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photo by:
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 My
Early Life
I
was raised in the desert
Southwest with my younger sister and our two golden retrievers. My dad, a Psychiatrist, and my mother, a linguist, gave us a
rather unconventional upbringing! My dad drove an old beat up Dodge Dart when we were kids,
wore jeans and flannel shirts to work, and our mom was a health fanatic.
My sister and I were forced to go to school with avocado/sprout
sandwiches in kindergarten - We were the only kids without Twinkies and
Wonder Bread, and I absolutely hated this!
My mom went back to get her Masters Degree in French while we
were young, and it was on these days that my dad would give us
everything we had been missing...macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, ice
cream, all of it! We could always count on dad for some great junk food!
Although we
had our secret days with our dad, my mom's healthy habits pretty much
stuck with me. I never had to diet or change my eating habits, as the
foods I liked were healthy!
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Me
at
Age
2
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Age 19
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My Early Career
At age 14 I was tall and gangly, and not
particularly good looking. It was at this time that my mom signed
me up for modeling school, I think hoping it would help me feel
better about myself. It did work, and even though I wasn't sure I
wanted to be a model, I loved getting to occasionally miss an
afternoon of school to "work"! My first "job"
was at age fourteen, and I was on the cover of a catalog - all the
other girls were twice my age, but you'd never know it!
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 Modeling
Days
As I model, I learned that the most important aspects of beauty came from the
inside. I had always been interested in psychology and spirituality, and
I knew that modeling was not the way for me to explore these subjects in the way that I wanted
to. It was during this period in my early and mid twenties that I began
taking all kinds of classes and exploring religions from around the
world. I desperately wanted to embark on a path where I could share my experiences and learn myself,
but I just wasn't sure what that could possibly entail.
I modeled
in fashion shows and in local newspaper ads and such throughout high
school, then went to Paris the day I graduated. During the next few
years I worked in Paris, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. I
appeared in such magazines as Marie Claire and Mademoiselle, while taking college classes so that I could become a teacher. As
a child I had struggled with a small learning disability myself, which
made me dedicated to working with other children going through the same
trials. I had always wanted to work with children in one form or
another, and finally began teaching kids with learning disorders several
years ago.
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My Modeling
Days
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 Going
Online
Being in the classroom took a toll on my health, and one day I was sitting at the
computer when a thought popped in to my mind. I thought, "what if I
could reach people and share my experiences with them over the
computer?" It was this moment that "Beauty&Soul" was
born...I began writing a monthly newsletter on different subjects and posting it on other peoples
websites. Soon, the response became so great that I developed my own site.
Within one year, we had over 6,000 members from all over the world! I was
receiving letters from people in every country imaginable telling me how
the site had improved their life...I was so touched by this, I knew I was
on the right track!
 My
Own Skincare ProductsLast year, I realized that I was receiving over 100 letters a week that were skin care
related. None of you could seem to find products that you liked, and I
could relate! I had never been one of those models with constantly perfect
skin, and I'd spent thousands of dollars over the years searching for the
perfect products. With your input and my own experience, I decided to
create my own line of products! My goal was to create products that were
simple, natural and effective. I found a world-class chemist a week later
and It literally took me eight months of research and trial and error before I had
developed a line I loved. (And felt you would!) I tested each product on
friends and family for weeks, even making everyone fill out forms when
they were done! I then took the finished products to doctors offices to
get their opinions, and amazingly every one of them loved them!
 A
Novel Idea
I'm also in the process of writing the book "Beauty&Soul", which will be
based on the subjects covered in the website and newsletters. It should be
out late this year, so stay tuned!
It's been over two years now, and while it hasn't always been easy, I have enjoyed
every moment of this special "Cyber Community". It has been truly amazing to get to know so many wonderful people!
Though I haven't met many of you in person, I feel that we are a very unique and close "family", and I look forward to continuing this
site for a long time to come!
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