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What did you want to be when you grew up?



Oh, that's a tough one. I always wanted to do something creative. I was into arts early on -creative writing, painting, sculpturing...when I was 15 I couldn't find the pants I wanted in any store, so I crocheted wine red 70s flared pants. Then I realised that making a living with art is pretty hard and wanted to focus on my more nerdy side and started studying Philosophy and German linguisitics -see the pattern? Still nothing to make money with and move out of my parents house and be independent (which was my biggest goal to achieve, I never had a good realtionship with my parents and the older I got the worse it became; the whole going to university thing already helped, but still wasn't enough). Let's be honest, not everyone can become a professor, not everyone can be the next Stephen King and there are enough artsy people trying to sell their paintings on flea markets for you to notice that you need immense potencial and a damned lot of luck if you persue a 'career' that depends on being the most amazing thing since sliced bread.

Then I realised that I could persue what I was already doing for ages -hair! I'm from a small town (Lünen, great for starting a family and having a nice backyard, no need to lock your doors, that type of deal) and there were no hairdressers doing anything 'unusual', integrating hair extensions to a bridal updo was already too 'weird'. I've always been different, interested in colorful hair, edgy styles, extremes, new things. So I started doing it myself pretty early on. I shaved my head and put a cow fleck pattern on it, I shaved a skull into a friend's back of the head, I bleached and dyed my hair all colors of the rainbow, I gave a friend a whole head of dreads and dyed them pink...That was something I imagined being able to do for 20 years or longer (that was my credo when it came to jobs -is it something you just like for the moment or can you imgine a career for years and years?), so that's what I set my mind on in the end!