courtneymacavinta
REAL model: Michelle, 39
What you can't tell about the REAL me from this photo:
That I grew up an east coast Jew, and sometimes, here in Seattle, I miss the deli. I had a mullet and wore too much green eye shadow in high school. I don’t have any grandparents left and that makes me sad. I like to spoon my six-year-old Labrador Retriever when I sleep. He’s better than a space heater and the sound of his snoring soothes me. I haven’t had what society would call “a real job” in 15 years. Instead, I make my living as a full-time freelance writer and editor. I often write about women who live outside what society would consider the norm: women who choose not to marry, women who don’t want to have kids, women who haven’t had a so-called real job in years. In the past decade, I’ve done a couple of year-long temp jobs at a giant software corporation. The first time, I needed to pay off a credit card debt that outsized my annual salary. (I paid it off in a year.) The second time, I wanted to save up a down payment for a home of my own. (I did that in a year, too.) I bought my house by myself, which sometimes freaks out other people because I’m in a long-term, committed, loving relationship but I choose to live separately from my boyfriend. I once broke up with a guy who told me I had to choose between writing and him. It was an easy choice. I’m turning 40 in two months and admit that getting older scares me a bit. I used to think I was overweight in my twenties, which now seems ridiculous, considering how skinny I was then--and how much I’ve come to love my thirty-something curves, and my strong arms and legs. I used to wonder how I would see my dreams manifest themselves when I got older. Now I just focus on making them happen.
(are you a REAL model too? submit your photo here)
REAL model: Michelle, 39
What you can't tell about the REAL me from this photo:
That I grew up an east coast Jew, and sometimes, here in Seattle, I miss the deli. I had a mullet and wore too much green eye shadow in high school. I don’t have any grandparents left and that makes me sad. I like to spoon my six-year-old Labrador Retriever when I sleep. He’s better than a space heater and the sound of his snoring soothes me. I haven’t had what society would call “a real job” in 15 years. Instead, I make my living as a full-time freelance writer and editor. I often write about women who live outside what society would consider the norm: women who choose not to marry, women who don’t want to have kids, women who haven’t had a so-called real job in years. In the past decade, I’ve done a couple of year-long temp jobs at a giant software corporation. The first time, I needed to pay off a credit card debt that outsized my annual salary. (I paid it off in a year.) The second time, I wanted to save up a down payment for a home of my own. (I did that in a year, too.) I bought my house by myself, which sometimes freaks out other people because I’m in a long-term, committed, loving relationship but I choose to live separately from my boyfriend. I once broke up with a guy who told me I had to choose between writing and him. It was an easy choice. I’m turning 40 in two months and admit that getting older scares me a bit. I used to think I was overweight in my twenties, which now seems ridiculous, considering how skinny I was then--and how much I’ve come to love my thirty-something curves, and my strong arms and legs. I used to wonder how I would see my dreams manifest themselves when I got older. Now I just focus on making them happen.
(are you a REAL model too? submit your photo here)