Flashback Fridsy (Patreon)

During my social media break, I’ve been organizing old files and came across this! 😱 My, oh my, how times have changed. Even in the last 4 years the changes kind of blow my mind.

This photo was taken so I could have promo material while I was a feature entertainer a little over 4 years ago. That stunt was very short lived, which in the long haul was great, but at the time it really broke my heart. I had wanted to feature for several years and after doing makeup for another feature, she helped get me going. I only had 3 gigs in total before quitting, non of which went great. The third was by far the worst and made me realize that I no longer wanted to be valued only for my body. After feeling very dehumanized from a few things that happened, I called JD crying (before we were even dating) and told him how much I hated it. He gave me some of the best advice and assured me that sometimes in life we get our dream job and just end up hating it. Not everything is what we think it is. I decided to stop featuring after I returned from the trip and while it was a bummer then, I see now all the beauty that has come from leaving that behind. That was also the experience that made me decide to stop doing any shoots that were overly sexual. I’m still down to shoot some smokin’ content, but I have to remain in control of the posing, the style, and the overall feel of the shots.

Thinking back on this little journey is such an eye opener for me. I really thought I knew it all at 25. And now at 30, I feel like I have so much more to learn and so much more to share.

Any of you have any similar stories? Maybe scoring a job you ended up disliking or an encounter that made you change your views?

Photo: Radiant Inc