Ever since I was in grade school, I have been told that I should model. It's never really crossed my mind until I finally had the opportunity to audition. Friends have always told me that I walk like I'm on a runway, or I'm as pretty as the fashionista top models. One day, my best friend and I decided to go to Southridge Mall. We walked into Debs and there was a girl standing at the door. She stopped us and said,

"Are you guys interested in modeling and acting?"
We stared at each other with an unsure face. My best friend shrugged her shoulder and says,

"Go ahead. I'm not interested in it."
Then she walked away eating her cotton candy. I filled out my information and handed it to her. A week goes by and I noticed a random call from John Casablancas. I assumed that it was a telemarketer but something told me to pick it up. I picked up the phone,

"Hello?"

"Hi, is Mercedes available?"

I hesitated, "Yes, speaking."

"Hi, I'm with John Casablancas Modeling and Acting agency, I'm calling you about an audition with us. Would you be interested?"
In shock I paused but quickly replied,

"Sure, I would like to come for an audition."

She responds, "Great, is there a parent that I could speak to?"
I ran upstairs as quick as I could almost stumbling over my feet as I went up the stairs. I searched for my father and I covered the talk piece on the phone.

"Hey dad, uhmm so there is this modeling company and they want me to audition. Can we go?"
He thought about it for a little and didn't reply. He spoke to the woman on the phone as I left the room. My heart was racing with excitement but a little discouraged because he may change his mind. A few minutes goes by and I went back to the room.

"What did she say?" I asked with my heart nearly beating out of my chest.

"They said to come in next week for an audition at the Brookfield Suite." He answered.

A week goes by and it's the day of the audition. I woke up feeling all my nerves rush through my body. I had no idea what to wear, how my hair should be done, how my makeup should be put on, I was just confused and worried about everything. I took three hours preparing until I was finally satisfied with how I wanted to look for the audition. We finally arrived at the suite and I looked around at the others. I saw girls and some guys of different ages holding their big black handbags with the John Casablancas logo on it. The main director welcomed us and guided us to the runway room. As more teens, adults, and even children entered I got more and more nervous. We filled out an information sheet and handed it to her when we were finished. She talked about the company and told us a little bit about her and what to expect at the audition. We all passed in our applications and wondered what to expect next.

"Okay, who wants to go first? Let's start at the bottom of the stack." She stated.

The first person to audition was a pretty handsome guy, nice confident walk, and fit the role of modeling and acting. Everyone gave him a round of applause and he sat back down.

Then she says," Mercedes."

I had flutters being the second person to get called up. I was so nervous as I felt everyone's eyes gazed at me when I made my way to the runway platform. There were many whispers and low murmurs in the audience. I walked on the runway thinking to myself don't trip, don't stumble,smile, keep walking, stop, pose, turn, and walk back with a positive attitude.I got to the end back where the director was seated and she asked me a few questions. As everyone auditioned there were some who looked like their hips were going to fall off their bodies and some who just didn't know what they were doing. It was entertaining to watch but at the end we were told that only some were going to make the callback. We sat patiently as some people were called out the room but we weren't sure why they were called out. After a bunch didn't return, the director came back with papers in her hands and with a smile on her face she told the remainder in the room that we have all made the callback. I was excited and proud of myself. I attended the sessions for the next four months until finally modeling graduation. The day arrived sooner than what some of the other girls and I thought. We planned out how we wanted to walk on the runway, our different outfits, and what we wanted to do for our graduation.

The day finally comes, it's graduation day. All the girls and I brought our clothing for the different themes that we had chosen. Our first outfit was a casual look. We wore a black John Casablancas t-shirt with blue jeans. One by one a different girl showed their personalities on the runway. As one girl left the room she quickly went next door to the other room changing into a spring outfit. As we waited, a few of the girls were acting out their monologues. For our spring look, we changed up the routine on the runway. Our friends and families cheered and clapped with excitement. Then we quickly ran to the other room to finally change to our last outfit. The last outfit that we chose was an elegant look. We all wore a gown or something that was pretty to show our families everything that we have learned. We took a final walk as the crowd cheered on everyone for completing the four months of becoming a professional model. The director handed each of us a certificate of completion. Through the training I gained more confidence in myself, public speaking, and how it would feel to be apart of the modeling world.