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| Renee is working on her Girl Scout Gold Award by bringing self-esteem programming to middle school girls. |
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A Not So Typical Saturday
A Girl Scout's Look into the Modeling World
By Renee
Standing outside the Ford Modeling building on Fifth Avenue in New York City about to conduct my first-ever interview, I was at a loss of what to do. Leona Palmer, a Ford Plus model was a stranger and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Lucky for me, Leona was one of the nicest, most down-to-earth people I've ever met. Leona's worked as a Ford Plus model for almost four years and grew up as a lot of teenage girls do, with dislike of her appearance and lack of self-esteem around her body image. She graciously sat down with me after flying during the night from Seattle to New York City. This is what she had to say.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in a very small town in Wisconsin--Random Lake with a population of about 1,500 people. Really in the middle of nowhere. I grew up in a house between two farms--with this strange menagerie of goats, rabbits, chickens, and birds. I was very naive and sensitive about myself and it took moving to New York for me to get over all that.
When did you move to New York?
I moved to New York when I was 18 to attend New York University. I studied comparative literature and politics and I thought I was going to work in publishing. After an internship at a small publishing house, I knew it just wasn't the job for me. So I graduated and didn't really know what I wanted to do. I started working at a children's bookstore and tutoring kids on the Upper East Side.
Was there ever a time when you lacked self-esteem?
I was always a chubby kid. In middle school and even high school, your peers are the most brutal reflection of yourself you will ever experience and I was always really insecure about my weight. I had really bad acne and kind of disassociated myself from my insecurities about my body. I thought my lips were too big and my eyes were too small. It's like anything when you're a teenager; you just aren't okay with what you see in the mirror. Modeling, actually, gave me what I needed to accept and love my body.
How did you become a model?
I was walking to work one morning and a photographer was standing outside a bakery with his girlfriend. They started to say hello from half a block away. I was a little creeped out since I had no idea who they were. When I got a little closer they realized their mistake and apologized saying that they thought I was a plus-size model they had worked with. He felt terrible and offered to take pictures of me so I could get a sense of what plus-size modeling was. A few weeks later, after I found out he was legit, I went to have the pictures taken. He took pictures of me on a Thursday. He showed the pictures to the agency on Friday and I met with them on Monday and walked out with a contract.
Did you have any reservations about becoming a model?
Part of what I had studied at NYU was political literature and feminist politics so for me to graduate with that mentality and then turn around and become a model was the opposite of what I felt I needed to do. I didn't want to contribute to something I thought was unhealthy and I still do have a lot of reservations about some of the ways the media portrays women. I mean the clothes don't even fit the way you think they do. My mom really convinced me to give it a go as I wouldn't be contributing to the stereotypical image of a model but offering an alternative view. So I signed the contract and started.
If you could say anything to teenage girls, what would it be?
You are dealing with so much in high school and it is so much work. If you could just save your self the time and energy it takes being negative, you could concentrate on your science test tomorrow, or even global warming. You are running the world. Part of being 16 is feeling really helpless but you have the ability to do so much. The music you buy, the movies you see, the magazines you subscribe to: you are their boss. They want to give you what you want. If you write them saying you want to see more "normal looking" people, they'll give it to you. You're making the world that you want to live in. Images of beauty shift over the years and if you want to have it shift in another direction, you have the ability to do that. You're not a victim. Don't let yourself be overly influenced by what you see. Being beautiful is not the norm. Don't worry about what you're not; love what you are. Don't diminish yourself by making it all about your elbows, thighs, or ears. That's not what your body is for or about. Being beautiful doesn't do anything; it's the person inside that does.
Renee is working on her Girl Scout Gold Award to bring self-esteem programming to middle-school girls.
uniquely ME! THE GIRL SCOUT/DOVE SELF-ESTEEM PROGRAM was established in the fall of 2001 to boost self-esteem among girls ages 8 to 17. The uniquely ME! resources are available for all girls. For more information, visit the girlscouts.org uniquely ME! Web page.
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