Wednesday 3 July 2013

Memoirs of an Amateur model: Part 3

Author's note: I know this last installement is waaay overdue, and I apologise greatly for keeping you waiting. I hope the story's not too stale to be enjoyed though ;)


The Actual Event

The morning of the day we'd all been waiting for found me rushing to the salon to get my hair and fingernails done. I had my fingers crossed the whole time -as we were buying the hair extensions, as my hair was being plaited in lines, as my wonderful hairdresser started sewing the extensions on...it had to look good. And I had to like how it looked. Otherwise I would not have the confidence to pull it off.

Within a couple of hours, my hair was finished and I loved it!! You can decide for yourself if the look worked.



The event was to be held at Pride Centre in Westlands. Since I live in the area, I told our choreographer that I'd find my way there instead of meeting up in school first with the other models. Needless to say, I got there hours before everyone else, although in their defense, it is much harder to get a group of people organised than two or three people. :) I sat and watched the sound team as they finished their set-up, glad that I had the extra time to calm my nerves and run through all the choreographies in my head.

Everything seemed set by the time the other models and our choreographer arrived. Everything, that is, except the most important thing. The runway.

The first problem was the runway was not as wide as we'd expected it to be. That posed a big issue because all our choreographies required space, enough space for at least 4 models standing side-by-side. Yet the one they had set up for us was only wide enough for two people.

Then as though to add salt to injury, there were no steps leading up to the runway. And this runway was about knee-high for the shortest models, meaning that stepping onto it required taking a huge step.

You can imagine therefore, the panic that ensued when the other models saw the runway.
         
 "We can't fit on this runway! Look! Even passing each other is going to be a problem." said one as she demonstrated walking past another model on the runway.
         
    "And some of us even have props! How are we going to pass each other without hitting each other?"
 
          "Where's Nelly? Has she seen this?"

We started looking for Nelly, our choreographer, to show her the mess of a runway in front of us. When I think of it now, its funny how we were all showing her the runway...its like we were children who had witnessed a sibling make a mess of something and were telling on them. Anyway, thanks to Nelly's quick thinking, we quickly re-ordered the choreography and started practising, despite the absence of steps. By the time we had gone through all four choreographies, all the female models were complaining of paining thighs, myself included. You would be too, if you had to take a huge step onto a platform with 4-6 inch heels!

Typically of most Kenyan events (unfortunately) the Triple 'B' awards started late, forcing us to run around feeling rushed and harrased from the moment we had our dinner. The event had been coined "Triple 'B' awards" because it was a combination of the Student of the Year awards and Mr and Miss Daystar. Hence the three B's to represent Brilliance, Beauty and Brains.

 The school had organised for only one lady to do our make-up, who only realised that she could not handle all 8 models plus the female MC all by herself after she started on the first model. *sigh* Thank God there was another lady in the dressing rooms who just happened to have an extra make-up kit and the knowledge of applying to go. So I sat down on the chair, dressed in the 'introduction' outfits, draped myself in a leso to avoid spills and got ready to have my face powdered and 'made-up'. I was eager and nervous to get my make-up done, particularly because this was going to be the first time in my life. Now I wish I was not as eager about the make-up.

The 'helper lady' took one look at my face and said, "Why didn't you do your eyebrows? Oh my gosh, they're so thick, I'm not sure the eye shadow will be seen!"
   
In my defense, I did not 'do' my eyebrows because I was afraid of getting a botched-up job. Have you ever seen a woman with no eyebrows? Or one whose eyebrows have been cut so thin she looks weird? I didn't want to end up looking like that! And there was no one to recommend a good 'eyebrow person' so I just let it be. However, listening to that lady remark about how 'bushy' my eyebrows were really made me start reconsidering whether I had made the right decision. She looked and asked around for a razor blade or a pair of tweezers, before she changed her mind saying she did not even know how to do it. So I thought that was that, and she would just try her best to work my make-up around that. Oh I could not have been more wrong! Yes she started powdering my face and all, but the whole time she kept pointing out how 'bushy' my eyebrows were and how she was not sure the eyeshadow would be seen and why hadn't I just gotten them done, and...and..and. By the time she was done with my make-up, my self-esteem had been pushed down several notches down. To make matters worse, there was no mirror nearby where I could check my reflection to see if things really were as bad as she was putting it. I asked my close friend who was helping me get into my outfits how the make-up looked and she said, "Okay." That did not help. But what was I to do? It was just a few minutes to the start of the pageant. So I just had to believe I looked good enough.

The good thing is that the moment I stepped out from behind the curtain and into the blinding lights, my senses were dulled and adrenaline took over. I smiled, swayed my hips and walked like we'd been taught to, feeding my energy from all the cheers and screams (Oh, they finally put some steps for us btw). Although I could tell who was more popular with the audience from the different levels of screams and cheers, I paid no attention to that. I knew my parents were rooting for me from the audience and my boyfriend was backstage,   cheering me on, and that's all I really needed. The rest of the night felt like such an out-of-body experience that I had no time to feel cold or tired until the very end.


The 'introductory' outfits, sponsered by Orange -Telkom Kenya



After every outfit showcase, I ran back into the dressing room to get changed into my next outfit. In fact, it turned out that for the rest of the night, Cherelle and I were always the first girls to finished getting dressed.

For casual wear, this is the dress I picked out:








For dinner wear, here's how my partner and I looked:






Traditional wear was a solo affair ;) (see what I did there?)





































And finally, to honour my love for music, my creative outfit!

Another model and I

Walking down the runway



I'm also glad we all managed to look good together. We got the synchornised part, eventually!








My partner was awesome :)




When it got to the Q&A section, everyone was prepared for application questions, because that's what we had agreed with our choreographer. It so happened that the judges either did not get the message, or just decided to surprise us. So instead of application questions, we got 'general knowledge' questions on the university. Thankfully, I knew the answers to the questions I got, but some of the other models were not so lucky. When we got off stage, they protested loudly and asked to have another round of questions. I tried to tell anyone who would listen that it would only make us look worse, but apparently, no one heard me. So they called us out again and asked us all the same question.

"If you were crowned Mr/Miss Daystar, what would you do for the school?"

Now, when you're all asked the same question one after the other, first thing that happens is you quickly run out of answers because everyone is basically saying the same thing. But at least this way, everyone had some time to fabricate an appropriate answer.

By this time, it was almost midnight and the judges still had to deliberate over who to crown winners. Everyone was tired, and when I say everyone, I mean the guests and the models alike. We waited anxiously outside as the judges took what felt like an extra hour to make a decision. By that time all I really wanted was to lay down and sleep; I did not even care if I had won or not. That quickly changed when we were called back to hear the results. The MC called for drum rolls. They came on and suddenly, my heart was racing, my palms were sweaty and I had knives turning in my stomach.

Second runners-up was announced: Lena Adhiambo
"Okay," I thought to myself. "There's still first runners-up"

First runners-up : Cherelle Ouko, my 'changing' buddy. Then I started wondering if it was possible that I had won. My stomach was really causing havoc on me at that point in time. I could hardly breathe.
   "And the winner of Miss Daystar is.... Eva Wagaki!"

My heart fell. I had not won. As I applauded numbly and watched Eva overcome her shock, I just wanted to get off stage, go pack up my stuff and go home. My parents had even gone to the car the moment the winner was announced. I did not realise just how disappointed until my boyfriend hugged me backstage and told me I was a winner to him. That's when I started crying.
I had put in my all and believed I actually had a chance at winning, only to end up disappointed.

It was only days later that I finally came to appreciate all I had learned from that experience. My self-esteem ended up being boosted because I understood that I was beautiful, and did not need anyone to tell me so. Also I got to meet new people, some of whom became friends. Ultimately, I had gotten the experience of a lifetime. Something I was sure I would not be able to replace with anything.