I've been on the stage most of my life. For fourteen years, I was a dancer, and for five of those years, I competed in regional and national dance competitions with an ensemble. Therefore, modeling in a fashion show should be a piece of cake, right? At my old performing arts high school, visual arts majors get to take part in a class called Fashion Design I, and this class allows you to become a designer in Junk 2 Funk, the fashion show. Fashion has always been one of my passions, and since I couldn’t take the class, I decided to model so I could still be a part of the show in some way or another.

Junk 2 Funk promotes our community to be kind to the Earth as designers are tasked with creating a couture and avant garde runway piece out of recycleable materials. Its a huge event where the designer of the winning pieces gets a scholarship to SCAD. Tickets get sold out every year as people from all over Georgia travel to come to see the show.

It was my senior year in high school, and after three years of going to see the amazing designs, I decided it was time to audition. I had modeled many times before, but for a photographer, so this was entirely out of my range of experience. Nevertheless, I was excited.

The audition process was hectic as over two-hundred girls and boys crowded the halls wearing all black, skintight clothing with their entry numbers pinned to their tops. I still remember I was number 36. We all waited anxiously in the halls as they separated us into groups of ten based on our numbers. These groups were then ushered into a large room at the end of the hall where they would demonstrate their model walking and posing to the beat of a song. When my group got to the room, Kanye West’s “Flashing Lights” was blaring in all of our eardrums, and my adrenaline was spiking. The designers sat on the far side of the room, away from us, staring, stone-cold and emotionless.

The weeks following had all of us on edge. So, when the cast sheet was finally posted, everyone was ecstatic. I had made the cut. This was an experience I don’t think I will genuinely ever forget, and it helped spur a greater passion for the arts and fashion. Plus, seeing my friends and family’s smiles and the praise of my designer was enough for me to cherish the event forever.