Category: Modeling

  • The 2020 Miss Colorado USA Pageant

    miss Colorado USA
    Just woke up in Greeley. And how fitting, the wallpaper was literally just a bunch of cows. 🙂

    This is definitely a Monday post. Sunday was too much. I had an organic chemistry exam this morning too and that was too much. Anyway! This past weekend I had the opportunity to compete in the Miss Colorado USA 2020 pageant. Those of you that have been around will recall that I also competed last year. Yipee!

    My mom, sister, and I arrived in Greeley on Friday night and from there, the weekend flew by. I competed in interview, swimsuit, and evening gown and also got to be on stage for a big introduction which was super fun. This year I wore a yellow (maybe more on the orange side though) two-piece swimsuit (eeeeee) and for evening gown, my dress was very sparkly and gold. I will post more pictures of all of my outfits to this post when they come in. 🙂 Or I can make a separate post about that. Just let me know what you all would prefer!

    In my interview, I talked with the judges quite a bit about my published academic work on Pyrrhura molinae (aka Bobo and his green cheek conure crew) and kickboxing. They asked about Hawaii and I shared a lot. It went really well. I also got to be in the room BY MYSELF because the girl before me dropped the pageant which was sad. More time for the judges to listen to me though I guess.

    Out of the entire weekend, I feel like swimsuit was my favorite to compete in. I was absolutely terrified to go out on stage wearing a two-piece swimsuit but in the end, I was proud of myself for doing that. I don’t know many other people that would do something like that! I’ve been working incredibly hard to get my body to a place that I’m proud of and I’m still not quite where I want to be but I am incredibly proud of myself for coming to where I am after being injured for so long.

    It was so fun to meet so many other amazing young ladies and I wish them all the absolute best in everything they do. It always feels so good to be around so many other good people. In addition to this, I would like to thank Future Productions fo putting another fun and flawless weekend and show! It has been wonderful getting to know your staff and getting to work with you all. I would also like to congratulate the new Miss Colorado USA, Emily DeMure. You crushed it, girl! You’re going to be amazing. 🙂 If you’re interested in checking out the pageant, check out the official website!

    Now the question comes, will I compete again? I’m really not sure. I had fun and I’ve enjoyed being at Miss Colorado for the past two years, but after being extremely stressed about school the entire weekend, I don’t know if I want to put myself through that again. Yes, I still had a wonderful time, but school is also incredibly important to me. We’ll just have to wait and see.

    Have a wonderful week everyone! And to those of you that are also in Colorado, stay warm! We’re about to get some cold, cold weather and snow! 🙂 Woohoo! See you next Sunday.

  • Knowing What’s Real in the Modeling and Acting Industries

    modeling

    Before I get started on this post, I would like to make it clear that I am not trying to trash any particular agency or group. I am simply sharing my experience and hopefully helping those who are interested in the modeling and acting industries stay away from scams and fakes. There are a lot of great agencies and people out there who will truly help you get what you want and there are also a lot of agencies and people who are completely in it for the money.

    If the modeling and/or acting industries are something you are interested in getting into, I HIGHLY recommend doing as much research as you can on the various agencies in your area and in your state or country. I recommend learning about which agencies are legit and which are not. I recommend reading about the strengths of each agency and seeing if they are the best fit for you and what you want. Remember that you SHOULD NEVER be asked to pay to attend an audition or casting if the agency is legit. You should also never have to pay to join an agency. Any contracts signed or deals made should involve no payments on your part.

    Onto my story now. I’ve been a part of an agency in Denver for the past couple of years that required me to pay to attend a “modeling” school for 60 hours. That part should have IMMEDIATELY been a red flag to my family and I but we went on with it because the deal seemed very legit. You attend the modeling/acting school every other Saturday until you complete the course and then you get a contract with the agency tied to the school and then you have the opportunity to get local work as a model or actor. This agency also attends an “international” modeling and acting convention which gives aspiring models and actors the opportunity to showcase themselves before casting directors and various agencies from around the world. To this day, I still question the legitimacy of many of the agencies that attend the convention. There are a couple of agencies that attend this particular convention that I know are real but I’m still a bit iffy. And guess what? If you’re selected to be a part of this “elite team” to attend the convention, YOU HAVE TO PAY TO GO. Hmmmmm. Even more fishy now, right?

    Ever since that trip in 2016 (I think?) I have been on the hunt for a better agency and I’m working on it, but I have to wait until my contract finishes with this agency. This past year, I dealt with some extremely odd incidents with them. About part way through the year, my mom received an email that they had dropped me. There was no explanation. So my mom called the agency and they explained that my contract had expired and that I was no longer with them. They told me that they would still love to represent me though and see me again in classes. Interestingly enough though, my contract had not expired… We moved on from that and continued with the agency and that brings me to yesterday now.

    Yesterday, I attended a pre-casting for our upcoming fashion week at my agency. They were worried about sending too many models to the actual audition so they help a pre-audition. Fair enough. I arrived and walked before the agency director and her secretary and all of the other models in the pre-casting. I have been practicing my walking for months and I know that I’ve been putting the work in, since I competed at Miss Colorado USA last October. After all of the models walked, the director made a decision and I was not selected to attend the actual casting.

    That part didn’t bug me. It was the comments after. My director stood before all of the models after the decisions were made and said that she was highly disappointed in some of her previous convention attendees (like myself). She mentioned being embarrassed and then recommended I come back for more classes! I know that I’ve worked hard to have the body I currently do and I know that my runway walk was better than half of the models that were picked to attend the real casting! And while I do want to give credit to some of the girls that walked at that precasting that should walk at a big fashion week event like the one coming up, many of the models there would NEVER be cast for something like that if they were with a legit agency.

    I find it extremely frustrating that I allowed myself to get into a situation like this and I hope that those of you reading this who aspire to be actors or actresses or models learn to be careful and not make the same mistakes I have. I feel that somehow, I belong in either the modeling or acting world and I will continue to put my best foot forward and put myself out there. Now though, I know that I will never allow what happened to me to ever happen again. Have a good week.

  • My Miss Colorado Experience

    This past weekend was finally the weekend! The Miss Colorado USA pageant happened and I have a lot to share. Overall, the experience was wonderful. I had a lot of fun and it was empowering to be around so many beautiful, funny, and strong young ladies. 

    Yesterday morning, my mom, sister, and I arrived in Greeley for registration and I had a chance to meet the 2018 titleholders who were both very sweet. Shortly after, we had a pageant briefing and it was awesome to see how prepared Future Productions was for the event. It was extremely professional and I felt like I knew what I was supposed to do and where I was supposed to be at all times thanks to the amazing pageant staff and chaperones.

    After the briefing, we got right into interviews with the judge panel. I was pretty nervous for this, but I walked in to meet the judges, we talked about all sorts of things, we laughed, and just like that my interview was done. And the interview lasted maybe 2 minutes? It felt so short and it really was. Following the interview competition, I participated in an optional competition for spokesmodel. Why not give it a try, right? I enjoy talking and being in front of a camera so I gave it a shot. 

    Next up was rehearsals for the big preliminary show that evening. There was a lot of walking in heels. Like, A LOT. I was surprised that my feet even made it to the preliminary show! All of the practice was worth though because I felt extremely prepared and confident in what I needed to do when I stepped on that stage. All of the girls who had competed before were very helpful and willing to show me where to go on stage which I really appreciated. There wasn’t a cutthroat, competitive atmosphere that is sometimes associated with pageants. The atmosphere was still competitive but everyone was there to make friends and help one another feel confident and beautiful, which I loved.

    Finally, it was time to prepare for the prelims and then the show began! We all first walked out and did our intros in our fun silver and black outfits. My heart was definitely beating out of my chest and I was so so so nervous but I was having fun so the nerves went away quickly. It was a feeling similar to the adrenaline rush you get before stepping out to play a tennis match. I love it! After the miss contestants finished intro, we rushed back to the dressing rooms to change into swimsuit. Yes, swimsuit. 

    There has been a lot of controversy over the swimsuit competitions of many pageants and I believe that there shouldn’t be. To me, I see the swimsuit competition as an opportunity to display all the hard work you’ve put into bettering yourself. Wearing a swimsuit in front of a large crowd, like the one I walked in front of, was empowering. I’ve been working out a lot since I was cleared from my injuries forever ago and I’ve changed a lot about my eating habits to make my body what I want it to be. I was proud to walk in my swimsuit, because like I’ve said, I feel like I was showing off my months and even years of hard work. There was so much energy in the room for the swimsuit competition and walking in a swimsuit in front of that crowd was so much fun.

    After swimsuit, I had a little bit of a break. The teen contestants had to complete their active wear competition as well as their evening gown competition. I had a chance to catch my breath in the dressing room and then I got dressed in my evening gown. My dress was the same dress I wore to prom senior year of high school. It’s a dress that I feel comfortable walking in and I just really love the color. When the time came to walk in our evening gowns, I had a really good time out on stage, once again. I was a bit more nervous about my dress however, because when I practiced walking in it, I occasionally stepped on my dress and guess what ended up happening during the show? As I was leaving my last spot, I stepped on my dress. I don’t think very many people noticed but that definitely made me a bit nervous about how I walked overall. 

    And with the conclusion of that competition, the prelims came to an end. I was exhausted after yesterday and when I got to the hotel and my head hit that pillow, I was out. The next day was finals! Woohoo! Going into today, I knew that regardless of the outcome, I would be proud of myself. I had a feeling I wouldn’t make top 15, considering the experience that many of the other girls had with pageants. When finals came around, I did not make top 15, but I still got to participate in the final show which was a lot of fun. I also didn’t receive any special awards and that’s ok! This whole experience was an award to me and I learned so much from my first time competing at Miss Colorado USA. 

    I would like to thank Future Productions and the Miss Universe Organization for giving me the opportunity to compete at the Miss Colorado USA pageant. I really enjoyed my weekend and met so many beautiful and awesome women who I hope to see in the future. This experience taught me a lot about myself and gave me confidence that I thought I would never have. Congrats and good luck with your year to the new titleholders, Miss Colorado USA, Madison Dorenkamp, and Miss Colorado Teen USA, Sydney Boehler! You’re both going to do amazing things. I would also like to thank my family and friends for their support throughout this process. You guys gave me the confidence to compete at Miss Colorado. I can’t wait to see where this experience takes me and I look forward to competing at Miss Colorado next year. Have a good week everyone! 🙂

  • I’m Competing in Miss Colorado!

    Not too long ago, I received mail from Future Productions and the Miss Universe Organization, which are the companies that put on the Miss Colorado, Miss USA, and Miss Universe pageants. They wanted me to send in my pictures and information to see if I could compete in the Miss Colorado pageant. I am very excited to announce that October 26 and 27th, I will be competing for the Miss Colorado crown in Greeley.

    For those of you who didn’t know, I used to compete in pageants. When I was in 3rd and 4th grade (I think) I participated in the National American Miss pageants. My second year, I got the Spirit of America award, which had something to do with my performance in multiple divisions. That was cool. I never finished top 10 but I always finished very high in each of the categories which was exciting for me and my family.

    For the Miss Colorado pageant, there will be a swimwear, formal, and interview round and we’ll just see how it goes! I’m definitely going to be on the younger end of this pageant since the ages range from 18 to 28. It’ll be fun to see the different levels of experience and the different girls and women that are there in general. I’m also very excited to see how my experience from modeling and acting will contribute to this experience. The Miss Universe Organization lives by their motto, “Confidently Beautiful” and personally, I’ve struggled to like my body and its image. I hope that through this experience, I build confidence and figure out how to love myself a little more.

    I’ll keep you all updated on how this experience goes for me and I’m so honored to have been picked to fight for the Miss Colorado crown. I honestly never thought my pageant days would make a return, but haha, here we are. If you’d like to stay updated with the pageant and other pageants under the Miss Universe Organization, click here. Have a beautiful week you beautiful people!

  • Not a Big Fan of New York, New York

    I’ve been really lucky to do more travelling than usual this summer and this past Friday, I got home from New York after spending a week there, competing at a modeling and acting convention. I will definitely agree with most that New York is a really cool and different city, but I think I’d prefer my Rocky Mountains and 300 days of sunshine in Colorado.

    New York
    The view from our hotel room

    My mom and I arrived in New York on the 9th, early in the morning. Our trip began with a thirty-minute taxi ride from JFK to the Hilton Midtown in Midtown. Wow, was that an adventure. Taxi drivers in New York City are RUTHLESS. The man we had driving us was super sweet but once he got behind the wheel, he became an aggressive, hardcore racecar driver. It was kinda cool to see how he dodged cars and semis and sped down the highway. We got some pretty good air hitting a jump one time too. What a thrill ride!

    New York

    Once we arrived at the hotel, the week was a whirlwind. There were a lot of outfit changes, late nights, hairspray and makeup, and quick runs to grab food. I wish that my schedule at the convention allowed for me to do a little more sightseeing and wandering around the Big Apple, but it is what it is. The convention itself, was fun, but not nearly what I expected it would be. I think that for some people, it opened doors, but for the most part, it seemed fake. There were a lot of promises made by agencies and the convention themselves that were not followed through on and that’s ok. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot from the experiences I had and I’ll never forget that adventure.  Something I learned from my experience this past week and the whole experience I had with my former agency was that you have to be really careful in the modeling and acting industries because there are a lot of real, good people and there’s also a bunch of sneaky people who might seem like they are legit but actually aren’t.  They could care less about who you are and are only concerned with how much you’re willing to pay to sign their “contract”. I respect who I’ve worked with in the past and I wish them all the best and I’d just like to say that it’s tough to discern who the real people are but after this interesting journey, my eyes are more open than ever, and I know what I have to do.

    New York

    When I had time to be outside of the hotel, my mom and I had a lot of fun. We visited the Rockefeller Center and took a tour of the NBC Studios which included seeing the sets of the Tonight Show, SNL, and the Late Night Show with Seth Meyers. That was super cool. It was exciting to get to be in the same room and even step in the same places as some famous and talented people. My mom and I even got to make our own late night TV show at the end of our tour and we enjoyed that. That was probably the highlight of my NYC trip.

    New York

    We also visited Central Park and Times Square while in the Big Apple and those were both cool places to visit. I honestly imagined Times Square, specifically where the ball is dropped on New Year’s’, much bigger and wider than it was. There were a lot of sketchy people and pushers making attempts to sell my mom and I stuff or get us to take pictures with them. That was definitely uncomfortable. Also, it was incredibly hot and humid while we visited Times Square and that made it a struggle to do a lot of walking. We spent about thirty minutes wandering Times Square and then frantically searched for the nearest Starbucks or air-conditioned place to cool off and head to Central Park. After a quick trip to get some iced tea, we walked to Central Park and I enjoyed seeing nature and trees and endless (not really) green. It was a nice escape from the dirty, crowded, and crazy place that New York City is. I enjoyed getting to see the many different people in Central Park and see a variety of plants and trees, because trust me, there were soooo many different types of trees. It was pretty cool.

    New York

    At some point during our stay in NYC, we also managed to find a few good places to eat at, like Fresh & Co, an artisan bakery with really yummy sandwiches and coffee, and a great pizza place called PizzArte. Food, well actually everything, was EXTREMELY pricey in New York and it was crazy how much we spent on food. At PizzArte, one of the pizzas we got was $24!! Holy cow, was it expensive, but it was also probably one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had. We also found an ice cream truck chilling right by our hotel one day, and that half-and-half ice cream cone was one of the best ice cream cones I’ve ever had. I never wanted it to end.

    New York

    I did enjoy my time in New York City, but I will honestly and confidently say that it’s not my favorite city. I wish I did a little more sightseeing, as mentioned earlier, and I hope to go back in the future and see more of the city. I could do without the gross smells and the unhappy people and the sketchy people and the trash constantly fluttering the streets and the awful traffic and sound of sirens every hour or so, but not every city is perfect. Actually no city is perfect! The time I had in New York was worth it and I’m ready to go back (whenever I do) and have another adventure.

    New York
    I took this picture near Carnegie Hall on the way to Central Park. What’s with the giant pile of trash?!

  • I’m Going to New York!

    Today has been an extremely busy and also exciting day. This evening, I found out that I will be heading to New York in July to attend the IMTA, or International Modeling & Talent Association convention. Ahh!

    For those of you that aren’t familiar with the modeling industry and IMTA itself, IMTA stands for International Modeling & Talent Association (as mentioned above). It’s the biggest and most prestigious convention of its sort in the entire world. There will be over 800 other models and talents there and over 300 agents, casting directors, and other people searching for new faces to represent their agencies and work for them worldwide. There is not a guarantee that I will sign with an agency through my time at IMTA, but it will be a wonderful chance to get to meet some amazing people and have some fun!

    Through my agency, I will be going through some training to prepare for the events I will be competing in over the next eight months so that I will be comfortable with my events and be prepared to do well.

    At the audition, I had to do a cold read commercial, walk, and talk with some amazing ladies from my agency as well as a scout from IMTA who was super sweet and a pleasure to get to meet.

    I’m so excited about this is that I haven’t been able to do a lot of modeling through my agency because I was injured and there hasn’t been much to do. I’m honored to be able to represent Southwest Models and Talent and the biggest modeling and talent showcase in the world. IMTA will be a great opportunity to improve and show myself to agents from all over the world.

    In addition to that, I haven’t been to New York, ever so this will be another adventure for me. It’ll also be another chance for me to add a keychain to my state keychain collection. I’m such a dork, haha.

    Counting down the months New York! 🙂

    New York

     

  • A Step Into the Modeling Industry

    My six months of hard work had all led up to this moment. It was always about an hour-long drive down to Greenwood Village and back every other Saturday. It was four hours of etiquette, runway walking, poses, workouts, and makeup. But finally September of 2013 had arrived and it was time to put my knowledge to the test. My first fashion show was about to begin in five hours.

    Before any of this could happen, it all started when my mom and I were spending a Saturday wandering throughout the Flatiron’s Mall. A representative for Barbizon Model and Talent Agency pulled my mom and I over and handed me a small green slip.

    She grinned and remarked, “We’d love for you to come and audition for our agency. We’re looking for new faces.”

    I carefully scanned the pamphlet for Barbizon Southwest. It seemed pretty real and trustworthy to me. My mom nodded and replied, “Okay, if you want to try it,” and helped me fill out the audition slip.

    The following weekend, I attended the audition and the director for the Southwest region was very eager when I walked up to meet her. The audition went very smooth and that same night a contract was signed with the agency and I began modeling classes in Greenwood Village at their facility a week later.

    My mom and I pulled into the Embassy Suites parking lot at 8 A.M. I yawned, hopping out of the car to grab my outfits from the back and head into the dressing room.

    Luckily, I was one of the first models there so I grabbed a good comfortable spot, prepared my outfits in an organized fashion, and touched up my recommended makeup for the day. We had some interesting themes for our outfits. There was the fall casual outfit which consisted of brick orange skinny jeans, a white blouse, brown leather jacket, peach scarf, and knee-high boots. Adding onto that my group had a high fashion or New York City model look. This outfit had a tight black and white stripped top with a belt slightly below the rib cage, black slacks, shiny, red pumps, and a ridiculously heavy coral necklace. The other group would be walking onto the runway with a “neon Tokyo” look.  The final outfit was our formal wear dress or the dress we planned to receive our graduation diplomas in. Mine was a long, sleek black dress with a halter top and sequins running all over the dress.

    About ten minutes later, one of my friends strolled into the room. Her shoulder length brown hair was curled to perfection and for once we were the same height because she wasn’t wearing ridiculously high heels. She looked just as excited and enthusiastic about the upcoming event as I did.

    Miss Michelle, my instructor for the classes, came striding into the room just as the last few people shuffled in. Loudly, she announced, “Alright ladies. We’ll start rehearsals now. Please get into your first outfit and we’ll run through everything and you’ll learn the choreography for your group dances.”

    Those five hours were some of the most fun but stressful hours of my life. The show hadn’t even started and my feet felt like they were about to fall off. It’s hard wearing heels for over five hours!

    Finally, 2 o’clock rolled around. Family members from all over packed into the ballroom where the runway and lights were all set up and ready to go. The fashion show was underway.

    My heart beat a million beats per minute. In my head I thought, “Don’t fall off the runway. Look at the audience. No, look at the wall. No, try to find your family. Okay, okay, just don’t fall off or trip. Haha, it’s going to be alright.” And that’s when I took my first confident steps out onto the runway in front of over a hundred people in my fall casual outfit. It was an amazing feeling.

    The next feeling was not all that amazing. The second I couldn’t be seen by the audience I sprinted back to the dressing room for a two-minute quick change into our high fashion outfits.

    I got to the dressing room and got everything but my shoes on. I frantically searched. They weren’t anywhere near my stuff! Just then my friend also came dashing into our little area. From her bag, I spotted my red heels.

    “Hey, um, I think those are my shoes.” I pointed towards her bag, keeping an eye on the time.

    “Oh, oops! Sorry! They looked a lot like mine.” My friend exclaimed handing me my shoes.

    “Thanks. You’re good, it happens.” I smiled back and quickly shoved my feet into the heels.

    Turns out we made it just in time. We were ready to go and made it onto the runway for our high fashion walk. Shortly after, we surprised the audience by dancing to “Harlem Shake” in our high fashion outfits. It was absolutely crazy, but so enjoyable.

    The last part of the fashion show, the diploma ceremony, had finally arrived. I stood just behind the curtain anxiously awaiting my chance to walk solo onto the runway and receive my diploma. My name was called and I glided out from the curtain in my long beautiful black dress. The Barbizon director gave me a warm hug and shook my hand. I glanced down at the diploma. I had just taken my first step into the modeling industry.

    From this wonderful experience there was so much to learn about myself, body image, models, and the industry. With models, they aren’t just the perfectly toned women or men. They are the people with a strong work ethic and an outgoing personality. When a person actually experiences the modeling industry, all of the stereotypes of modeling vanish. Body image is important in this world and it is something to be aware of but it shouldn’t control and destroy lives. People need to work to keep the good body structures they want and need. If I could do another fashion show or become more involved in the modeling industry, I would definitely do it. I got the chance to meet so many outstanding people and the experience brings you a sense of catharsis, in a way. From this, I got to learn more about my confidence and what I can do to become stronger and lift up others too.