Beauty Queens and Eggheads

For those of you who do not know, I  (Jenny) work part time at a hair salon. I am most definitely not a stylist; I run the front desk. If you want an appointment, I'm your girl. If you want a bang trim or ombre, see one of the girls. It is, hands down, the best part-time job ever. Excellent bosses, hysterical coworkers, and heavily discounted salon services? Yes, please.

When I first applied I was a little... leery. It is a small salon, so that means 7+ girls working in cramped quarters. If some type of drama goes down there is nowhere to run. I also do not possess an artistic temperament; I tend toward logic, not emotion. Also, let's be honest, I very rarely wear makeup and the only thing I know how to do to my hair is blow dry it. Needless to say, my apprehension was understandable. Luckily, the bosses took a chance on me and I am so very, very glad that they did!

 

What is the point of this post? At the macro level, to talk about intelligence. At the micro level, to share my thankfulness for bosses and coworkers. Let's go big picture first. These ladies are some of the smartest people I have had the privilege of being around. What do I mean by that? They understand people, the way the world works, and the necessity of having people in your life who have your back. They are counselors in all but name. Some of the things clients tell them y'all would not believe. They listen, they advise, they console, and they care. Their people-smarts are honed through years of listening to the people in their chairs. They understand emotion. I, on the other hand, am an egghead. I understand logic, think about the philosophy of ideas, and can discuss literature from The Communist Manifesto to Beowulf, if a client is so inclined. They degrade themselves to me ALL THE TIME because they think they are not as smart as I am. Can y'all see the ridiculousness of this?! I have talked till I am blue in the face but they still make comments all the time about how I am smarter. So what if you did not know "apropos" was a word? You knew exactly what to say to encourage the client who is struggling with infertility. I cannot understand people very well because it does not occur to me that people will think/act with their emotions first, not logic. Their intelligence is just as valuable, just as impressive, and just as hard-earned as mine is.

Okay, small picture now. In case you cannot tell, I am so, so thankful for these crazies. They challenge me to come out of my egghead shell. They encourage me to engage the real world, not just the world of books. They bring me down to the concrete, tangible beauty that I so often miss in my world of abstracts. Y'all, I wear red lipstick on occasion now. I can (somewhat) successfully use bobby pins in my own hair. I like to think I have had some impact on them, too. If nothing else, I make sure that their appointments don't get out of whack and that they have clean dishes and remind them to call clients back. This group has seen me through my BA and MA. They have prayed over me, challenged me, made me laugh, and made me cry on occasion. A client tried to insult me by saying I looked like a librarian and they were all offended on my behalf... and then we all laughed together because, come on, I cannot think of a less-insulting thing to call me. Librarians are the best! I am a firm believer in the fact that eggheads and beauty queens need each other. We are better together.