Nail School - Day 8

Today was almost exactly the same as yesterday, I performed a manicure and a pedicure and I received a manicure and a pedicure. I have some pictures on my classmates phone, but won't be able to post them until later. The main difference between today and yesterday was that I actually had a really great day! Oh and that I am getting way better at filing. This weekend I'm going to see if I can convince Ron to let me file and manicure his nails (though I probably won't *polish* them).

At school we have Zoya nail polishes. I haven't used Zoya a lot, so this is an interesting experience. They aren't bad, but as formulas go, they aren't my favorite. I prefer less expensive brands like Color Club to the Zoya's.

Here are some current concerns:
1. I have received two manicures in the last two days and my nails still don't look very good. They are still crooked, there are tons of hangnails, they are dry. I haven't gotten many manicures before, but usually when you get them, don't your nails look awesome? Isn't that what you're paying for? I know we're just learning, but I guess I'm concerned that my nails look exactly the same as they did on Monday morning when I hadn't had any manicures. This brings me to my second and more important concern --

2. I feel like I'm not receiving a lot of instruction. We have a huge class (13 students. The last graduating class began with 8 and then 3 dropped out), and I know the teacher can only be in so many places at once, but I wish that she would hover over me and tell me what I'm doing wrong. I know that I do things wrong, but I don't know how to fix them. Does this sound like a good idea: I'm thinking about going to an established salon and getting a manicure. If I did this I could watch what the manicurist is doing, ask questions, and possibly get pointers. But on the other hand I think that I should be getting these things at school and I don't really want to pay for a manicure (I'm not exactly rolling in the dough given that I'm about to pay for parts of a wedding, unemployed, and in school). What do you think? Are there any REALLY awesome videos for how to give a manicure or any other ideas you have to make sure that when I graduate I know EVERYTHING I need to know (and then some)? How can I get better without having someone tell me when I'm wrong?