Cameron Russell: A Role Model

Cameron Russell (photo: Twitter)

Cameron Russell is a Victoria's Secret angel. She's walked in runway shows, done print ads, and starred in commercials for the world's largest lingerie company. She's also worked for some of my favorite designers: Vivienne Westwood, Chanel, Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, and Dolce and Gabbana.

Cameron did a TED talk about being a highly successful model. This is the link: http://www.ted.com/talks/cameron_russell. I never put links in my pieces, but I wanted to today to draw your attention to it--it's a great talk. Please go watch it right now! Then come back and read the rest of this piece. ;-)

In this talk, Cameron talks about how she's won the "genetic lottery." She's tall, she's thin, she's white. Our society has decided that when it comes to appearances, those are the things that matter. Cameron mentions that she's gotten out of traffic tickets because of her looks as well as gotten free items when she's forgotten her money.  Those are the things she has been, as she puts it, "cashing in" on.

Cameron talked about and showed pictures of the amount of work that professionals do on her to get the photos they want. Do they edit photos? Yes. But she also talks about the hair, makeup, clothes, and photography that go into making the photos we see. Honestly, I probably wouldn't recognize her if I passed her on the street. She's gorgeous in her every day photos, but she doesn't look anything like the cover girl photos that thousands of people see. For more on photo editing, check out this post I wrote a few months ago.

Cameron mentioned that little girls come up to her and tell her that they want to be models when they grow up. Cameron's first question to the kids is, "Why? You can be anything." She says that she is in that top echelon of girls with "the skinniest thighs, the shiniest hair," but she's still incredibly insecure about the way she looks. She has to think about the way she looks every day.

Cameron graduated from Columbia University. She is realistic that she won't be able to model forever. She's already 25, which means she's already nearing the end of her modeling career. I have a feeling we'll be hearing great things from her.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

GMA's Robin Roberts Returns!

Good Morning America/Ida Astute

This morning we welcomed anchor Robin Roberts back to Good Morning America! She contracted myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) as a result of her chemotherapy for breast cancer a few years ago. Here is an explanation from her doctors of the procedure that would fix the MDS: a bone marrow transplant.

Robin has been off the job for 174 days! She has recovered remarkably well, starting dry runs of GMA in January and coming back for her first show today. Her doctors said today that she will be taking it one day at a time because some days she won't feel well enough to come in to work.

Fibromyalgia is not nearly as crazy as MDS or cancer or anything, but I feel like all of us who have something we are trying to get through can take inspiration from Robin's story. When her doctors mentioned that she would taking it day by day, I smiled because I know exactly what that's like. I never know when I'm going to wake up feeling good and ready to go, or in so much pain I can barely move.

Robin's photo should be in the lexicon next to the phrase "the power of positive thinking." I know that she always knew in her heart that she would get better and come back to work. There were days that were struggles, but she never gave up. And now she's back, sooner than any of us ever imagined she would be!

Even though I know my fibromyalgia might never go away, I believe in the power of positive thinking and I need to practice it more. We are only truly victims of our conditions when we refuse to see the light. Robin saw the light and still does. The rest of us would do well to follow her amazing example. :-)

Robin, I've never met you, but you have helped and will continue to help inspire and motivate me every day. Thank you.

#WelcomeBackRobin

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Letter to My 12-Year-Old Self

Good morning! I've been thinking about writing a letter to my younger self for a while, and one of my new favorite bloggers, AccordingToLara, inspired me to finally do it.

Dear 12-year-old Kinsey,

Hi! It's you in 12 years. Happy birthday! Enjoy your Harry Potter themed party--it's less cool to have a Harry Potter party when you're 24!

In six days, there is going to be a lot of confusion in the 2000 election. It's going to take until December to figure out who the president will be. Stop running around burning bridges with people, because Gore loses, and you're only 12. While it's important to be politically active, don't be a jerk about it.

You are about to find out that your dad has to have heart surgery. He and your mom are going to go to Texas for the surgery and leave your with your grandparents. He ends up being just fine!

In a year, you're going to move to Vanuatu. It's going to be scary and lonely, but you get to live right by the beach. Enjoy it while you're there. Don't stress out about what's happening back home, live in the moment. Breathe in every breath filled with the salty air and relaxed atmosphere; your life is going to change more than you can imagine when you move home.

You'll move back to the States when you're 16. You're going to feel incredibly out of place and do really terrible, self-destructive things to try to make it better. You won't listen to this, because you won't even understand it right now and when you do understand it you'll think you know better, but keep eating.

Also, be prepared for a relationship that will change your life. You will not be able to trust any man again for years because of this trusted adult who will take advantage of you. Keep going to your therapy sessions even though they open wounds you don't even want to remember. They will help, I promise.

When you're in college, you're going to vote in your first presidential election. Don't worry; your guy wins this time! Your parents will move to Ethiopia. Sounds like a long way away, huh? But don't worry; they come back after only seven months. They come back because your dad has to have heart surgery again, but just like last time, he's fine. :)

You're going to end up getting fibromyalgia. Doctors don't officially know what causes it, but I think the previous paragraphs explain the reason you get it. Keep fighting. It is so hard but you'll get better, because you don't have to fight alone. The most wonderful man asks you to marry him when you're 23 in your favorite place in the world: the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone.

Recognize this? It's where you go with your class three years in a row for Expedition: Yellowstone! You end up falling in love with this valley.

The ring is perfect.

You're going to work on the Obama campaign in 2012. I actually can't tell you how it turns out; the election is tomorrow! But I can tell you that this is the first time you've listened to my advice about not being a jerk to the other candidate. :)

You and your sister get to see Barack Obama in person! Oh--and you get glasses. You feel like you're going through a midlife crisis at first, but you do get used to them.

You're going to be just fine. Live in the moment and savor every day. Remember that your greatest asset is your heart, not your brain. You can empathize to the nth degree if you let yourself. Get that brain out of the way--you overuse it way too much! :)

Engagement photos! You're going to meet him more than three years before you start dating. Don't tell him, though!

You also fall in love with shoes.

You get two amazing kittens who love napping on you!

Love,

24-year-old You

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Michelle Obama in Cincinnati!

My sister and me in line.

Yesterday was an absolutely amazing experience! Getting to see Michelle Obama speak in person was phenomenal. She is more stunning in person than on TV; something I didn't know was possible!

The crowd waiting to go in.

The crowd was huge: 6,800 people! It was great because there were people from all different backgrounds and there were a lot of different views on issues even within the people who were there for this unifying event. It was really interesting, because even though we were all there for the same thing, everyone still wanted to be in their own groups: "African-Americans for Obama," "Women for Obama," "LGBT for Obama," "Latinos for Obama," "People of Faith for Obama," etc. It was almost like high school clicks all over again, except this time people were advertising what groups they were in.

Here are some photos of the event before Michelle took the stage:

We were so close!

Early voting started in OH yesterday!

Sherrod Brown, US Senator

Emily with her sign that the guy next to her ended up taking.
We had interactions with so many charming people...

One of our future leaders sitting with Dad.

The next generation of voters on Dad's shoulders!

This video isn't great, but this woman who is introducing Michelle Obama talked about her family's struggle with healthcare. Her son, standing next to her, was born with a liver problem and had a liver transplant at age 2. They had already reached his "lifetime cap" with their health insurance because of the transplant. When Obama passed the Affordable Care Act, they got to have affordable health insurance again! It was so great to hear their story and I love that she got to introduce the FLOTUS!

Michelle talked about so much! I wish I could have gotten it all. :) She told us why she loves Barack (Happy 20 Year Anniversary Today!!!), the reasons that it is so incredibly important to vote, and why Barack needs to be re-elected! Here is a clip about the great things he's done and why you need to re-elect this president. Listen carefully; the audio is terrible, but the message is great!

I loved watching her speak! She was so into it. :) Amazing experience.

This is the end of her speech. What a fantastic time we had! She is an inspiration and a great woman.

We were so close to getting to shake her hand!
This photo is with no zoom!

All in all, it was a great day! As you saw in yesterday's post, there were definitely some issues, but Michelle was absolutely perfect. :)

Here are some links both about her visit yesterday and about the campaign:
WCPO.com's Story About Her Visit
Huff Post's Story on FLOTUS's Visit and Why Ohio is So Important
Hamilton County, OH Voting Information
BarackObama.com

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Reflection and Inspiration

Before I get started with the post I was planning on writing, I want to take a moment to mention the attack on the U.S. consolate in Libya overnight. Our ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed in an attack by angry Muslims. They were upset by a film made by a Hollywod director (now in hiding, for good reason) that depicts Mohammad as a womanizer and a fraud.

There are two very interesting things I take from this story:
1) According to Good Morning America this morning, the director meant for this movie to be "provocative". I think this might have gone too far, though. I haven't seen the movie or trailer, for that matter, but if people are getting killed over it...that's crazy. I'm all for freedom of speech, but intentionaly portraying an incredibly well-known and influential prophet in a negative light seems like it's just asking for trouble--and recognition. Shock value films, outfits, and statements need to be looked at for the reasons they're made. This film was made to "show the destructive ideology of Islam," according to the above story. When making something like this, it is probably wise to think about how much it might help people understand Islam and how much it is going to piss people off.
2) It was not reported how many Muslims were killed; only how many Americans were killed.

Thinking of the families of those victims.

The story I originally wanted to talk about today is Aimee Copeland's amazing road to recovery. She was on "Katie" yesterday and she is fantastic! She is such an inspiration. Having chronic pain really pales in comparison when you watch this beautiful woman walk out on a walker with no hands, no left leg, and a prosthetic right leg. Through this entire process, she has had an amazing attitude! One of my favorite things she said yesterday was (not an exact quote, because I can't remember it perfectly), "I don't say I'm disabled; I say I have different abilities." How inspiring is that?! I feel like those of us with chronic health issues need to really look at what she is doing and saying and say, "I can do this!" I know there are many people with chronic health issues who do great, and I do pretty well some days. It's just nice to have someone to inspire you on the down days. It's amazing that she is only a year older than I am--I know it might sound funny because we are so close in age, but I admire her! She is definitely going on my personal hero list; hope she goes on yours, too! 

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi