Model, Words and Images: Jasmine Alleva

I sat down on a couch in the waiting room for my first casting in Chicago. I was obviously frazzled, scrambling to get my comp cards dry from the rain that had soaked my bag during my sprint into the building. The two girls across from me gave me up down looks that made my insecurities scream in my head for my attention. I gulped, nerves tightening my throat. “Hi, I’m Jasmine. I’m new here. Are you two with Ford?” Their demeanors immediately changed and smiles crossed their divine faces while we made small talk. I no longer posed a threat. I am not sure I ever did, anyway.

The modeling industry, like any other industry, comes with a degree of competition. You are well aware you could be losing a job to the girl sitting next to you and sometimes, you do. This can be frustrating, discouraging, and can contribute to more insecurity. You may even find yourself wondering, “what did she have that I don’t?” This can drive models to be catty and mean, but I find that to be present in all facets of life and also find it to be an utter waste of my time – both acting that way and dealing with people who act that way.

Comparing yourself to others and seeing them as competition is only a hindrance to you and your potential. There will always be greater and lesser people, with different talents, features, and traits. But they are not you and you are the only person you should be concerned about being better than. Some of my best friendships have been born out of modeling and it wasn’t because I went into a casting or a shoot with the idea that I was better than anyone. I’m not and I never will be. As far as I’m concerned, we, as models and as humans, are all wired for struggle and should empathize with one another. This allows for alliances to be made and beautiful relationships to bloom.

Of course, the majority of my relationships in this industry are fleeting. I usually do not see other models from castings or shoots ever again, but I try to make our short relationships with one another comfortable. Sometimes you will have to strip down to your birthday suit or do something that is mildly embarrassing and nothing kills your confidence more than being uncomfortable.

“Our struggles are not unique to ourselves and though we do not want others to share our pain, it is nice to not feel so alone. However, these relationships would not be possible if I or they entered our interaction with contempt. We would not be able to form alliances or channels of understanding because we would never be able to get that in depth in our conversations to find out, “hey, that happened to me, too…”

The deeper relationships I have made have been fallbacks for the hardships I have faced during my time as a model. Most of us are far away from home, in new cities, with our personal lives and self-esteems crumbling. Our struggles are not unique to ourselves and though we do not want others to share our pain, it is nice to not feel so alone. However, these relationships would not be possible if I or they entered our interaction with contempt. We would not be able to form alliances or channels of understanding because we would never be able to get that in depth in our conversations to find out, “hey, that happened to me, too…”

During one of my last weeks in Chicago, I had a job with a handful of other models from my agency. It was a promotional gig for a hotel that was re-opening in downtown. We were to hand out gift cards at seven in the morning while wearing short dresses with no coats in the chilling cold of the Windy City. One by one, we stacked our bodies into an Uber, reluctant about the task ahead of us. On the drive into downtown, we shared our modeling experiences, laughed, and complained about the day to come. When it finally came time to get out of the car and venture onto the streets, we split into groups and huddled together to keep each other warm. I traded shoes with another model because her feet hurt and later on, she held my hands while I hovered over a toilet at a nearby McDonalds. We relied on each other. We were in it together.

There are going to be crummy people in any industry – in every industry – because crummy people exist. Some happen to be models. But that has nothing to do with me.
My heart spreads across oceans, borders, state lines, time zones, and agencies. My friends from modeling are all over the world and no matter where they are or I am, we support one another and for that, I am grateful. Kindness, no matter how small or trivial, is never a waste. If you work hard and you exude kindness, you need never worry about the competition.