My Model Life

I've always enjoyed modeling. Since I am a photographer, I like to practice modeling and model photography with my mom. I edit all my own photos.

I will be 28 years old on October 5th. I always thought I am too old for real life modeling as a job. Recently though, I have been working on fitness, and my "look" a lot. I decided maybe my body is still in good enough shape to really be a model. I also thought, I'm not getting any younger, and you only live once, unless there is reincarnation, but I probably wouldn't be reincarnated as model material anyway. Anyway, it's basically now or never. Mark Twain once said "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

So I finally got up the courage to send my photos into a major modeling agency (http://www.quickbookagency.com/) that handles major clients across the US and Canada. I never really thought much of it. Right away, I got a letter from them in the mail. It was an acceptance letter! They "would like the chance to market [my] look!" The letter begins: "Welcome to QuickBook, your look has been approved for full agency representation. Each month we discover a handful of new faces that we feel have exceptional potential for work with the types of clients that hire talent through QuickBook." In the letter it mentions that jobs through their agency "typically pay between $500 and $10,000." The jobs are "generally for print ads, magazine layouts, product packaging, movies, TV shows and commercials."

This is the real deal. They are based out of Seattle (home, yay!) and have been handling bookings since 1973. Listed in their brochure is a list of a few of over 8200 companies that have used The QuickBook Agency. Included are: Microsoft, Eddie Bauer, Coca-Cola, Bristol-Myers, Lever Bros., Kodak, Ford-Lincoln-Mercury, Disney, Samsonite  General Electric, Chiquita, Volkswagen, General Motors, Freshens Yogurt, Nike, Ritz Carlton, Ice Breakers, Olympus, Hanes, American Express, Carsey/Werner Television, Teen Vogue, Barbie, MTV Artists, Sony, Castle Rock Films, United Airlines, Pepsi, Texaco, JCPenney, Coppertone, Ford, Metropolitan and LA Models.

After a few heated discussions about the prospect with my husband, He finally said he is lucky to have me as his wife, and will support me in anything I do. So with the support of my husband, I will be signing on with QuickBook! I may never get a job from it, but I'm excited nonetheless!

Now I REALLY need to get serious about dieting and fitness though. My goal is to lose 5lbs, and do some major toning up. I'm in desperate need of squats and lunges to shape up my little derriere! People often worry about me being thin, and automatically assume I have an eating disorder. This is so far from the truth! Here are my tips for keeping my body thin, and in tip-top shape:

I exercise EVERY day. Sometimes it is very involved, and I will run until I just absolutely can't go any farther which is usually around 4 miles. Sometimes I do pilates or yoga. Sometimes I lift weights and do squats and lunges. Sometimes I swim laps between our dock and our neighbor's dock. And sometimes, I just go for a walk with my boy and call it good.

I do not count calories, I do not really restrict calories, but I am very conscious of calories, and nutrition, and I watch what I put into my body. I have never liked the way junk food makes me feel, and even as a child I preferred healthy food choices over junky food choices. I do not eat snack foods like chips. I do have the occasional cookie and I never worry about it. I try to choose foods rich in protein, high in fiber, and fairly low in calories. For breakfast I like to eat asparagus fritatas which consist of 2 beaten eggs, ten asparagus spears, and one tablespoon of butter. I like dinners like salmon with brown rice and cooked vegetables. I prefer fresh cooked food over processed food any day.

I don't drink anything but water. Juice, and especially soda are full of calories that aren't even filling. Water is sufficient for drinking all day, has no calories, and is hydrating. H2O all the way!

Really, that's about what it comes down to. Drinking water, being conscious of what foods go into my body, and exercise. No secrets here. No starving, no self-induced vomiting, no eating disorder. You actually have to eat to have a nice body. The body needs protein to repair and grow muscles after workouts, and also needs calories for fuel.

So maybe I will get a modeling job, or 100, or maybe I will never get one, but I will always be able to look back and say I tried, I gave it my best effort. Hopefully I will avoid the "what ifs" later in life since modeling has always been a dream of mine. I will conclude this post with some of my modeling photos. Let me know what you think!

Edit: After looking at these photos again, I realized some photo edits were done by Jessica Pacheco of Jessica Pacheco Photography. I wanted to make sure to give credit where it is due.

Thanks for reading!