Memoirs of a Model.

I used to be a high fashion, magazine model. Well, ok… I modeled for Teen magazine…once. I’d like to tell you that I hated it so much that I never did it again. Truth is they never called me back so I never got a chance to tell them I never wanted to do it again. We were all on the same page about my modeling career I think. I sucked at being a model; the people at Teen thought so and so did I. Sucking at something…not fun.

I am sure there are some really fun things about being a model. Unfortunately I don’t know what they are. I did not find one thing about it fun. My mom and I had to get up really early to be in downtown L.A. on a weekday morning from Orange County. Driving in L.A traffic…not fun. Once everyone arrived at the meeting place, we all crammed in the back of a Toyota Chinook. Remember those? Riding in the back of a Chinook in L.A. traffic…not fun. Once we got to the photo shoot location we were given our outfits and were told to change in the back of the Chinook. Changing in the back of a Chinook with 4 other people while L.A. traffic peeked in…not fun. We then spent the next five hours posing then waiting, posing then waiting until we were starving.  They finally let us eat the food that was in the photo shoot. Eating bread and cheese that has been sitting out for five hours…not fun. The posing part did not go well for me. It was obvious that I was not giving them what they wanted and they were not really giving any direction. Not being a natural at modeling and working with a rather novice photographer…not fun. The frustration level was a little high for all parties. Finally it was over and we could go home but it was now rush hour again. Again, driving in L.A. traffic…not fun.

I had almost forgotten about the whole thing when the February, 1975 issue of Teen magazine came out. I was not good in the photos. I was horrid actually. This is when I realized that I was not very photogenic and I really did suck at being a model. Seeing horrible photos of yourself in a national publication…not fun. The word started spreading at school that I was in Teen magazine. People, I did not know, would stop me and ask if I was the one in the magazine and then stand there staring for about 30 seconds obviously thinking “why?” I did not blame them, I was wondering why myself actually. This was not fun.

The whole modeling experience, though not fun, was not the most miserable thing I have ever done (that would be when Kim and I replaced our own roof and wanted to kill each other over it…a post for another day). And I did learn a valuable lesson. If I needed to actually look good in photos I should hire a really great photographer and I should scratch modeling off the list of possible career choices. So, modeling…not fun. Laughing while looking at the photos now and sharing them with you…loads of fun!