Model Behavior

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Thank you for being patient! In case anyone is keeping track, I usually post between 7-9pm after I get home for the day. And without further ado, I give you, my story!

I have been tall, and thin my whole life. As long as I can remember people have been telling me I should give modeling a shot because of this. So when I was 16 I decided to do some research and see what I could find out about it. My biggest problem was that…I was in Lincoln Nebraska. Oh you say you know nothing about it? Well that’s because it is the most useless city in the country. It’s tiny, boring, and there is a cornfield, right in the middle of the city. Seriously.

But I did manage to find a teeny tiny agency in Omaha which is about and hour away and is much bigger then Lincoln, Omaha actually has things like Whole Foods, concerts, and restaurants with actual chefs, all we have in Lincoln is Applebee’s and McDonalds. I found them, quit literally, by just opening the phonebook under “modeling.” So my dad took me to Omaha (I couldn’t drive there by myself) and I met with this agency called Reel People. All this took some time so I was 17 by this point. They agency said they where interested in working with me and told me about a modeling contest that was coming up that included Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. I was a bit weary at first because the contest cost $100 to enter, but I finally signed up for it. I figured if I didn’t I would always wonder what could have been…and in fact looking back it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

pics of me when I first started out, don’t laugh, I was learning! The second one shows you how skinny I was when I was 17, I have filled out quit a bit since then!!

The contest had 4 categories, head shot, full length, swimsuit, and couples. I ended up winning the full length division and I won 2nd place overall. This not only got me a chunk of cash to use towards future modeling endeavors, it also got me some notoriety around the agency itself, and they were immediately very eager to work with me.

For about a year after that I did small local jobs like working with a photography school or small local clothing companies, nothing that earned me more then $50-$100 a day. Then one day the agency called me and asked if I wanted to do a shoot with a photographer who works with Elite Model Management in LA. Uuummmmm…..HECK YES I DO!!! So I went back to Omaha that night and shot with Dean Zoen, amazing photographer, who ended up becoming my manager, and still is to this day. Dean took my pictures back to LA and showed them around Elite, who decided they were really interested in meeting me.

Meanwhile back in Lincoln, I was graduating high school and making arrangements for my first semester of college at UNL. I was going in as a psychology major and planned on living in the dorms. When the news got to me that Elite wanted to meet with me, I was excited but trying not to get my hopes up. I flew to LA the summer after graduation with my mom and although Elite showed a ton of interest in me and where ready to sign me right then and there…it didn’t feel right. Call me crazy, but I wanted to go to college, I wanted to be like my friends and live on campus and have that experience. So I came home, and moved into the dorms.

But then something amazing happened. Elite in LA contacted Elite in NY, and they too were very interested in working with me. So my agent flew me out to NY to meet with them and while I was there I FELL IN LOVE! For those of you who have never been to New York City before, it is just as, if not more magical then you can even imagine. There is so much to do, so much energy, so many people! Plus I had grown tired of dorm life and realized that college really wasn’t as exciting as I had hoped…and actually just felt like high school, with bigger cliques. So plans were made, I would move to New York as soon as classes were over.

It wasn’t quit that easy but I did manage to get out there by late January. Words cannot explain what I was feeling when I boarded that plane with a one way ticket to NYC. I was terrified, excited, sad, lonely, and hopeful. I think I actually threw up in the airport from nerves (and maybe some motion sickness). I got off the plane, knees shaking, and was immediately relieved the agency had thought to send a car for me, so I didn’t have to deal with the drama of trying to get a cab and La Guardia airport with 2 giant suitcases (I have done this many times since that first visit, it is always a nightmare!) The drive from the airport to the model apartment took about 25 minutes and in that time I managed to bite all of my fingernails down and cry like a baby, all out of sheer panic. It felt like we had been driving FOREVER when we finally stopped the car on 48th st between 5th and 6th avenue. The driver helped me with my luggage and, still shaking quit hard, I rang the doorbell.

But then something amazing happened. An adorable blond girl opened the door, introduced herself as Helen in a sweet British accent, and helped me get my luggage upstairs. I would learn later that there were 10 other girls in the apartment, but for now it was just me and Helen as they were all out on jobs/castings. Helen sat on my bed while I unpacked and chit chatted away. I was immediately at ease and all my worrying vanished.

I am eternally grateful that Helen was the first person I met in NY, and we became fast friends from that day forward.

And here’s a few shots from my first photoshoot in NY for a (bizarre) swim suit catalogue:

And that’s how it all started. Of course I could include the intensity of my first day there, including my first esperience with the subway and the fashion show I was booked for 3 HOURS AFTER MY ARRIVAL!!!!! But I think I will leave you all in suspense and save that for another post!!