Sitting at my computer with my coffee in hand in my little tiny apartment in the South. It just feels right.
On October 5, 2012 I kissed my babies goodbye and got on an airplane. Destination? Arizona. I was pretty nervous but I was going to do something that I NEEDED to do for me. I had applied to go to The National Laser Institute to receive my certification in Laser Skin Rejuvenation and Hair Reduction. I haven't been in school in 20 years so this was going to be really new for me. Granted, the school was only 15 days long, but it was a lot of information to take in in such a short period of time.
I landed at the Phoenix Airport and decided to grab something to eat since I couldn't get my rental car until 9:00 that morning. I was kinda flustered because I didn't have two little boys with me that I needed to worry about. I was alone. I had no one to look after and no one that needed me. It was kind of refreshing for a change but I was out of sorts. I was looking forward to a fun filled day with one of my best friends, Dorothy. Her and her family were staying at Arizona Grand for an extended weekend of relaxation and water fun. Dorothy, Steve, Jaycee and I had a super fun time and I stayed with them until Sunday evening, got in my rental (that is another story) and headed North to Tempe to unpack at the place I was staying. I decided to take a drive up to Scottsdale to see where the school was at just to get my bearings.
Rise and shine. Monday at 5:00 in the morning. I didn't know how long it would take me with traffic to get to the school. I needed coffee too. I was way ahead of time. I arrived at the school at 8:00 am. School didn't start until 9:00 am. At this point I was so nervous I couldn't stand it. I went in and picked out my chair, which I would be sitting at for the next 5 days. There weren't many people in there yet, but the place was filling up. 28 Students later.... I am sitting between 2 women. The one on my left didn't have very good English and the other was from Salem, Oregon so I could relate to her Pacific Northwest Attitude. I ended up buddying up with the one I could barely understand. Margarita. She is from Acapulco. She was the sweetest lady, and she is an awesome cook. I helped her when she didn't understand something. She helped me when I didn't understand something. We didn't end up being in a group in the Spa together but we would see each other in passing and would have lunch on most of the days.
By Tuesday afternoon I was pretty sure I had made a mistake at even attempting doing this school. I was a nervous wreck. The school costs $10,440.00 and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to afford it again. So much talk about laser this, laser that. By the end of the school day my brain was mush and I was hungry. I met up with Sara (Matt's cousin) and her cute friend Paul at a cute little place called FEZ. It is downtown Phoenix. I loved it.
The week progressed and by Friday I was (along with everyone in the classroom) ready to get into the Medical Spa and see exactly how things happen. Saturday morning we were split up into our groups. I was split into a group of 6 for that day. Karen, Kelly, Kris, Chelsea, Jennifer and myself. On Sunday our group of 6 was split into groups of three. My group then was Kelly from Canada, Kris From The Valley (Phoenix) and myself. Little did we all three know how much fun we were going to have for the next 9 nine days. We bonded. We laughed, cried and learned together. We were our little group. No drama. We all had the same goal. Get this certification and get back home to our families and get out in the working world.
I am one lucky person. I went to Scottsdale in search of an education and what I received back was well worth the money and time spent. I received a certification in something that I love doing and I met some new life long friends. I got to come home to my beautiful family, in a city I love living in, in an apartment that only takes me 37 minutes to clean. I had an experience of a lifetime. I am so glad I did it. The timing was right, as it was with alot of the other people I was there with. It just makes me so happy that I accomplished something. It makes me happy that I have some awesome new friends and places to travel to. I can honestly say this was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.
The instructors at NLI were all phenomenal. They all came from different walks of life and they all had a story to tell. This school was built because someone refused to give up his dreams. Because of this he has a awesome group of people fulfilling their dreams and making other peoples dreams come true.
Oh and by the way, LASER stands for Light Amplification by a Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
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