Jennifer’s sweet lil beauty blog: The end = the beginning

BY JENNIFER MOCCIO

“Nothing is predestined. The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings.” –Ralph H. Blum

“The end is in the beginning and lies far ahead.” –Ralph Ellison

This month has been a whirlwind. I just don’t know where September went?! I guess the famous saying holds true – “time flies when you’re having fun!” …And “fun” is an understatement!

At the very end of August, I announced to you little nuggets that I got engaged to the love of my life… Eeee! Shortly thereafter (3 days to be exact!) I took my very first steps on the journey toward my new career by starting esthetics & makeup school 🙂 Somewhere in between the best day of my life personally and the best day of my life professionally, I moved in with my fiancé. Oh, and let’s not forget wedding planning has already commenced (making significant progress too!) As you can see, things have been GREAT, GRAND, and WONDERFUL, however, my head has been spinning & I want to be able to fully enjoy this special point in my life. So, it’s time to blog & breathe…

Ever notice how much things can change in just 1 year!? It’s truly amazing to me how drastically different my life is now, compared to what it was just a mere 365 days ago: A Marketing professional in the heart of Manhattan (literally – 14^th floor of the Empire State Building), part of a brand new & fresh relationship, and meeting a new group of friends (which I didn’t realize at the time, would end up having a very positive impact on my life). Fast forward 1 year, and now that I’m in school to become a licensed esthetician & makeup artist, engaged & just part of the crew… I can look back, objectively, and see how the “end” was actually disguising itself as the “beginning.” How can this be, you ask? Well, I’m hoping I can provide a bit of perspective and life experience to clarify (I just heard my mother’s voice echoing after typing that last sentence… Oy!).

When a significant personal relationship in my life fell apart a couple years ago, at the time, I was devastated. I’m sure you can all relate to investing time, emotions, and in many cases, money, into someone that you ‘think’ is the one. The ending of that relationship was JUST the beginning. It was the final stepping stone to the person I know in my heart I want to and am meant to be with. If my last relationship remained the same and didn’t end, then I wouldn’t have been open or available to meet and fall in love with my dreamboat 🙂 I am currently hearing my inner mom voice kick-in once again when I say “hindsight is 20/20.”  If you knew then, what you know now, in my mind, you just won’t grow up properly. You wouldn’t learn to appreciate certain things or people in life, if you didn’t go through terrible experiences firsthand. It is in fact, those terrible things that give you the strength and courage to learn how to overcome challenges & move forward. There is no better teacher than life experience.

A common theme in my life and something I have found, repeatedly, is that when one door closes, there are many other doors swinging wide open for me with new & exciting opportunities. When my career in Corporate America came to an end, I was initially scared-to-death and nervous for the future, but those nerves were really the catalyst that propelled me into finding out what I really want to do. The “end” of a traditional Marketing career path was really disguised as the “beginning” to pursuing my dream of becoming a makeup artist / licensed esthetician. Again, ‘hindsight is 20/20’ in this situation too! Had I known then (in college) what I know now (5+ years in Corporate America), I would have chosen the current path I’m on from the very beginning. But, ya live and learn, right?! And I can honestly sit here and say that I’ve never been happier or more certain of how I want to spend my days, then I am today. I genuinely enjoy going to esthetics & makeup school. I just love all of my classmates & coaches and I’m soaking it all in like a little nuggety sponge. I actually look forward to the next day, and the next, and the day after that… it’s fabulous! I also just shared with you little nuggets, that I won the September 2013 Business Student of the Month Award! Completely unexpected, but I am so incredibly grateful & appreciative of having received it. Adding it to the portfolio, pronto! Woo! So, from my experience, it goes to show that if you truly love and enjoy what you do every single day, you just do it without thinking about it or getting anxiety over it. And somewhere along the line, you may even get a cool award for the work you’ve done – Sweet!

If I can leave you all with one last piece of my twenty-something two-cents, it’s this – embrace the “end” because you never know when it is in fact a new “beginning.” It might be THE moment that changes your life & you’ll look back in 1 year and be surprised at how far you’ve come!

xox