Cloud Nine… Then the Crash

 

Cloud Nine… Then the Crash

I was 18, nearly 19, and I had just taken one of the biggest steps of my life — I got my first mortgage with my now-husband. Life felt like it was finally coming together. My future was unfolding exactly how I’d hoped, and I was genuinely on cloud nine.

But then came the day that changed everything.

I walked into work and instantly felt something was off. Everyone was acting weird — shifty, like they were trying to avoid eye contact. Then out of nowhere, an unexpected meeting was called. My stomach dropped. I just knew something was wrong.

What hit hardest, though, was realizing that all the hairdressers already knew what was coming. Us beauty girls? We were completely in the dark. We sat there, and as the owner started speaking, I could feel the floor falling out from beneath me.

His tone said it all — we were done. The salon was closing. Just like that.

I felt humiliated sitting there, blindsided in front of everyone. Like the joke had been on us the whole time. How did everyone else know but we didn’t? I was furious. Devastated. I had just committed to a mortgage — a whole future I was building — and suddenly, everything felt so uncertain.

I kept thinking, What now?

I was just starting my life the way I had planned. And now it felt like it was all falling apart.

So… What Now?

After the salon closed, I think I had about a week — maybe less — and that was it. Done. Just like that, everything I’d built, the routine I’d settled into, the future I was shaping… was suddenly up in the air.

I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t have a backup plan — I mean, who really does at 18 or 19? So, on my way home one day, I walked into a local bar and handed in my CV. It wasn’t ideal, but it was something. A temporary fix. I didn’t have a clue what my next step should be.

Weeks passed. I applied for jobs, and nothing came through — for eight weeks straight.

Then a friend reached out. She said, “Come work with me in community care — I’ll help you get the job, and we can team up.” At that point, I was open to anything. I applied, got the interview, and boom — got the job on the spot. It felt like a little spark of hope again.

A New Kind of Work

I started my induction, met my ‘buddy’ for the road, and got stuck in. She wasn’t the friend who got me the job, but she was alright. The work? Well… caring is a special job — it takes a certain type of person.

Some of my clients were absolutely lovely. Helping them gave me a real sense of purpose. But deep down… it just wasn’t me. I wasn’t passionate about it. I felt like I was trying to be someone I wasn’t — and honestly, I was still trying to figure out who I was.

The nail bar from before? They said they’d take me back. I knew that. But I also knew I couldn’t go back there. Not now. Not after everything.Or was I to proud to !! Did i need to swollow my pride ??

The Breaking Point

A few weeks in, everything came to a head.

I was exhausted — mentally, physically, emotionally. One morning, while driving between clients, I fell asleep at the wheel and hit a curb. Thank God no one was hurt. There was no damage, but it absolutely shook me to the core. I’d been working from 4/5am to 3pm and then being  asked to go out and cover nights which was then to 10/11pm far to much for me . 

That was my wake-up call.

I spoke to my dad and my partner. I needed their voices, their support, to confirm what I already knew: I had to leave. So I handed in my notice. I didn’t even finish my shift. I was done.

Back to square one. Back to the job hunt. Several more weeks of uncertainty…