Working at a young age offers an abundance of lessons to guide you for the rest of your life. This is one of the advantages that young fashion models have over their peers.
Their exposure in a fiercely competitive industry. The big income from their gigs. The opportunities for travel to different countries. The interaction with a variety of industry experts. Most young people do not score such experiences that can cultivate maturity in thinking until after college.
Get to know what these life lessons are that teenage models learn through their profession. Listed below are eight of them.
Lesson 1: Most things are temporary.
The fame created by a successful modeling career is often short-lived. As physical changes occur, the demand for one’s skills and services can decrease. Therefore, it’s important to strike while the iron is hot.
At the same time, self-preservation is a must. Investing in yourself should be a commitment, primarily if you rely on your appearance for income generation. But, the bottom line is, remind yourself of the fact that there is an end to most things and your youth is among those elements in life that are temporary.
Lesson 2: Good behavior always reaps long-lasting rewards.
Showing proper manners, grace, solid work ethics, and being respectful and considerate. These are good behaviors that in this age and time are often overshadowed by careless opinionatedness and selfishness.
The popularity that you can get from outrageous behavior may seem great and can open a few doors of opportunities for you. However, a quiet but good reputation and image lead to lifetime rewards.
One of the rewards is earning the respect of many, which is vital in the entertainment industry. Your name can stand for integrity, and this can quickly establish you as an expert that others can trust. You can expect that one day, parents of aspiring models will reach out to you for advice, which can open a new career as a mentor for you.
On the other hand, if you were known for your recklessness as a young model, most people might not be too keen on hiring you. This is due to the fear of suffering the consequences of your inclinations.
Lesson 3: Smart time management creates more opportunities.
Time management is a lesson that anyone who wants to get into modeling needs to master. Being a member of the fashion industry requires dedicated organization. Otherwise, you can miss opportunities or ruin relationships.
In-demand young models are often prompted to learn how to budget their time carefully. They learn to make their daily to-dos, schedule, and even calculate time to pack in as many activities to their day without giving up specific responsibilities such as school and other life events.
Not only that, they learn the art of negotiating time. This allows them to make appointments more manageable to meet, and ensure “me” time, which they require for self-preservation.
Lesson 4: Sacrifices are crucial to success.
There will always be a few things that you have to miss out on if you want success in your chosen career. For instance, a lot of models miss out on their school’s social events to they can catch up on rest, do schoolwork, or even audition for a show.
Such sacrifices emphasize the importance of knowing your real priorities, so you can become the person you wish to become.
Lesson 5: Saving for the future begins with the first paycheck.
There’s nothing like working while you are young to teach you the value of money. You learn that it takes hard work, sacrifices, and even a few tears to get your pay.
Therefore, it’s a must to put your hard-earned salary to good use. The most basic way of doing that is by building your savings while young.
Lesson 6: Knowledge is important.
Like the words of Bruce Lee, “Material wears out, but knowledge stays.” Again, a young and thriving career as a model only lasts for a short time. Thus, well-guided young models do not ditch education and continue to enrich their brain. It serves them well, especially when dealing with the challenging situations they can find themselves in.
Along with that, knowledge makes the future less uncertain. It provides the perfect fallback for that time when modeling is no longer as lucrative an income-generator as it used to be. It can lead to new possibilities.
Growing knowledge is enough to do as long as you are resolute in completing your education. Being signed with a reputable modeling agency is helpful, especially in finding homeschooling programs and tutors.
Lesson 7: Standards are relative.
This is one of the harsh realities that young models learn right away – there are so many standards to things, and you can’t be confined to a single set of standards. Otherwise, you limit your understanding, acceptance, and even damage your self-esteem.
Beauty criteria, for instance, are always relative. For one modeling job, what’s beautiful is an athletic body, a medium height, and sharp features. Meanwhile, for another gig, it’s being on the slender side, having pale skin, and delicate facial features.
A lot of young models learn to not take things too personally. They are not failures just because they didn’t pass an audition. There simply are unique standards to meet that at the moment, others are more suitable for.
Lesson 8: Networking is important.
Whatever job you may have, it is imperative to network or create useful connections. Relationships have long-term benefits in all industries, so do not sever ties. Even if you’ve had an unpleasant experience with a few people that you have worked with, do not burn bridges because everybody has value.
There is no doubt that a day will come when you will be able to take advantage of these connections.
Life as a teenage model is not a somewhat lost childhood. It is a decision to take an alternative life route abundant with practical life lessons that can groom you better for bigger responsibilities. It is the same route that other young models have taken, which has made them not just fashion models but also business owners, influencers, mentors, creators, leaders – some of the biggest movers and shakers of the world.
Author Bio
Adam Jacobs is the Managing Director of Bubblegum Casting, the longest-running agency specializing in babies, children and teen talent in Australia. Bubblegum Casting works with some of Australia’s biggest brands, media properties, and agencies to secure talented children to work in Television, Film and Modelling roles.
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