She places her focus on perfecting each detail with her mind deep in concentration. While she finishes the final touches, she feels relief as the weight lifts from her body. 

Regardless of the painful hand cramps and tedious work, junior Beauty Dim pushes through the pain, focusing on the smile on her client’s face. 

As she watches their reaction, she is filled with a burst of happiness upon seeing their satisfaction with the fresh set of nails. 

“I love doing art specifically, and doing nails just made me express that,” Dim said. “I love making people happy whenever they see their nails … seeing them happy makes me happy and that really inspires me.” 

From practicing on herself to other students, Dim’s passion for nail art has amplified over time. Through her nail designs, she finds that it gives her a chance to express her creativity and artistry as an individual.

Her love for nail designs blossomed from her interest in art itself. Showcasing her artistic abilities on nails inspired her to continue her passion and craft. 

She started dabbling in nail art during her sophomore year by practicing on herself before she advanced to working on her cousin’s nails. 

In order to improve her skills as a nail artist, she did her own research through YouTube videos and received advice from a mutual nail technician. 

From this, she learned about principles such as nail shapes and how to apply the correct amount of nail polish. 

“At first, I didn’t really know much about nails,” Dim said. “I went to my friend who’s actually a nail tech … and then I learned, and I did a little bit of research on how to do nails and everything.”

As she polished up her knowledge of nail design, she gained support from her mom, who had helped her by purchasing the equipment necessary for her practice. 

Dim says their relationship is very close, and she credits her success to her mom.

“She buys all the equipment,” Dim said. “At the start, when I had nothing, she helped me buy all of my brushes and my table … I would say we’re really close.”

Even with her mom’s support, challenges arose. Perfecting nail shapes and trying to find people to practice on was a struggle for her. 

To overcome these obstacles, Dim personally reached out to people who were interested in nail art to draw them into her work. 

Not only did the extra practice help improve her skills, it also paved the way for her future aspirations. 

Moving forward, Dim wants to possibly expand her passion into something greater, as she hopes to travel and do nails for clients out of state. 

Although she’s currently unsure how her future goals will unfold, she’s positive that her passion will last. 

“I really enjoy doing nails,” Dim said. “I don’t want anything to stop me from doing nails.”

Similar to Dim, sophomore Michelle Cer also has a strong passion for nail art. 

As a child, she was mesmerized by how her aunt did nail art on clients, which immediately inspired her to want to become a nail tech. 

“I’ve been wanting to do (nails) since I was in second grade,” Cer said. “It’s been my dream to become a nail tech, and look at me now.” 

During sixth grade, while she was in the earlier stages of pursuing her interest, she started practicing nails on her family members and friends. 

As she continued to practice on others, she slowly began to feel discouraged with her work. She felt as if she wasn’t doing good enough with her nail designs and considered walking away from her art. 

“ … I didn’t do good enough, and I didn’t think it was that great,” Cer said. “I was about to quit, and I didn’t have that much faith.”

However, even with her self-doubt, Cer persevered and decided to keep practicing. 

To overcome these obstacles, she practiced for a couple of hours every day in order to perfect her craft. 

“I’ve been practicing every single day (from) when I was in sixth grade to eighth grade,” Cer said. “ … I practiced designs (and) the shapes.” 

Regardless of the long hours and hard work, she continuously reminded herself of her growth in order to keep pushing forward. 

As time went on, she saw improvement in her designs and continued to stay motivated by the individuals she works on. 

“I love seeing the smiles on their faces,” Cer said. “It’s like opening a present when it’s not even your birthday.”

Along with the motivation from her friends, her family supported her as well. When she first told her mom about her passion, Cer says that she was in full support of her dreams.

In addition to their encouragement, her family would also purchase nail equipment to support her journey. 

With the new equipment, she continued to practice and see steady growth, and now as she moves forward, she continues to have a positive mindset for herself and her work.  

“It just makes me happy,” Cer said. “Seeing the art come out, I’m like, ‘Wow, you did this, Michelle. You’re amazing.’”

Looking ahead, she hopes to become a nail technician and have her own nail salon one day.

Throughout her journey, she has continued to see her designs as a form of expression. 

“It’s like art, like a canvas,” Cer said. “When you’re in art, you paint and you draw, and it’s really pretty. It’s like the Mona Lisa.”

Cer and Dim’s passion for nail art isn’t always in the designs themselves, but the smiles on their clients’ faces. 

While they both share their strong passions, their futures of artistry are taking different paths. Cer plans to open her own nail salon, while Dim wants to travel to showcase her skills. Despite their different dreams, they remain connected through each stroke of polish.