All these sentences were told to me in the past 10+ years of my modeling career. I am today wise enough to understand that these were only reflections of what people wanted me to be, what the industry expects from models. Nothing was wrong with the way I looked. The offensive behaviors I and many models have been confronted with, are frightening. Having heard all of this, and some other comments I can’t recall, while being young, naive, navigating life, having to travel alone, sometimes in sketchy situations, and I’ve been lucky to have my family to keep me grounded, to spend time with them, to still have the feeling of being loved for who I am. But some unfortunate don’t have this chance, and receiving this constant negative criticism is traumatic. I’ve been struggling with ED and depression in my early twenties, due to this low self-esteem I had from believing that I wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t skinny enough, I wasn’t tall enough... #mentalhealthawareness month is a chance for me to share my story, to show my vulnerability, and I can only tell you that it built who I am today, I am actually glad because it allows me to understand all the patterns I’ve been dealing with, I am stronger now! Whoever is in a situation, whether they feel lost, unworthy of their person, depressed, alone, and with no vision of better days upfront, knows that you’re not alone, time will heal and will guide you to becoming a better you, of course, some people need professional help, but you’re not alone.... and not only you’ll get out of this proud of you but you’ll be able to help other around you. Trust your gut, listen to your friends, family, and strangers, be gentle and kind, you never know what the person next to you is going through 🤍 if you need to talk or share anything that you’re shy to tell your surroundings, you can DM me :) #mentalhealthawarenessmonth @modelallianceny