Finding My Passion
By Kiran Dhinsa
On February 13, 2012, I volunteered at my very first Beauty Night Society event, Red. This was a Valentine’s Day event that took place at the Vancouver Women’s Centre in the downtown eastside. It is difficult for me to define my experience at this event using a few words because they would not do justice. I did not know what to expect before attending the event because the last time I was in the DTES was during a flash mob cookie drop that I had helped organize.
I walked towards the main entry, pressed the buzzer and a woman approached and swiftly opened the door. She put her hand out with a smile and introduced herself as the head of security. She asked if I needed her to put any of my belongings away in a safe place and gave me a quick rundown of her role at the centre. She then directed me towards the reception to find Caroline – I knew this was going to be a great night!
I was so inundated by the buzzing room that I did not even realize that Caroline was standing right in front of me when I asked the receptionist where I could find her. The first task assigned to me was serving meals to all the women. Once the meals had been served, the BNS Red event commenced. I stepped out of the kitchen and took a moment to take everything in. There were hairdressers, make-up artists, aestheticians, massage therapists, photographers, nail artists, and media from Shaw setting up to film the event – not to mention the 60 (plus) women attending the event. As I looked around the room, I could not help but smile at the excitement and warmth that had grown exponentially as the event began.
Looking beyond what was physically happening in the room, beyond the clipping of the hair, the flashes of the photographer’s cameras and the smiles and laughs of all the women in the room, there was something I felt that is difficult for me to explain. Was it a feeling of self-actualization? It was like I had found a lost feeling by being here in this moment, with these people. I came here with no expectations and yet I had discovered something that I did not even know I needed to find. Many successful people that I have met throughout my life have talked about a moment in which they realized what it is that makes them happy. It is that effortless feeling of satisfaction and completeness. Being at the Beauty Night Society event was a defining moment for me because I realized what I am passionate about – helping women feel accepted and appreciated. There’s not better way to do that than giving them genuine attention while pampering them!
It is amazing what Caroline has built with the Beauty Night Society and her work has such an imperative impact in the lives of women in the DTES. But her work is not restricted to only affecting women from the DTES; those that volunteer are gaining as much out of the experience, if not more. There is no better feeling than the one you get after making someone else smile because you accept them for who they are – this is the feeling that Beauty Night Society captures.
Kiran Dhinsa
VP Social Entrepreneurship
Young Women in Business SFU
