LIFE

 

Growing up, I was always totally in love with fashion. I’m the type of girl that spends two hours in Forever 21, stalks Fashion Week trends and spends way too much money on clothes. And while I have dreamed about building a career in fashion, I'm well aware that it's not easy to make a name for yourself in the field. Despite this, I decided against pursuing a career in medicine to follow my dream and went to West Virginia University to study Fashion Design and Merchandising. 

When I landed an internship at GL this past spring, I was thrilled to be able to pitch and write articles for the website, sit in on editorial meetings and help pick the cover for the August/September issue. But when GL editor-in-chief Karen asked if anyone wanted to help out in the fashion closet (our home for all of the clothes, accessories, shoes and beauty products used for our shoots), I jumped at the opportunity. At first, my job was to take credits for the upcoming denim shoot. After spending so much time with the clothes, I knew I just had to go onsite for the shoot. My parents always told me to speak up when I want something, so I gathered up the courage to ask Karen if I could help out on the shoot. 

Not only did she say yes, but she told me that I could help out at both the denim shoot and the athleisure shoot the following week. The denim shoot was totally amazing, so I couldn't wait for the on-location athlesiure shoot (held at a local soccer complex) the next day. When the photographer asked me to help him test the lighting for a few shots, I was super excited. When one of the two models didn't show up and I was asked to step in for her, I was blown away. 

Before I knew it, I was sitting in hair and makeup, being fitted for my outfit and standing in front of the photographer, striking a pose. It's still such a surreal experience, but one that I will remember for the rest of my life. (And my mom won't let me forget it either—I swear she buys an issue every time she goes to the grocery store.) Never in a million years did I think I would be in a magazine, let alone on four pages of a major fashion spread. I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity, but it would never have happened if I didn’t speak up and ask to be a part of it. The moral of the story? Don't give up on your dreams...but don't be afraid to do everything you can to help reach them, either. 

 

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