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| A photo from one of my first ever shoots with Kelly Coleman (MUA) and Bob Cranwell (photographer). |
I am a young black woman, with a Nigerian father and an African American mother. Growing up as a lanky girl with awkward limbs and clothes that didn't fit, I learned to hate my body based on the messages of my immature classmates.
Then I grew into what people call "the model type." It has been a task for me to adjust to being called beautiful instead of being ridiculed. From seeing my body as that of a teenage boy to that of a desirable woman.
For a long time, I didn't think of modeling as something that was for me. I denied myself the right to be the focus of the camera, when for so long the attention my body got me was negative. I didn't think I could be good at it. I didn't think I was good enough.
But through the support of others who believed in and still believe in me, I've started to see myself differently and am realizing that I am beautiful. This may be hard to understand, looking from the outside in, but it is my truth. If that is too much for you to relate to, you can leave this blog now. I won't apologize for who I am and where I've been.
So for me, modeling is about creating art, being a part of that art, and seeing my body as a work of art. I don't do it to contribute to the impossible images of beauty we see constantly in media and advertising. I don't do it to be the center of attention. I don't do it to be liked or loved.
I do it so I can love myself.
More than anything, I hope the stories and photos I share here can help you do the same. We are all beautiful, in whatever shape, size, and color we come. We are each a gift to this planet, with something special and magnificent to offer it.
You don't have to be a model to be beautiful. You just have to be you.
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