Hi everyone!
Before I get too much into this post, I have something I need to say. I’ve come to the conclusion that trying to stick to my usual Saturday posting schedule isn’t going to work for the time being. It’s too much right now for me to try to get a new blog post out on a consistent day and time. That said, I’m still going to be blogging and getting posts out as soon as I can. But they’re going to be fairly sporadic for the time being. Maybe I’ll work out a more solid schedule at a future time. For now though, I’m just going to post when I can, no matter what day it is.
That being said, today’s topic is all about what I do when the going gets tough. Let’s face it, folks. No matter how much you love your job, there are days when last thing you want to do is go to work. I’ve been feeling like that a lot recently. This past week, I had anywhere from two to four modeling sessions every single day. I would wake up sometimes as early as 6am and not get home until after 10:30pm. I know plenty of people have similar work schedules, but trust me on this. Modeling for that long over the course of seven days will make you feel both physically and emotionally exhausted in ways you’d never expect.
Last night, all that work (plus poor eating and Daylight Savings Time messing up my sleep schedule) caught up to me. I now have a cold and could barely wake up this morning. With all of this said, I think it's only natural that some of you might be wondering “if you’re so drained from modeling, why do you keep doing it?” I'll tell you why.
Most of you already know how much I love art modeling, both as my job and as something that inspires me artistically. For the sake of not being repetitive, I won't get too much into that. Instead, I want to touch on a few other reasons that I've kept going to my modeling bookings, even when I've ended up feeling like crap afterwards.
First of all, there's the money. I feel a little ashamed for admitting that, especially since I've always held the mentality of "do what you love, no matter how much it ends up paying you." But now that I have my own place in the city and I'm gaining more personal independence, money has become more and more of a critical asset to my well-being. While modeling may not pay me thousands of dollars, there's no denying that the more sessions I take, the greater chance is that I'll be able to pay my rent. I hate that money has become something I constantly worry about now, but I guess that's part of being a young adult. Modeling, at this point in my life, is my best bet at remaining somewhat financially stable.
There's also the matter of me honoring the commitments I make. I've always prided myself in being dependable, and modeling is not exception. Unless I was deathly ill or struck down by lightning, there's very little that I would allow to keep me from going to a booking. Like most jobs, the more you prove yourself as a hard working, reliable employee, the greater the chance is that you'll advance in your profession. While there isn't a standard corporate ladder that you can climb as art model, the more you prove yourself in each session, the greater the chance is that you'll be hired again. Not only that, but the chance to make more money increases too. I'd say both those this are worth pounding the pavement for.
But then there comes the moments that I really revel in when it comes to my job. Moments that I know if I didn't model, I'd miss out on. A perfect example of one such moment happened about a month ago. I was asked to model in a different class than the one I had been previously scheduled in. Little did I know what a treat this new class would be.
It's no secret that I have to hold very still in most of my modeling sessions. In this one, however, not only was I allowed to move, but the instructor insisted upon it. This class was an abstract art class, which focused much more on movement instead of capturing my exact figure. For the majority of the time I was there, I got to move around on the modeling stand with a scarf. I did everything from turning in one place, tangling the scarf around me, and even doing a slow leg hold for a few seconds. I also got to do a bit of an improv exercise, where I pretend to move like different animals. I ended up being, a kangaroo, a crocodile and a peacock. Needless to say, it was so much fun!
Getting to move in that particular class also reminded me of something I hadn't thought too much about; my love of dancing. Prior to this class, I had had about a week of dance classes, most of which I didn't feel too great about. But when I was on the stand, I remembered that getting to express myself through movement is one of the reasons I started dancing in the first place. It also reminded me that performing is something I want to share with others. After having a series of audition rejections over the past few years, hearing compliments about how "well I carry myself"and "how gracefully I move" puts that fire of desire back into me. It was a wonderful thing to think of then, and it's something I try to think of now as I move forward both with my performing and my modeling.
If there's one takeaway from this, it's that modeling is a vital part of my life now, one that I definitely would not want to give up. No matter how stressful it may be, this truly is a case of the positives outweighing the negatives. That, in short, is why I keep coming back.
That's it for this post. See you soon!
