I do my little turn on the catwalk

When I was 20, I decided to take a couple amateur photographs of myself and head to an open casting at a Denver modeling agency. Aside from being accosted at the mall on numerous occasions by people from John Casablancas and other scammy "modeling schools", the idea of modeling was never really on my radar. I didn't grow up in a household which placed any importance on looks. In fact, when I was caught glancing at myself in the mirror or taking too long to pick out my outfit for the day, I was told I was vain.

Once in college and able to make my own decisions, I decided to give modeling a shot. So, on a Wednesday afternoon, I drove to Denver and took a chance. And low and behold, they liked me! After pointing out everything that was wrong with me (my eyebrows were too thin, the freckles on my face were too pronounced, my pant size needed to be smaller), they signed me on the spot. I was happy. I figured if nothing else, it would provide me with some cool opportunities to make extra income during college while playing dress up and walking the runway.

After getting my photographs done, taking a runway class and purchasing some 4 inch black stilettos, I was on my way to castings around the Denver area.

The first job I landed was a Vogue wedding show where I was dressed in Carolina Herrera and Monique Lhuillier gowns. I successfully walked runway, draped with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewels and managed not to fall. After the show was a wedding jewelry expose for the wealthy men and women in the audience to browse.

(Caution:: Side Story Ahead!!)

I stood at a table next to the husband and wife jewelers who were responsible for the beautiful rings, earrings and bracelets I was wearing. They were sweet people from Long Beach, CA and I drooled over all their hand made pieces. At the end of the night, they gave me their card and told me that if my boyfriend was considering an engagement ring in the near future, to call them. I didn't hesitate to pass along the information to Keane the minute I got home.

Fast forward to about 6 months later where I stood in front of a waterfall in Maui and was presented with a handmade Mark Schneider Designs engagement ring. What an amazing man I landed! Talk about a full-circle moment.

Ok, back to modeling. Since then, I've done a Pepsi ad campaign, several runway shows for local designers, Aspen Fashion Week, and a few Dennis Basso fashion shows among others. The links to a couple of those shows are below. I like to play a little game called Where's Waldo Kelly? Go ahead, see if you can find me!

2010

2009

2008

Modeling has been a lot of fun. As expected, it's given me opportunities I never would have otherwise had. I've traveled to some cool places, met some great (and not so great) people, been done up and pushed out on stage in front of thousands of people, and ultimately forced out of my comfort zone more times than I can count. I am a fairly shy, introverted person until I get to know someone so these experiences have really helped me come out of my shell.

There are, however, some really ugly parts about this industry that I'm glad to have been sheltered from until I reached adulthood. I think being told repeatedly that you are too heavy or that certain clothes look terrible on you or that your feet are too big or your hair is too short can deeply affect a young, impressionable girl's perception of herself. Needless to say, I will proceed with caution if any of my children ever come to me with the desire to model.

I am thankful for each experience and for the fact that I have remained grounded through it all. This little gig I'm doing in my 20's? It doesn't define me. I am not a model. I do some modeling. There's a big difference. My goal with this was never to "make it big" and travel the world and constantly have to worry about my weight. I have many other aspirations which will give me opportunities far beyond my years of youth and beauty- Things that do not involve my dress size.

But in the mean time, I'll continue to enjoy all of the couture clothing, bright lights and extra cash that's blessed me during this time in my life.