Living as Four (Polyamory and brown skin)

All work no play today

          It's morning, and I roll out of bed. Sluggishly I fling the cover back into a neat position and prop my pillows on top of my purple duvet. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I rolled my neck back and forth on my way to the mirror. The first thing I do is stare at myself in the full-length mirror. My baggy lavender wool sweater is crinkled in sleep and black leggings still hugging my legs. I leaned forward in the mirror, tilting my head to get a better view of my roots. My hair looks pretty good, my roots have grown out a little, 1/2 centimeter by still laid nicely on my hair.

Therefore I only needed to add my oil mixture of olive oil and rosemary oil and a hint a peppermint. The last time I had my hair done was about a month ago and every day to every other day, and today was no different.  After applying the mixture it was time for a nice scalp massage, rotating the pads of my fingers in small, almost not noticeable circles. I start from my windows peak, down to the temples, curving up, sliding between the braids to work towards the crown of my skull. Did I mention I use the inversion method, I was upside down the whole entire time. My head swings gently from side to side and eventually, I made it to the back of my head and finished the massage at the nape of my neck. 

"Oh wow," Said my inner dialogue. "Well, aren't you shocked at the difference that massage made. The internet was right, I was definitely incorporating that into my routine."

 Re-adjusting myself up right, I finished my hair off with mousse. I smoothed moose onto the top of my head, following the length of my braids to seal and sheen them.  This morning I spent the first 15 minutes moisturizing my hair and minding my edges. By then it was 6:35am and I decided to use the rest of my free time to exercise.

So I slid on my sports bra and sprawled on baggy sweats and a crop top and went to my local gym. I did dynamic stretching before starting the weights to prepare my body to move, heat up, and length those muscles. It is also a way to loosen up my joints without stretching and straining them before I have to strain them for my weight training.  As it was armed day, I did some push-ups and burpees. The first weights I did were my arms. I used the dumbbells, and I did alternating single-handed dumbbell curls and arm drop downs and controlled weighted bird flaps. After that, I  cooled down with static stretching.

I came back to my house after the gym. It was around a 15-minute drive away and by the time I got back it was 8 o'clock. 'Perfect!' I thought, and now it was time to get ready for the day. On my regular days where I go to photoshoots, do big gigs, and castings. I wear a black shirt and black skinny jeans to show off my hips and my legs as I walk down the runway as recommended by my agent. Alternatively, I will wear high wasted leggings so that they can show off my figure and show them how I walk.  I pack my duffle bag with something professional and you know and something elegant just in case I'll need them. Additionally, I have my bag have 2 different types of heels and usually, I wear my sneakers to drive to work.  

I came downstairs with my duffle bag and set it next to the kitchen island table, and started creating my breakfast. I pulled a container of baked plantains and poured a serving of Peanut stew.  I then packed my lunch in my pack, mostly fruit, nuts, and yogurt with a side of a green smoothie on ice. 

I slip into my car and click the green answer button on my phone. I talk to my manager while I'm driving over to the office to see what my schedule is like for the day. Today, I have a runaway show fitting specifically for Adrian's look for a theme for the runway shows donating their proceeds to LGBT collectives and organizations around the area, very similar to the annual queer fashion show that happens in New York City.

After that, I am off to a previously scheduled photoshoot for a magazine. I am in hair and makeup for around 45 minutes. While the stylist prepped my eyeshadow, I glanced down through my elongated eyelashes to check my emails. I responding to congratulations for booking my next online shop, modeling for an afro-jeweler, and another casting invite.  I scrolled through my calendar to check in on my Invites to show up at designer parties and model gatherings. This month I was also scheduled for some cafe chats to talk to other models. 

I am reminded that networking is so important to my modeling career. The reason I have my calendars books with parties, gatherings, and small meet-ups is to get my face and work out there. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as the makeup artist coated the corners of my lid lids and dusted my cheeks. The reason I am so busy now is to acquire contacts of reliable people I can reach out to in the future as colleagues, information banks, and friends.  It's for my future.  I exhaled gratitude for being in good health and the wonderful opportunities surrounding me. 

Once the makeup artist was done the hair stylist styled my hair as I remembered one of the last parties I went to. I was able to create a relationship with a photographer who is my go-to photographer for my backups. He helps me with my posing, is very patient, and talks about lighting and angles. He quickly becomes my flashcard box for learning how I can make the mood and create the picture that the company wants. This helped me a lot in moving myself under different lighting and requires other photographers to do less training on sight. I have heard that a good handful that is not patient with beginner models. 

My inner dialogue decided to run amuck again. 'Ah, a sense of urgency, now where have I heard that one before.' Internally picturing myself tapping my chin, " White supremacy! White Supremacy at its finest. It only works when people buy into having to run everything, denial of rest and adequate breaks, just to be worthy of receiving compensation to live. Many photographers feel that they have to rush through photoshoots and bookings many in a day to get the size bag they are all so wanting. '

 I made it through this photo shoot successfully, doing all the model poses and changing out many outfits. During this photo shoot, I was requested to do a fitting appointment for another magazine. I did the fitting appointment and then added a conference call with my manager to plan out the rest of the week and returned home around 9 pm.