Coming Out 2

About a month ago I started to come out about going to beauty school. At first I was almost embarrassed, but then slowly I started to tell friends, neighbors, ex-collegues, then people I hardly knew. "Follow the blog" I say. The support has been tremendous. But until this week, I had not come out the other way. No one at school knew anything about my life or former career. (For all they knew I could have been away.) Then on Monday we had a business math class.

Even the teacher was getting a little stumped on how to get the answer; so I sort of took over. After I started explaining how to do the first problem, Tiara and Jess both moved over to sit next to me. "Miss Cynthia, how you know how to do this so good?" My simple answer was "I was in business my whole life. I know how to to business math; ... but don't ask me to do algebra." That afternoon, a teacher from another class asked "What did you do before this?" She had asked me before and I'd always answered "I worked in an ad agency." But this time she was looking for more -- I think because of the earlier math class. So I just came out with it " I was a vice-president at an ad agency. I dealt with the clients. For most of my life I lived in New York and worked in a really big agency there." Then I rattled off some of the campaigns I'd worked on that I was sure she'd recognize. This information got around faster than what had made Asia go away.

Surprisingly, the support has been just as strong on this side. I think because everyone in the school is on a journey to fulfill a dream. We're all working to that same goal; no matter what our background, where we came from, or where we are now.

Later in the afternoon when we were working on the relaxers, Aimee (whom btw is 36 and has two kids in college), asked "Miss Cynthia, when you going to come out with us?" I said "Aimee, I am way too scared to go out with you guys. I gotta work up to that."