping for my first Bikini Competition. I had to do the work when I was tired. I had to get up and go to the gym and lift the weight and push through the pain. Pushing through the suffering was the only way to grow. How true is this in life? This is why I love the gym. It teaches me that moving through things that are hard are good for me.These characteristics: compassion, patience, discipline, faith...this is what true beauty is made of. What are you doing to haal het mooiste uit jeself? How are you becoming the best version of you? I would love to hear from you!