4 years ago today

"The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle." -Steve Jobs

Four years ago today I won a model search for American Apparel which became my 2nd photo shoot after Seventeen Magazine. It was one of the pivotal points in my mind that started my career. I had been blogging for a year or so and Gabi Gregg hit me up like "you should apply for American Apparel's model search, you'd win" I was like yeah iiiiight, I'm not a model. But then I got to thinking like maybe she's right. I remember saying to myself, I'll never win if I don't even try. The worst that could happen is not winning. They contacted me later and I flew from Florida to LA, shot with them and then when I arrived back home, I told my mom I needed to move to NY to really start whatever it was I wanted to do. I wasn't sure what I wanted at that time but knew I couldn't grow anymore where I was. If I wanted to be successful in the fashion industry, I needed to be in the middle of it all. I needed to be in NY to make myself more accessible. Shooting with AA changed my life because it made me realize I wanted more for myself. I gave my job in Florida a two weeks notice, packed up the back of my car, and drove up to Ny with a thousand dollars. It took me 2 months to land a solid job and during those 2 months I kept thinking how depressed I was to be there with little money, no fam, no job. It wasn't enough for me to leave though. I finally landed a job and ended up working 50+ hours a week to be able to afford my thousand dollar studio apartment in Harlem. I love reflecting on what it took for me to get where I am and I appreciate all the brands along the way whether or not they think they have impacted. So thank you to American Apparel for lighting a bigger fire in me. I needed to be more passionate about myself and what I wanted. Also thank you Gabi.