Success Smiles

#Repost @charlihoward ・・・

I may be smiling in the photo on the left, but in reality, I was miserable. I hated life, but at the same time, I was ambitious. I associated success with thinness, just like the size 0-era influenced many girls my age. I didn't care that my gums constantly bled, that I got constant cramps in my feet, that my hands were always cold, my periods irregular (if they came), that my skin was horrific or that my moods were erratic, because all I wanted to be was THIN. And 'thin' meant one thing: that my dreams of being a model were in reach. Yet my then-agent told me I had to be thinner because my hip measurement still wasn't the "ideal" size to get the best modelling jobs, or to be put forward for them. And guess what—even when I was half a stone/7lbs lighter than what you see here (that wasn't my thinnest!), I STILL THOUGHT I WAS FAT!! 😵 But it doesn't need to be this way, and the industry is slowly changing. Beauty isn't measured by a number or a dress size! ✖️ I feel so lucky to be in a position now where my agents support me and don't ask me to lose anything. I'm surrounded by beautiful girls of all sizes & shapes because my agency sees the beauty in different bodies, just like agencies should (HELLO, we're in 2016, bitches, not 1803). ALL GIRLS DESERVE TO BE REPRESENTED IN THE IMAGES THEY SEE. 🌟 So girls, if your dream is to become a model, don't give up! 👊 NEVER feel you have to change yourself to become one, because I'm living my dream at the size I'm supposed to be ✌ Stick to your guns & embrace your natural shape because confidence is what will make you shine 🤗 And whilst I'm not the tallest, the thinnest or by any means the prettiest girl out there, I certainly feel like the HAPPIEST—and that's good enough for me 💕