Thread: Grateful

Hello from California,

My name is Jose and I recently posted about being clueless and such about this old art. Being part of this group for a couple of weeks have taught me more about life than shaving honestly. People in this group share their life experience with everyone and we are all here connected with a bridge of razors. This group has accepted me with open arms and I am thankful that people can be considerate about others. I come from a place where people online can be the nastiest people you can ever know because they hide behind the internet but in this group, I have not seen any type of hate and seems like a sanctuary of a safe haven from internet trolls. People come and go in our lives but these razors will stay with us and this group forever, rest in peace Micheal Horns.

Just one day I was curious about shaving with a straight and decided to look up online to get started with some basic equipment and I was lucky to find this page and blessed that Roy, cudarunner, saw my post and helped me start off with the help of Jen and Mike. I may be the youngest member here, being barely 19, but I hope that I can learn how to hone, strop, and lather like a professional so that I can be useful in this group and to teach beginners how to use these tools.

I am a college student, first in my family, studying to be a Chemical Engineer and I have ADHD, diagnosed in my early adulthood and do take medication for occasionally but not always because I do not want to develop a dependency. I do have trouble focusing and paying attention but hopefully this will not get in the way of me learning how to master this fine art. Honestly, I have not been very good in many things but I do have the ambition to become educated with everything and anything about straight razors

With this being said, I do not have much time to be on this page regularly since I have about 3-5 research papers or reports that I do per month but will check up on here during my free time to become more familiar in my new favorite hobby. Mastering this skill does not only come from reading articles, book, or even watching Lynn's videos but mainly from self experience with a razor.

I have told my friends about my new desire and they support me 100%, even some telling me that I can practice on them so I can get better. I did my first shave Sunday morning and to my surprise it looks like I did a good job with my sides and my neck, only having three small cuts on the sides of my neck but I was scared to even start to have a blade on my face that it took my almost an hour to do. Later that day I practice on my friend, that is also my manager at my job, and boy was I scared. Not only that I was going to actually shave somebody else but that I was going to shave the first person that has trusted me to hold a steel blade right on his throat. I could not completely finish shaving him because I was too scared to cut him, which I did in accident, but also because I did not believe in myself that I was well enough experienced to do this to someone else. I cut his sides very well, he told me, but when it came to his neck and chin was where I struggled. Shaving his face took me about 2 hours and sweating bullets trying to give him a clean shave. He still has hope in me that he told me to be ready in two weeks and gave me a small chuckle.

I am grateful to be part of this family who support each other better than my own. I was born in a family who was at the brink of falling apart and my parents divorced when I was 4. My family may not be the most stable but I know deep inside they all do care about one another like I do. I am currently living with my mother only and occasionally seeing my dad. I hardly see my mom in the weekdays because she works the graveyard shift and I go to school and work in the morning through afternoon. I have a brother and sister who left our family right when they turned 18, so when I was 13 I really did not have a family to go home to. This was when I joined the schools football team and had my own family with them and when I learned a lot about them and how they were going through a similar phase like me. Now being part of this place brings back memories of my high school life.

Thank you all who have messaged me about sending me equipment to start off, I am good as of now and appreciate your concerns. I have to get back to my research papers since I have spent quite sometime writing this for you guys to see who you are talking to and helping, but that is not the only reason I wrote this. The main reason I am writing this is to show you guys a part of my life since I have been introduce to the parts of life and history on this family.

Thank you for the introduction. I support your decision to improve yourself by learning and dealing with other persons. We have folks from many varied backgrounds that share this space with us. For some, this is the only way to communicate with others safely/comfortably. I was fortunate in that there were no short busses in my school days. This forum has given me many trusted friends over the last few years.
~Richard

+1 to what Richard wrote above. Take it slow, relax, and enjoy the process. And always remember that help is here if/when you need it.

Great community here Jose, glad to hear you are off to a good start. Cuda is a top guy in my book. Could help with your ADHD, takes concentration and focus to get proficient. Best of luck and stick with it.

Makes me happy when others express the same feelings I've experienced. This is a great bunch of people, to be sure.

"We are all here connected with a bridge of razors", well played sir, well played.

Welcome aboard! Pretty good bunch, here.

I see many similarities between your story, and mine. I was the youngest of four boys, and my parents split by the time I was seven years old. Not having anyone whom I could rely upon, set me on a path of self-sufficiency. That eventually led to shaving with something that didn't require modern manufacturing: straight razors!

I am also A.D.D. (very little hyperactivity). Though I was diagnosed very young, we could only afford the meds a couple, sporadic months throughout my youth. A.D.(H.)D. is a heck of a catch 22: need money (and good insurance) for meds; need a good job for those two things; need an education to get the good job; need meds in order to focus while pursuing that education; need money & insurance for... ...you get the point.

I understand your reluctance towards potentially dependency inducing meds. But you shouldn't necessarily write them off altogether. Now that I've a nice job (ironically not requiring a college degree), I've got insurance that makes treating my A.D.D. affordable. So after a year or two of trial and error, we (my Dr. & I) finally found a medicine that works rather well for me, with virtually no side effects. And if I forget to take my pill, I'm just groggy as hell the whole day (well, and a lack of focus lol). Shoot me a PM and/or e-mail, and I'd be more than willing to discuss the complexities of A.D.D. with ya. I've even got quite a few notes from the various meds I took for a spin.

I'm gonna stop myself before I completely hijack the thread . Glad to hear you've found some help from Roy, Jen, & Mike. Happy shaving!

Congratulations on your journey! That was a very moving piece you put together. Thank you for sharing, I noticed you mention ADHD and it also seems like you won't let that or any thing for that matter get in your way and I think that is amazing! Maybe this new passion will help you along with that and help your focus, I truly hope it does. You could not ask for a more giving group and better bunch of guys. You have already found this out of course there is alot to learn and there will be bumps along the way but never lose sight of that light of bbs (baby butt smooth) at the end of the tunnel. Never be afraid to ask questions even if it has been asked 100 x's people are here to help. Welcome to the forum, take your time and enjoy the ride Sir. Thanks again for sharing your story and best of luck in school.

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk

Congrats on getting started on the journey!

I was also diagnosed with ADD and graduate with a BS mechanical engineering. It's not easy, but just like getting a good shave, is quite rewarding when you are successful.

Let me know if you need a hand with mathematics.

Nice Story,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Enjoy,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ty