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[05 Sep 2006|06:49pm] |
Kathryn never expected to end up in Las Vegas, she thought she left that far away once she left high school. But then again, Kathryn was slowly realizing that what you expected and what actually happened were often two different beasts.
Kathryn Anne Carson was born in Henderson, NV on August 18, 1981 to Donald and Cheryl Carson. She was this tiny little tow headed thing, bubbly and bright from the start- so Cheryl did everything she could to encourage that. She started dance classes as soon as she could: tap, ballet and jazz, just so she could be well rounded. When she took an interest in art, the Carsons decided she should take classes- so she did. When she wanted a sewing machine so she could make clothes, she got one. And when she begged for a new car, that was her's too.
It wasn't that the Carson family was that well off, they were about the appearance... Don was famous for reminding Kathryn (then called Kitty by her family and everyone who mattered) that if it looked like a duck and walked like duck, it was a duck- so if she acted like she was far more important than she really was... she'd invariably become far more important than she was. So she took that to heart, which was the double edged sword of high school- she was popular because she made herself popular, but she was, inevitably, a bitch.
She was the girl with the most clothes, not that anyone really realized that a lot of them were things she'd redone herself. She had friends and a boyfriend and a hot car, and if you weren't with her, well... you were against her. And it's how she went through high school, helping her friends rule with an iron fist- a well accessorized iron fist, but an iron fist none the less.
When she left for New York to start college and what she thought would become her new life, that attitude wasn't left behind in Pasadena. She started at Parsons, getting her AAS in Fashion Merchandising. Realizing that just doing merchandising wasn't going to pay for her rock and roll lifestyle (hey, living in Manhattan was expensive), she returned to school, this time at FIT to work on a degree in Fashion Merchandising Management. After graduation she was able to get a job as a buyer at Barney's- which helped her not only make money to live her lifestyle... but expand on her already impressive shoe collection.
Between Parsons and FIT, Kathryn met Brian. He grew up in Indiana, went to Notre Dame, worked for Goldman Sachs. It seemed like Brian had everything going for him- he was a good guy, which is something Kathryn wasn't used to. Her high school boyfriend, despite being good looking, was just as mean as she was. And while she was working on being "nicer", it was hard to change everything all at once.
At 24, Kathryn thought she had it all. A good job, a good boyfriend, a good life. Things at Barney's were going really well, as were things with Brian. She was sure they'd be married, or at least engaged, before she turned 26. Everything was going well. But 26 came and went, as did 27, and there was still no ring. And no promotion at Barney's. As well as everything was going, it'd stopped for Kathryn right there at age 24.
And then things started falling apart. It started out with smaller things: they raised her rent, she and Brian started arguing. Then things started going really bad at work, with the downturn in the economy people were getting cut left and right... and eventually that list included Kathryn.
She took losing her job in stride. Pulling herself up by her bootstraps (and keeping up appearances), she did what she felt she needed to- she went back to school, this time working on her MPS in Global Fashion Management again at FIT. She was back on track professionally, but everything was falling apart personally. In her first semester in grad school, Brian left Kathryn for a mutual friend of theirs. While any girl would be devastated, Kathryn didn't have time to think about it- seminar two had her going to Paris for two weeks.
When she got back, Kathryn realized it was time to overhaul. She moved out of her expensive apartment into a smaller, less expensive apartment she shared with another FIT student. She spent her 28th birthday moving stuff from one apartment to the other, and getting settled into a less extravagant life. Which was probably good, in the long run.
Once she was done with her MPS, she knew what she had to do. While she was in Hong Kong (the other seminar location), her father had a heart attack. While he was fine, Kathryn knew she should at least move closer to them- New York to Las Vegas isn't exactly a quick drive. So she moved back to Henderson(hesitating to call it home)- temporarily. While she was there, she waited tables at a pub in Las Vegas. Saving her money and biding her time, she found someone to share a storefront with: renting out space to smaller merchandisers... all so she could do what she'd always wanted to do- own her own clothing store. Vive la Lola opened it's doors July 12, 2008- and despite the odds, she did okay for herself.
After living with her parents for over a year, Kathryn closed on a duplex - the day after her 30th birthday. Maybe 30 really was the new 20.
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