iniadmin A long time ago, or at least what seems like a very long time ago (about 17 years), I worked in a clothing store that is no longer around. We sold low price women’s clothing in a boutique style store. It was meant to be a place where you could get reasonable priced fashionable clothing in a more stylish store with a little more personal experience with the staff. I liked working here even if fashion is not my passion because I got to work with clients and help style them in a way that made them feel the best version of themselves. Similar reasons why I got into pole. One of my responsibilities was to organize, plan, and execute our semi-annual fashion shows. We did one in the spring for our summer collection and we did one in the fall for our winter collection. This was the highlight of my job. We recruited real customers to volunteer their time to be a model for the day and they got to keep their outfit they modeled and receive a hefty discount on anything they bought that day. I loved it but it was a lot of work – recruiting, organizing, following up on communications, getting the clothing descriptions prepared, selecting the store decor and music for the model walk way. But I loved it. Before the fashion show started, I always gave my models a talk, calm their nerves, tell them how beautiful and amazing they all looked. How grateful I am for their participation. These real women took a few hours of their day to walk the runway. Some of them were nervous, some of them acted like this is what God created them to do. They were all amazingly wonderful to work with. I would tell them all that the best thing they could do today is smile and strut their stuff. When most fashion models walk the runway without showing any emotions, I wanted them to go out there and show people all of their joy. I didn’t put much stock in what I said and I honestly had a similar speech I delivered each time I did a fashion show. So I didn’t really think about it having any resounding impact on the models. But about a week after another successful fashion show, I got to work and a letter addressed to me was at the front desk. It was from one of the models from the last fashion show. She wrote about how grateful she was to me that I asked her to be a part of this experience (I don’t remember asking her because I asked so many people). she thanked me for believing in her and that she was beautiful enough to be in the show in the first place, and she told me thank you for giving her the courage to move on from bad relationship that had ended before the fashion show. She talked about how she almost changed her mind after that, but her friends made her come and cheered her on. She said that by me giving her this opportunity, she realized that she was worthy and worthwhile.
I was floored. I still have that letter and read it sometimes. I don’t keep as a way to make me feel good about myself. I keep it to remind me the impact that I can have on someone without even realizing it. I had no idea the emotional turmoil she was going through and was just going about my job – and yet me doing my job gave this woman something special. And in turn – she taught me an incredible lesson. I don’t know if she ever thinks of me anymore, but I think of her. I think of the lesson she taught me. Someone that was in my life for maybe a few hours almost 20 years ago is still shaping my life.
