My Story and What Modeling Means to Me
Modeling is an interesting occupation. I often get asked if I always knew I wanted to model, and grew up imaging being on the runway and working for big brands all over the world. The truth is, I didn’t even know what modeling was when I was growing up. I am from a really small town in Tennessee where the only brands I grew up wearing were Walmart and on a good day Target. It wasn't until I was in eighth grade and my mom took me to the mall an hour and a half away that I started wearing legit brands such as Pink, Abercrombie and Fitch, Hollister, and so on. People always told me growing up that I should model, and at the most random times. When I was about 12 my team and I had just finished playing a soccer game and I was drenched in sweat and looking quite rough, when this woman came up to me and said excuse me you should be a model. I laughed and was like thank you, and I didn’t think twice about it.
When I was fifteen I was walking through the mall and I saw this little box for a small modeling/acting agency and it said to fill out a paper and put it in the box if you were interested in becoming a model or actor. Little naive me was like sure let’s do it, why not they’ll never call. They did call me, as they did every other name lol, and I proceeded to meet with them an hour and a half from my home and I took a couple of classes there. I took an improv class, a make-up class, and a runway class. It was fun, but I didn’t know where to proceed from there. After being scouted a little while later and then doing a modeling competition in New York my career was really about to begin.
The end of my junior year (11th grade) I was in the process of applying to colleges and I was determined to do school full time and model on the side. Little did I know that wasn’t really possible, especially considering all the schools I was applying to were really great but mostly all in Tennessee where there isn’t exactly a modeling industry. I doubled all my classes the first two semesters of my senior year and I finished in December with all my credits including my college courses that I was doing on the side. January of my senior year I jetted off to Singapore where I went on my first modeling trip and started my whole career.
I went into this business not knowing anything about fashion and very insecure as well. I wanted everyone to like me, and I was scared of being rejected. In a business where everyone is not going to like you, and you will be constantly rejected I wasn’t exactly in the right position mentally to be in this business. I grew quite fast though and with the help of a couple of amazing people I grew to be the person I am today. I also had no idea what fashion even was when I started modeling. I have this picture my mom took of me in the streets of NYC wearing tight little black leggings, gray leg warmers, a long-sleeved crop top, and some super cheap fake leather combat boots. I am not sure what I was thinking, but I was really trying. Even till today I tell my mom that I just met with Prada or Louis Vuitton and I have to explain to her that they are really famous and big brands lol. It is crazy when you are from a small town in the middle of the south you can be unaware of so much out there.
Fast forward to now, and I want to tell you what this career means to me. I always get asked this whether it be someone from back home, or at a casting. Being a model has really opened my eyes in so many ways. It has given me the opportunity to travel to so many amazing places all over the world from Bogota, Paris, London, Milan, LA, Latvia, and many more. It has made me see the world and cultures from a real first-person view being able to not just meet people from all over the world but to also experience these cultures first hand. I have had the opportunity to learn how to eat with chopsticks in a little restaurant in Singapore as the workers tried to teach me, to trying all the exotic and amazing fruits in South America with a personal chef on set cooking for us each and every meal, to sitting in front of the Eiffel Tower waiting for the lights to twinkle, going to the top of the Shard building in London and seeing the amazing city that spread across forever it seemed, and so many other cool experiences. I have made so many amazing memories that I will never forget, and I am excited to keep making more as I continue my travels.
I also get to meet extremely creative people, and it’s so cool to be able to be part of a project or process of seeing a collection being sewn together to an editorial being produced. People are capable of amazing things, and seeing that creativity and being a part of that is truly magical. I must say I really love doing shows in Paris, when we are backstage getting all dolled up and seeing the outfits still having each sequin and sparkle sewn on and stitched up to showcase the most amazing collections that seem like a dream. Modeling also has made me grow as a person. It has helped me learn more about who I am, how to take care of myself, how to stand up for myself, and how to be myself and not compare myself to anyone else. I am not going to lie, modeling is tough. It isn’t all the glitz and glam we make it seem like, it can break you and tear you down to second guess yourself and your decisions. However though, nothing good comes easy. I like to believe that hard work pays off. At the end of the day I am grateful to be living in NYC with this opportunity that I could have never imagined having. I still to this day have moments where I am walking down the street and I can’t believe that I live in New York City, the most incredible city on Earth!! It’s a dream and sometimes I have to snap myself back into reality.