subject: Yeti Turned Model Wannabe [print this page] Legs as endless as the sky, skin as smooth as silk, hair as healthy as a horse; thats what models are made of. Like goddesses from the heavens all models seem, whether sashaying down the runway or posing as the latest face of a night cream. You cant help but be drawn to their beauty, let alone wish you were half as pretty.
Like most women I have dreamed of one day having my face seen in print or on film. But as the Broadway song goes, there are dreams that cannot be. And so begins the story of me, the yeti turned model-wannabe.
I was that girl who always literally stood out in the crowd, not that I was much of a head-turner, but rather, I was about a head taller than the rest. I was that teen who always bought clothes from the childrens department as most RTW for my age were at least two sizes too big. I was labeled Kitty the Yeti for the longest time for I was tall, hairy and bordering androgynous. One could say I was the awkward type growing up, and not until my late teen years did I realize I had the makings of the next Tyra Banks.
A late bloomer indeed I was, that at seventeen I was barely out of my training bras. Good thing by the time I got to college I already had curves in the right places, lest I carry on the label androgynous for another four years. Another good thing that happened was my pseudo modeling debut, all thanks to my friends connected to many industry whos who.
My two mentors introduced me not only to the whole idea of modeling but also to looking and feeling anew. I had to undergo laser acne removal, laser hair removal and overpriced salon treatments to name a few, that were musts for every model who wanted projects on queue. I had but little idea that the camera can bring out horrors in anyone; I for one looked fat, blemished and hairy. No wonder pilates, Diamond Peel and laser hair removal in Brampton were models best friends instantly.
I sashayed from one go-see to the next, posed for hours under harsh strobe lights and learned to bend my body in ways that hurt. I set my hopes high for a career in modeling, what with my mentor friends high regard for The Law of Attraction. I missed not one VTR, casting call or go-see but booking or casting gods just wouldnt take pity on me. I was thin, tall, hairless and smooth-skinned, yet no projects seemed to find their way to me. Out of frustration I asked my mentor friends what was wrong with me. They said, honestly, no amount of laser spider vein removal or laser hair removal in Mississauga could take out the yeti in me.
