Major Tom to Ground Control

Blog writing is something I have always found fascinating. Essentially, you are in my head right now. I know, scary right? I had the impulse to start a blog recently. My life has been a total whirlwind. Lots of ups and downs this last year. I am currently sitting at my kitchen counter with a hot cup o' Joe, and my cat, Hades, curled up on the stool next to me. This kitchen is located in the beautiful city of Montreal, Canada - a place I've only lived before in my dreams. I moved her in December of 2021 and the experience has been interesting to say the least.

I have always heard of this strange concept of "finding" ones self. Becoming self aware - that kind of thing. This last year has been full of moments that have lead me to achieve both of those things. Before coming here, I was in a totally different frame of mind. A Range Rover driving, Bottle Service buying, Financially immature kid with more money than he knew what to do with in his early twenties. I hit rock bottom here in Montreal. I was broken more times than I can count. Moving to a new city in the heat of a pandemic, not knowing a singe soul was maybe not the best idea in hindsight. Or was it?

Firstly, Lets dive into the WHY.

I believe the month was August in 2021. We were just starting to regain traction at my current salon after Covid-19 the years and months prior. Covid had left me feeling defeated. I was feeling uninspired and complacent. I was going to be turning 26. The latter half of my twenties was staring me down and I felt as if I wanted more from my youth. Sure, the money was great, I had cultivated a devoted and loving guestbook, my boss was phenomenal in every sense of the word, but I couldn't help but feel as if I was at a crossroads. Stay in my comfort zone and cap out, OR risk everything and grow. Naturally, in true Klay fashion at that time, I made the impulsive choice to risk it all. Fast forward 4 months to December and I had sold my car, left my job (lovingly), broke up with my boyfriend of 4 years (more on that later), and I was on my way to Montreal. In Montreal, I was to be working at a brand new salon in the beautiful Old Port region of the city. My apartment was a quick 15 minute walk from work. Life was looking good. Change.

My plane landed at 3:05 in the morning on a F*cking cold December day. With my cat and only two suitcases in hand, I flagged down a cab and headed to my new home. A completely empty apartment in the Griffintown neighborhood. That night I slept with my winter jacket as a pillow and some towels as blankets, on a hard memory foam mattress I had ordered online a few weeks prior to my departure. I slept well that night. I was head first into a new life. A complete fresh start where no one knew me. There was something so freeing in that feeling. I did it. I had gotten out. The world was at my feet and I was ready to dive in head first.

The next morning, I woke up and set out to make my place as comfortable as I possibly could. Being that I am a gay man with stellar taste, it didn't take long. Before I left Saskatchewan, I was able to save up some money, and a few of my loving friends and family members had given me gift cards to help get the job done. I Went on a full blown Pretty Woman style shopping spree - minus the prostitution - and instead of designer clothing stores, it was IKEA and Must Societe I was spending my loot on.

At the end of the week, I was feeling pretty comfortable in my new place. I had a coffee table, and chair, a nice rug, and my TV and couch were on their way. After the weekend passed, it was time to start work. As I stated before, I was able to secure a job at a beautiful new salon. The staff was full of incredibly talented people whom I was both nervous and excited to work with. Nervous, because I was afraid of being judged as a redneck from Saskatchewan. Excited because I knew I was going to be learning so much from them. One thing I didn't know about Montreal prior to moving here, is that they are WORK.A.HOLICS. I Mean, a lot of these people have no idea what work/life balance are. I was working nearly 50 hours a week, double booked (sometimes triple booked) with guests. Stark contrast to my kushy 32 hour, 4 days a week, single booked schedule I was leaving back home. From the beginning, I was absolutely amazed by how hard these stylists worked - but deep down, I knew it wasn't for me.

Over the months at this salon, I was able to network with great people. I got the incredible education I was hoping for, and became a better stylist from top to bottom. Truly, I didn't think it was possible to grow so much in such a short amount of time. But as they say, "diamonds are grown under pressure".

Finally, my time at this location came to an end. I was sad to say goodbye, and disappointed in how things concluded. We can get into details over a joint and a bottle of wine sometime if you like, but for now we will just say it wasn't a good fit, after all.

In all honesty, my life in Montreal wasn't all the glitz and glamour I was hoping for. There were a lot of hard days. A lot of really lonely days. Financially things were looking grim, too. My lack of responsibility was catching up with me. Guys, I completely hit rock bottom in a lot of ways. Going through all of this alone, with just the grace of God, and a few pep talks with my family via FaceTime a couple of times per week had proven to be very taxing. There is no experience in life that will force you to grow more, than complete isolation. Isolation will make or break you. Trust me - there were days I felt broken down and days I felt like giving up, but if I had done that, I wouldn't be sitting here at this beautiful kitchen island, talking to you about how I came out the other side stronger.

I don't know what my plans for the future are. I have always been interested in the idea of becoming a freelance educator. Perhaps opening my own salon some day. But for now I am taking It one day at a time. I am able to finally enjoy life without the thick cloud of materialism and the extreme expectations I used to put on myself. All of this, because I wanted more. I wanted more and I ended up with less. The universe works in crazy ways. All along, I just needed to learn to be happy with what I already had.

I didn't mean for this blog post to take such a somber turn. Rest assured, I am typing every single word of this with love in my heart. Newfound knowledge in my head. And even more creativity in my fingertips than there was before. I truly feel as if I am a new person, I had a personal renaissance, if you will. My outlook on life used to be narrow and I would look to the future with anxiety. But now, I have the knowledge to sit back, say "F*ck it" when I need to, and enjoy basking in the simple pleasures of my life where I can.

Over, and out!

-Klay