It's the eve of my 35th birthday. I am reflecting on my life, and thinking of how I get to have a career that I am in love with. I love that I get to be the primary caregiver to our son. I love the flexibility that this job holds! It's taken a long time to get to this place-but man does it feel so good to feel like I'm doing what I was meant to do.

What does Barbie have to do with this, you may ask? Well-as I am celebrating my birthday month, and feeling so much gratitude and joy, I wanted to share more of my journey. I think it's important to share stories because it cultivates connection, can give inspiration, and can help us all grow in our lives. I think that there are parts of my story that YOU can relate with....and I truly believe more people can do the the work they love and are passionate about. Okay now...back to Barbies.

I grew up loving Barbies, and part of my love for them was their hair. I played that Barbie was going to a dance with Ken and I remember sitting in my bathroom, Barbie perched on the sink bowl, while I carefully tried to create an updo for her. Tricky on those little heads...

I had Totally Hair Barbie, with hair down to her ankles.

This was the best, because I could practice braids and buns with her long mane. Oh, the possibilities. Aside from Barbie, I also had a dream client: my little sister. I would rope her into playing "salon" with me and make her sit still while I styled her hair. I twisted her hair into fancy styles for piano recitals, her school concerts, and basically anything that in my mind required an updo.

Can you relate? As I look back on my life, I see I have been doing updos since I was a little girl. I've loved hair as soon as I knew it was something I could do. It's funny to me that I never saw it is a real job, and it literally never dawned on me that I could actually do what I love for a living.

So here I am, hours away from 35 years old, and amazed by the journey I've been on thus far. The little joys that came from dressing up my doll's hair and glamming up my little sister is now giving me a life that I love.

I can't wait to share more of journey with you next week in Part 2!!!

Heidi :)