Sandy Farac

When I was a young girl I told my mother I wanted to be a clown when I grew up. Even at an early age I found much pleasure bringing joy to people’s lives. Laughter, love, joy, music, dance and play were my highest values.

Then life happened and my secure foundation and carefree attitude took a turn to insecure.

At 12 years of age my parents divorced and my heart was broken. I tried to avoid my pain by smoking and taking drugs. I spent a good couple of decades taking lots of drugs.

The impact of me making those choices at such a young age led to being kicked out of the Rock Eisteddfod about which I was passionate. I really wanted to perform. Other than music, drama, dancing and art, I had no real interests at school. It bored me. And I was constantly getting into trouble for something. I’ve lost count of the number of times I was called to the principal’s office… One of the highlights from my school years were the school parish discos which I would sell tickets for. I used to love those discos and still have fond memories of them. But trouble inevitably found me there too, I used to get into fights with people in all kinds of places.

I knew relatively early on that my high-school wasn’t able to give me what I needed. I struggled to remain interested in my classes. In year ten I decided to leave school and enter into the world outside school. I knew I needed a job and chose to start a hairdressing apprenticeship. I found that with hard work and focus I found my unique groove. I set myself the goal of working at one of the most prestigious salons in Sydney, which I achieved. I cultivated excellence the only way I knew: to work hard at cultivating my skillset.