Trust in the process

For the past couple of nights I’ve met with some potential class of 2017 Senior Model Reps. Throughout the evening I went through an overview of what the year as a Paige P. Senior Model Rep will entail. While speaking about it I realized that I’m watching a huge transition over the course of 9 months to a year.

I start getting to know these girls as juniors in high school. The majority of talk centers around colleges they may want to attend and what they want to do after high school. Anticipation. In front of the lens I literally watch them go from being slightly tenuous to free spirits. During the fall/winter of their senior year it’s all about which colleges they’ve applied to, who they’ve heard heard back from. In front of the lens; full of confidence, laughing, dancing – you name it. By spring of their senior year, decisions are made and I can see the interest level in fun photoshoots start moderating. Their heads are in a different place. Time to close one chapter and mentally prepare for the next. This is the point I start integrating the following year’s Senior Model Reps, beginning the process all over again. It goes further though, which makes it really special for me.

I had a Model Rep in my office only a couple days prior to leaving for school last September. She was selecting some final prints she wanted to order which took about 5 minutes. The following hour plus we sat and talked. It was clear she had a lot on her mind. She was concerned about entering school with an undecided major and feeling the pressure of knowing at some point she needed to make a decision.  Only a few weeks ago, over winter break, we had coffee to catch up. She’s still undecided, not overly concerned about it and I’m very happy to report, thrilled with her choice of schools.

That’s life, right? There are ups and downs with everything being somewhat cyclical. If we could only be so perspective about that in our own lives. Trust in the process. A good lesson for me to remember not only in my own life but as I watch these girls become their future selves.

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