As a figure model, I have six to thirty pairs of eyes fixated on my near-naked body for three hours multiple times a week. This seemingly uncomfortable situation is actually quite the opposite. Art classes emphasize the importance of seeing a body in it's true and raw form and it's my privilege to aide in their learning of that. As art students have learned to paint, illustrate, and animate my body, I have learned three unforgettable life lessons.
1. Be confident.
There isn't a person alive who could make a valid claim against the idea that millennials struggle with body image. With every motivational message pushing women to love their bodies is a magazine portraying tall and slim figures sporting short skirts and crop tops. There has been an increase in plus-sized models within the last decade, but even they have nice hour glass figures and photo-shopped bodies.
What is it with our obsession with bodies? Why are we constantly comparing ourselves to what the media portrays? Why is it that we feel the need to sit tall so our belly doesn't fold or wear shorts over our bathing suits because we're self-conscience of our butts? Are we aware of these things because of what other people think or is it because we are quick to be self-critical?
Each of us was blessed with a body. We have the right to nourish it, dress it well, and be proud of it.
You will get stretch marks. You will have cellulite. Your belly will roll. Embrace it.
2. Don't project.
In training we were warned that new students will pick up on your imperfections and unintentionally exaggerate them. This idea fascinated me and I wondered whether my stomach would be drawn bigger than it really was or if my hair would look crazier than in does in real life. I was mentally prepared to see drawings that didn't accurately depict me and my body.
During my breaks I was shocked to see that the artists weren't picking out my differences and emphasizing them but that they were projecting their differences onto my body. Almost without fail the beginning drawers would draw me like them. If they had short legs, I too had short legs. If they carried their weight in their mid-section, I carried my weight in my mid-section. If they were tall and petite, I too was tall and petite. They weren't drawing what they saw; instead, they were drawing what they see in the mirror every day.
Not projecting coincides with my first point in being confident with your own body. When you love yourself, you don't feel tempted to look at others the way you see yourself. You have a better ability to distinguish people and their bodies for what they really are once you decide to accept yourself and stop hurling your insecurities onto others.
3. Do what you love.
Statistically, artists are dirt poor. They don't make much and therefore live far from a cush life. This, however, does not stop them from pursuing what they love.
I am so impressed by the passion and commitment found in each of the students I model for. They are running full force on a path that makes them happy. I have met fewer more dedicated and truly blissful people than artists.
I want to be like an artist. I want to find something that I love and let my heart delve so deep into it that I trust whatever comes my way.
Modeling is more than posing on a stand for three hours; it is where I have learned life's truest lessons.
