One of the things you’ll start learning as you go through a beauty career is that unlocking your potential is as important as learning new information. Gregory Gonzalez learned this when he realized that the most important part of his journey was trusting that he had the skills necessary to succeed. Keep reading to discover how Gregory was able to develop his knowledge into a career.

Gregory Gonzalez’s Passion

What got you into cosmetology?

Whenever I was younger, I would get bribed with cartoons. So long as I was brushing my mother’s hair, I could watch cartoons all I wanted. I wanted to brush hair all the time because I wanted to watch cartoons.

What are your goals?

I thought I wanted to be a platform artist at first, when I first started, but then being in school and watching everybody, I’ve come to realize that I actually want to be an educator, and I want to teach new students. I actually want to travel and teach.

What are your biggest obstacles?

Really, the only obstacle that I had was myself. I never thought that I was creative enough to do it. I know I can copy things really well, but I spent so much time not really believing that I was creative enough to actually do my own thing. It’s what stopped me for so long. I could have done this when I was 18 years old, but it took me until I was 33 to actually get into school and start really believing in myself. Money can be a problem, friends and family can be a problem, but the only real thing that stopped me was myself.

How did you overcome those obstacles?

I had a lot of friends that work in the hair industry. And just seeing where they went with it and everything that they had to move past to get to where they are helped me realize that, you know, why not? Let’s take a shot; see where it goes. If it fails, then it fails. At least you tried, and you can say that you tried.

What advice do you have to give other students?

The only thing that I would tell other students is, “Just do it.” Believe in yourself, even a little bit, and that’s going to take you a long way. If you have this tiniest amount of belief in yourself, you’re going to go places.

Can you tell us about your TrendVision experience?

It was magical, I guess, because it was the first time that I was able to create something that I did. So going back to myself, being the only one in my way, because I think I was creative enough, that’s what made me step forward and start to really believe in myself.

What about Face Off?

Face Off was awesome. I had probably the most relaxed time there. It was relaxing because everybody was there, everybody was after the same thing, and I just felt at ease with everybody. I know there is a lot of tension going on because everybody wants to win, but just watching everybody and knowing that this is what they want in their own lives, it just put me at ease because I’m like, “I’m with my people. I’m with my family. I’m with everybody who wants the same thing as me.”

What are you most passionate about?

I love the look on somebody’s face when they feel beautiful. It may not be your best work, but to them, it is the perfect thing that could happen in that moment. I had one experience where a young lady’s father had just passed away, and she hadn’t cut her hair in about three or four years. I cut her hair, and I gave her some long layers and whatnot. And I turned her around, and she just started bawling. I know a lot of it was because her father just passed away but, in that moment, I made her feel a little joy. And that was fantastic because she was able to forget about the sadness that was going on in her life and just live in one small moment of happiness and making her feel beautiful. We are in the beauty industry, after all.

If you can do that for somebody and have it be really genuine, really, it’s more than the actual monetary value that comes with it.

Discover Your Own Beautiful Story

Your Beautiful Story may be waiting for you to unlock it, and that process is exactly what Ogle School loves to help people with. Whether you end up loving the cosmetology program or the esthetics program, Ogle School can help you build your existing skills and unlock your true potential. You can request more information to learn more about your options with Ogle School.