Sunday, December 30, 2018

Modeling New Year's Resolutions

Hi everyone!

I hope that you've all been having a relaxing and fun holiday over this past week.  I certainly have!  It's been nice to have some downtime, and it's also been great to get to hang out with my family.  A nice change of pace from all the hustle and bustle from earlier this month.

Speaking of which, it's crazy to think that tomorrow is the last day of 2018.  I don't know about you, but this year seems to have gone by so quickly.  So much has changed since the start of this year.  I honestly never thought I'd be sitting in my living room, writing a blog post about my job in New York City only days before I head back to it.  But, here we are!  I have to say, I'm glad for it.

I find that the older I get, the more New Year's Eve appeals to me, both as a holiday and as a concept. It's not just that I can stay up past midnight or that I'm old enough to drink now (although both those things definitely have their perks.)  I like the idea of new beginnings, starting fresh, and making plans for a better year ahead.  I know that a lot of people either dread making New Year's Resolutions or don't bother to make any at all.  I, however, really love to make them.  Resolutions inspire me to try to do accomplish as much as I can throughout the coming year, and to try to live as my best self.  Since I've already made my list of personal resolutions, I thought it would be fun to make a list of a few that pertain to modeling.  So, here's my list of Modeling New Year's Resolutions for 2019:

1. Dedicate myself more to my exercise routine

Over the past few months, I've admittedly been slacking in my workouts.  Some of this has been due to my busy schedule, but a lot of it has been due to laziness.  Even if I have time to go to the gym or do a home workout, I haven't been the best about getting up and doing it.  Since staying physical fit is important not only for modeling but for myself as well, I'm making a commit to make my exercise routine a priority.  Not only am I going to go to the gym more often, but I'm also going to look into new exercise classes in the city.  Good for the body, brain, and soul.

2. Take more time for self care

I've tried to stress the importance of self care in previous posts when it comes to art modeling.  But I haven't been the best at practicing this myself.  There have been plenty of times where I've been sore or tired and would have benefited from a massage or a chiropractor appointment.  Instead, I've brushed off my pain, telling myself I either don't have the money or the time to go treat myself.  Well, I think that should change.  Just like prioritizing my fitness routine, I'm going to make sure to rest when I need to, and to do things that make my physical and emotional selves happy.  (Hot baths, anyone?)

3. Be more assertive about what poses don't and do work for me.

When I first started art modeling, I tried very hard to prove to myself and others that I was capable of holding dynamic, crazy poses for a long period of time.  While I still love these kind of poses, I've started to realize that there's only so much my body can take.  Now that I've modeled for almost a year and am getting more steady work, I have a better understanding of what kind of poses feel the best to do.  So if something starts to hurt in a modeling session, or I don't think I'll be able to hold a specific posture for twenty minutes, I'm going to speak up.  Asserting myself has always been something I've struggled with, but I know that it's important for everyone involved that I'm comfortable when I'm working.  I resolve to use my voice like I use my body; to make my job even better!

4. Go to more museums, art shows, lives performances, etc. 

A lot of times when I'm in a modeling session, the instructor will encourage their students to go to museums or art shows.  The reason for this is so the students can see different kinds of art and hopefully be inspired to create some of their own.  I think the same idea applies to art models too.  I'm constantly looking for new ideas for poses, and what better place to look than an art museum?  Being the artsy person I am, I also really love going to museums, plays, musicals, galleries, etc.  You name it, I'm there.  Rest assured, I'll be there even more this year!

5. Create a more consistent blogging schedule

This is actually one of my personal New Year's resolutions.  I've loved getting to write about my job over the past year, and I would like to make it a more regular part of my life come 2019.  Truthfully, I still haven't decided how I want to go about this.  My current goal is to do at least one post biweekly.  That may change in the future, but I think it's a good starting place for now.  Either way, I want to write more posts for "Model Behavior" using a more consistent schedule.  So, keep sending your questions and ideas for blog entries my way.  It helps a great deal, and I always love getting to hear from you!

That's it for this post.  Thank you all so much for your comments and supports all throughout 2018.  It means the world to me, and I'm so glad that I've been able to share this journey.  I hope that you all have a great New Year's Eve tomorrow, and I wish you the best for the coming year!  Until then...

See you soon! <3

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Merry Christmas!

Hi everyone!

As I write this post, it’s 8:34pm on December 25th.  I’m sitting on a heater in my living room, looking at the beautiful tree that’s covered in lights and ornaments.  I think this is a proper time to say it:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas is, without a doubt, my favorite holiday.  I can’t tell you how nice it is to be home for the holidays, and how great it was to be able to spend the day with my family.  Good food, nice presents, and lots of love and cheer.  How can it get any better than this?

Christmas is also a time to reflect on all that’s good and hopeful in the world.  Tonight, I can’t help but think about how blessed and lucky I am to have such a great family, and to have a job that brings me such joy.  That’s why I’m writing this post tonight, so that anyone I’ve worked with knows how grateful I am for what you’ve given me.  To any instructors, monitors, and other models I know that may be reading this post, thank you for making my job so fun and rewarding.  I hope that all of you have had a wonderful Christmas and enjoy the rest of your holiday season.

Now, I think it’s time for me to relax a bit before I head off to bed.  So, I’ll close out this post the best way I can:

“But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

See you soon!

Friday, December 21, 2018

Holiday Cheer

Hi everyone!

Long time, no post.  I just checked the date on my last entry, and it’s been over a month since I last wrote.  I think that’s a new record for me!  ...Yay?

These past few weeks have been crazy busy.  I’ve had a modeling session almost every day of the week since mid-November, which, as you might have guessed, left me feeling wiped out.  That, plus doing holiday activities around the city ate up a lot of my time.  As badly as I wanted to write a new post, I just didn’t feel up to it.  But I’m here now, and a new post you all shall receive!

I can’t believe there’s only four more days left until Christmas.  Time never seemed to move this fast when I was a kid.  I still have some holiday shopping to do, and I also have to cleaning and pack before I head back to Oneonta this Sunday.  I admit, I am a little stressed.  But I’m also really excited that I’ll get to be home for the holidays.  I can’t wait to have some downtime and to be with my family again.

While I’m waiting, though, I have to say that the past few days have been particularly good.  I got to go to the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, saw the New York City Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker” on Wednesday, and went to a party last night with cast members of a show I did a year ago.  All of these experiences were wonderful, and have definitely bucked up my spirits.  I've also been listening to plenty of Christmas music, which never fails to make me smile.

As great as the past few days have been though, I have to admit that there have been some bumps along the way.  I've had a few days where I've felt less that stellar, both physically and emotionally.  I guess that's to be expected when you spend the majority of your day in an art pose.  I don't think this has negatively impacted my work performance, but I know it also hasn't helped.  There have been times over the past few days where the last thing I wanted to do was hold still for twenty minutes at a time for three hours.  It's not that I dislike my job, but I've said it before and I'll say it again.  No matter how much you love your occupation, there will always be days where the work you're doing will feel more like "work" instead of fun.  That's normal, but it can still get to you.

But if there's one good thing about feeling this way, it's knowing that the students and the monitors have your back.  After my modeling sessions finished yesterday, I got to go to two holiday parties in the studios.  There was a lot of food and drinks, and I got the chance to talk with some of the students.  Everyone was very kind and gave me plenty of compliments on my modeling, and I got to learn more about their lives too.  I had a really nice time, and getting to relax a bit with this group of people helped me feel more positive.  Perfect timing for holidays too!

So that's my holiday cheer message.  Things are good here, and I'm looking for to finishing this week and celebrating Christmas soon.  Until then, I'm going to relax some more tonight.  There's a bowl of popcorn and a copy of the movie "Eloise at Christmastime" calling my name!

See you soon!