Belonging Is the Very Best Thing There Is: Beauty, Anime, and a Little In Between
Finding Your Spot: The Hilariously Imperfect Journey to Belonging
Disclaimers: Fair warning, my experiences are just that—mine. Every creative journey has its own timeline and challenges. This post is meant to inspire and offer perspective, but your experience will vary based on your unique situation and personal approach.Take what resonates, leave what doesn't, and trust your own instincts along the way.
Look, I'm just gonna say it......
Finding where you belong is a WILDDDD ride!
I was watching Cowboy Bebop recently.....yeahhhhh, call me an anime girlie now because I'm getting into anime at the recommendation of friends, who insisted I start with some of the classics. Anyways, there was this moment in one of the final episodes where one of the main characters, Faye Valentine, drops the line: "Belonging is the very best thing there is."
It hit me right in the chest.
Nine years into my beauty journey, and a damn anime character just casually summed up everything I've been trying to figure out. 😂
For those unfamiliar with Cowboy Bebop: it follows misfits Spike, Jet, Faye, Ed, and Ein aboard a spaceship, each carrying heavy pasts and personal baggage. They didn't plan to become a team, but found family in one another. It’s messy. It’s unspoken. But it works.
Ein and Faye Valentine of Cowboy Bebop.
The Ril Talk
Truth is—this sh*t gets hard. Really hard! There are days you feel like your dreams are too expensive to maintain, too heavy to carry alone, or just flat-out unclear.
But there's something else: the way your craft makes you feel when it's right. When the face is finished, and your client can't stop smiling, or when someone says, "Thank you, I needed this." These moments should remind you you're not crazy for dreaming big and wanting more.
I've cried over canceled appointments. Wondered if I missed my moment(s). Compared myself to people with bigger opportunities or flashier lives. But what I've learned is this: consistency isn't sexy, it's sacred, and sometimes, it's exactly what brings you into rooms your younger self didn't even know to dream about.
I can't count how many times I wanted to give up. Each time I nearly walked away, something happened that reminded me it was just a slow season, and my artistry still matters.
And allow me to be very clear on something: Do not be so impressionable of other people's opinions!
Some of my goals took longer to achieve because I let others' perspectives weigh me down. While I don't regret my choices, taking advice without having your own lived experience is a mistake.
I don't dwell on where I might be today, but I often reflect on the times I let someone else's fears stop me. I would never have discovered my love for the wedding industry had I allowed former mentors to convince me it was a disgusting place. The reality was that this person wasn't particularly kind, so they naturally attracted the least ideal clientele. When I finally surrounded myself with passionate bridal industry artists, I discovered an entirely new world! All I could think about was the years I'd wasted following someone else's negative experience rather than creating my own.
The "What Am I Even Doing?" Years
Let's be real about year one of any journey, which is basically just pretending you know what you're doing while secretly Googling "how to [insert basic skill] without looking like a complete amateur."
I used to nod confidently when people would use industry terms, then text a makeup artist friend: "What does [XYZ] mean?"
The audacity I had to show up anyway? Legendary!
The mistakes I made? NUMEROUS.
The stories I have? Priceless.
It reminds me of how I'm approaching anime now, which is a completely new territory for me. I’ve grown into someone who encourages myself as often as I can to explore creativity beyond beauty and makeup, and to challenge myself to find inspiration in unexpected places. So here I am, watching space cowboys and bounty hunters while taking notes on color palettes and visual storytelling. Who would've thought?
But here's a plot twist that nobody tells you: everyone else is doing the exact same thing. EVERYONE.
Even that person who looks like they were born knowing exactly what they're doing. Trust me, they've got phone notes full of trends, techniques, ideas—they're still learning, researching, and figuring things out.
April, The Beauty Experience Coach—April 10,2016. Doing makeup for her very first paid gig...from the backseat of her car. Humble beginnings, unforgettable hustle.
The "Wait, I Might Actually Know Some Stuff" Phase
Fast forward to the middle years—suddenly you're giving advice to newbies and catching yourself thinking, "Who authorized me to sound this knowledgeable?"
This is when those little wins come: someone asks YOUR opinion, you help people solve problems that once terrified you sending you into a spiral, and then you look around and realize you've accidentally created a little community of awesome humans who hype you up.
This is also when you start breaking "rules", and on purpose, testing your limits, which also feels AMAZING!
I'm finding the same thing happening as I explore these different anime worlds, which has evolved into me having actual preferences and opinions. Shows like Yasuke and Blue Samurai used to be names I’d just nod along to when people brought them up—now they’re some of my absolute favorites. I’ve gone from pretending to keep up to genuinely engaging, asking questions mid-episode, looking up lore, and noticing visual details I would've completely missed before. These days, I’m leading the convo sometimes, casually asking, “But have you considered the visual symbolism in Cowboy Bebop’s fight sequences?” Who am I?
April, The Beauty Experience Coach—October 13, 2024. Doing makeup on set for her very first official, brand partnership as an ambassador. A full-circle moment.
The "Oh, So THIS Is What They Mean By Finding Your People" Moment
You know you've found where you belong when:
You can show up without your "I've totally got it all together" costume on
You laugh more than you stress
You start sentences with "WE should..." instead of "I wish someone would..."
You catch yourself helping others navigate the exact chaos that used to terrify you
The best part of all of this is when you realize you didn't have to transform into some perfect, polished version of yourself to fit in. You just had to find the people who high-five your quirks and celebrate your growth.
It's like when I finally admitted I'd never watched classics like One Piece or Naruto all the way through, I expected judgment. Instead, my friends were thrilled to recommend their favorite anime—ones they knew I'd connect with from start to finish, based on them knowing and accepting me for who I am.
That's belonging: when your gaps in knowledge become bridges for connection, not reasons to feel like an imposter. That's what I take away from Cowboy Bebop.
Cast of Cowboy Bebop, left to right: Jet, Spike, Faye, Ed, and Ein.
Where I'm At Now
These days, I'm living by what I call the "Try It and See" method. Though the name may sound intimidating, it's yielding outstanding outcomes.
Instead of overthinking whether I'm "qualified" or "ready," I throw myself in the ring and figure it out along the way. Sometimes it's messy. Sometimes it's HILARIOUS. Most times, because I go in with confidence, it's fulfilling. No matter what, it's always worth it—there’s always a lesson.
Nine years into my beauty journey, I'm rediscovering who I am and what I want. I'm experimenting again and pulling inspiration from unexpected places—like the lighting in Cowboy Bebop’s noir-inspired scenes or the way the crew slowly comes together, reminding me of the support system I've built over the last few years, especially.
I now have a group of people who push me to try new things while also being totally fine with me showing up in sweatpants when life gets chaotic. We celebrate both big and small wins with impromptu hangouts or long phone calls, and navigate setbacks with inappropriate jokes, dark humor, moments of pure sadness and tears—and excessive amounts of reassurance, honesty, and space to just be.
Was and is my journey perfect? NOPE. Not in the slightest.
Am I where I belong? Absolutely!
Radical "Ed" Edward of Cowboy Bebop.
A Quick Note To Anyone Still Looking For Their "Place"
First of all, you're not behind! You're exactly where you need to be, on your own timeline.
Second, belonging doesn't always announce itself with fireworks. Sometimes it sneaks up on you when you're not looking—like when you realize you've been laughing for hours with people who get your weird references, or when you're doing something that used to scare you and suddenly notice it feels like second nature.
And finally, the most freeing realization I've had: you don't find just ONE place where you belong for all eternity. You find MANY, and they change as you do. Nine years ago, I would never have imagined that I'd be sitting here taking creative inspiration from anime, but here we are—and I'm better for it.
Sometimes I watch Spike, Jet, Faye, Ed, and Ein on their journey across the galaxy, each with their complicated pasts and uncertain futures, somehow making it work on that rust bucket of a ship, and I think: "That's all of us. We're all just figuring it out, carrying our histories, chasing our bounties, finding moments of belonging in the strangest places."
So here's to nine years of trying, failing, succeeding, laughing, trying and failing again with the occasional crying in the car, more success, and most importantly finding my people along the way. Not everyone you meet on the journey will be permanent, and that’s okay. Appreciate them while they’re around, take what you can in a respectful and honorable way, and always aim to be the best version of yourself.
Here's to expanding beyond what I thought was "my thing" and discovering new passions that inform the old ones.
Here's to nine more years of evolution.
As Faye would say it, "belonging really is the best thing there is", especially when you realize you don't have to be perfect to deserve it.
Now go find your people. They're out there looking and waiting for you too! ✨
See you, space cowboy...
Thank you so much for reading! ♥️
Until next time,
Your Beauty Experience Coach,
Found this helpful? Don’t keep it to yourself—share it with your beauty pro friends or your community! Let’s keep the conversation going drop a comment below or slide into my DMs—I’d love to hear your thoughts! ♥️💭✨
