Hope is a woman, and she's gorgeous!

Why is life full of so many ups and downs?

I have written about my hopes and dreams in a few of my previous blogs and different emotions have been attached to each one.

There are always the high points, such as when I see a makeup ad I fall in love with, or a fashion spread in a magazine that is unique and refreshing. When I see these amazing images my modeling engine is kicked into high gear and I feel more confident then ever.

Then there are the low points when I realize that I am not yet where I want to be in my modeling career...

Just as I grab a spoon and begin to dig into that pint of "Chubby Hubby" that has been sitting in my freezer I see an article on Barbie. Yes, the doll we all grew up.

This article is featured in the November issue of O Magazine. I can explain what the article is about, but this image is stronger than any words I can type: 

The dotted lines resemble what a surgeon would have to do to this woman's body to make her look like a real-life Barbie doll.

I knew the measurements of Barbie were unrealistic, but I did not know it was this drastic. 

I continued to read the article and it began to talk about the model in the picture, Katie Halchishick. This young woman has been through the same struggles I have. She had struggled to find modeling work because she was not the standard sample size (00 to 2) and not plus-size (12+). 

Katie has started her own modeling agency called Natural Model Management and, of course, I submitted some of my pictures and crossed my fingers in hopes that I was what they were looking for.

The very next day I got one of the nicest emails I have ever received in my entire life...

I embody their message!

I could not be happier! 

Earlier today, I spoke with Katie on the phone about getting me started. We talked all about the agency and its project "Healthy is the New Skinny" (http://healthyisthenewskinny.com/) where models will travel around to different schools spreading a positive message about body image.

Their goal, well now OUR goal, is to show young girls that being healthy is important. Beauty does not have a weight requirement!

I know that I have struggled with my body image for many years and I am more honored than I can express that I can be a part of something this special. 

This is something that will truly change the world..

Life is full of so many ups and downs because we need the low points in our lives to truly appreciate the high points...    :)

Look here MISSY!

David's Bridal informed me that I am not a woman.   (extreme frown)

Looking for a wedding dress is one of the most exciting moments in a woman's..well in my case "missy's" life. This ordeal can be quite confusing with there being so many different designers with spring lines, fall lines, winter lines and fantasy lines.

There are even more different types of gowns, ranging from the traditional ballroom gown with the huge skirt, the mermaid gown that clings to every part of your body, the Grecian gown that loosely drapes over you, and numerous variations of each of those styles.

With there being so many different options out there, I decided to look around online to get an idea of what type of dress I was looking for instead of entering a bridal shop and quickly becoming overwhelmed with all of the choices in front of me.

To some, being engaged at 19 is young.

"why now?"

"wait a few years.."

"travel the world"

or flat out "you're too young"

I am not actually getting married until I am 21, which is apparently a more acceptable age. I don't think marriage at a young age is as much of a hot topic as having children at a young age is these days.

Don't worry, this isn't the part where I say my two kids are going to be a part of my ceremony. (They are non-existent if you didn't catch that)

Back to the real issue here. I go to the David's Bridal website and begin my search for the perfect dress. They just added this interactive application called "Dress My Wedding" where you have a figure for each person in your bridal party and you, you guessed it, dress them!

It is probably very helpful if you have a lot of the details already figured out, but I just tried it out to see if it gave me a better look at the dresses.

First you create a profile, picking various features such as skin tone and hairstyle. None of the choices matched me to my liking, but that wasn't a surprise. Just before I clicked "Save and Continue" I saw this box next to my name with two choices: Missy or Woman.

What could this possibly mean? At first I thought of department stores like Macy's or Nordstrom's where they have a "juniors" section which is basically for teenagers or younger women. These items have a young feel to them. The clothes are typically tighter than the women's section and the jeans are usually cut lower.

I pondered over which box I would check. I was a woman right? Getting married was definitely an adult thing. After all, I didn't want my dress to look too young, that'd just be tacky. So I checked "woman" and this is what happened:

WHAT?!

Now let's see "missy":

This is some kind of cruel joke, right?

This is something I have had an issue with for a long time. I understand that our nation is heavily overweight and that the average female is a size 14 or above, but this is getting out of hand.

I understand that no one wants to wear "extended" sizes. And when they made the change to "plus" that wasn't all that appealing either, but to say that "real" sizes are 14 or above is wrong.

Now I have to be overweight to be a woman? Come on.

There are a lot of creative brains out there, I'm sure someone can come up with a better name than that.

Why do I have to be a "Missy"? That seems young and childish and I might just throw a temper-tantrum!

Is there a vacancy?

OWS!

More poster-board! More markers! More stencils!

You! Yes, you! Haven't you always wanted to be a part of a protest? Of course you have!

Take one of these signs right here and stand outside a city office, okay?

Repeat whatever you hear the people around you shouting and you'll do just fine!


This is what I imagine is going on at many of the protest locations.

The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement/ protest/ rebellion/ camp-out/ ____ (any other synonym for what this is) is somewhat of a mystery. Sure, we know that they stand for finally slaying the beast that is corporate greed, but what does that even mean? And how in the world do you do that?

I have heard people talking about this movement over the last few weeks and decided I would rather find information online then ask people about it because the internet would surely have some solid and clarifying information on the subject, right?

Wrong.

Every website was vastly different, but that is because no one is sure what to go off of. One article that I found interesting was on Forbes.com. This article attempted to define the movement and brought up the point of it being utterly mysterious.

The columnist, Peter Cohan, did a great at expressing the questions many people have about this movement. He broke down quotes that have been released and tried to explain the movement to the best of his ability. Take a look at the article if you still have questions about the movement...wait, of course you do. (http://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2011/10/10/what-is-occupy-wall-street/)

"Rebellion will not stop until the corporate state is extinguished."


This quote is taken from the Occupy Wall Street Journal, the source for all things OWS. This publication shocking released a second issue, which can be read online (Issue #2). Many people thought the movement would have fizzled out before a second issue would be released, but oh were they wrong! 


The paper has a visually appealing layout and the bright red coloring definitely catches your eye, but does it answer any questions?


A big question I have seen often in regards to this movement is "what are the demands?" and I have the answer!  


Drum roll please....

Um, huh?


This movement is growing in numbers by the minute and it is increasing the chance that somebody will actually know what it is that they are trying to accomplish. With the growing support, this can possibly be something powerful.


I find myself still at a loss as to what OWS hopes to eventually accomplish but maybe that will change soon. Who knows? Maybe even by Issue #3.