stumbled across this ... hopefully this is the right forum for it. It's a longer read but not a bad one.
https://linascheynius.wordpress.com...heynius-for-zeit-magazin-english-translation/
"I am 16 years old. I live in a small town in Sweden that nobody has ever heard of. School is easy and boring. I am not popular with the boys, and I don’t think I am attractive. That’s not completely true. When I look at myself in the mirror, I feel like there is something to my looks. But I am skinny, pale, shy, and awkward, and I don’t have boobs. I desperately need someone to tell me that I am beautiful.
Like so many girls, I dream about the modeling industry, this fairy tale where you make a fortune being flown around the world and celebrated for your beauty. One time a girl in my class tells me I can be a model. When she says it, I pretend I don’t care, but inside I am glowing.
I write a letter saying I am 16 years old, 175 centimeters tall, and weigh 51 kilograms, that my eyes are green and my hair is strawberry blonde but dyed brown. I balance a camera on a pile of books and try to pose like the models in the magazines. I send the letter and the pictures to the first modeling agency I find in the phone book, Avenue Models in Gothenburg, and hope for the best.
A week later, the phone rings. “Hi. This is Danilo from Avenue Models. I want you to come to the agency so we can meet in person.” I hang up terrified. What have I gotten myself into? Can I even trust this man?"
https://linascheynius.wordpress.com...heynius-for-zeit-magazin-english-translation/
"I am 16 years old. I live in a small town in Sweden that nobody has ever heard of. School is easy and boring. I am not popular with the boys, and I don’t think I am attractive. That’s not completely true. When I look at myself in the mirror, I feel like there is something to my looks. But I am skinny, pale, shy, and awkward, and I don’t have boobs. I desperately need someone to tell me that I am beautiful.
Like so many girls, I dream about the modeling industry, this fairy tale where you make a fortune being flown around the world and celebrated for your beauty. One time a girl in my class tells me I can be a model. When she says it, I pretend I don’t care, but inside I am glowing.
I write a letter saying I am 16 years old, 175 centimeters tall, and weigh 51 kilograms, that my eyes are green and my hair is strawberry blonde but dyed brown. I balance a camera on a pile of books and try to pose like the models in the magazines. I send the letter and the pictures to the first modeling agency I find in the phone book, Avenue Models in Gothenburg, and hope for the best.
A week later, the phone rings. “Hi. This is Danilo from Avenue Models. I want you to come to the agency so we can meet in person.” I hang up terrified. What have I gotten myself into? Can I even trust this man?"
