Size 0 Page 6

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  Dear Mr. Holt,

  Last week, I walked down my first runway. Not in the way that I’d always dreamed, as a designer, but as a model wearing my own design. I never thought much about models. I’d even made jokes about them. But their place in the industry and in our culture is an important one. They aren’t just walking clothes hangers. They’re people with thoughts and feelings and problems. And I now count one of them as my friend. She made herself sick trying to live up to a perfect image. And I don’t want other girls to do the same.

  In fashion, they call the last dress in a show the showstopper. This summer, I was the showstopper—just one of the surprises of my incredible internship experience. I don’t have any desire to model, but I think there should be a place for models that look something like me. I’m going to do everything I can to make a place for them while I make a place for myself in the business.

  I was so excited about seeing the inside of a world I had always wanted to be a part of. I ended up seeing more than I had expected and doing more than I thought I was capable of. Thank you for the opportunity.

  Sincerely,

  Thea Roberts

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  D. M. Paige attended Columbia University and her first internship eventually led her to her first writing job at Guiding Light, a soap opera. She writes and lives in New York City