PLUS MODEL MAGAZINE BIG Fall fashion Issue | Page 74

How did you find out about the # everyBODYModelSearch ?
Recently , I offhandedly mentioned to my friends how I ’ d always wanted to model but never really fit into any of the categories . One of these friends saw the contest on Instagram the week after ( two weeks after voting began ) and remembered what I had said . Excited would be an understatement to describe how I felt . The “ photoshoot ” and experience went something like this :
Another friend with a nice camera , who works at a jewelry company , came to pick me up after work and we went to some acreage south of our little Iowa farming town . With the help of her friend holding some reflectors and a bottle of tequila , the photos were born ! I think my facebook friends are still recovering from all my harassment . I sent every one of my 1,224 facebook friends a personalized message requesting they vote . Needless to say , I was and am thrilled to be involved !
What is your body confidence journey ?
When I was growing up , I was taller and bigger than all of the girls and most of the boys in my class . Kids can be cruel , and that was certainly the case in my life . By the time I was 13 , I was considered obese . The doctors told my parents I needed to lose weight and that idea was constantly reinforced through , not only everything I watched / listened to / read , but socially as well . Puberty is rough on most people , and it certainly was for me as the biggest kid in class who also happened to be incredibly sensitive and socially awkward .
The next few years were miserable . While some of the weight came off as I began to share more meals with smaller friends , I was fed up with my self-loathing . By the time I was 17 , In my mind , I was fat , lazy , and hopeless and wouldn ’ t deserve the good parts of life until I became thin .