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Happy Holidays & The Latest From Dania Denise

'Tis the Season, folks!

I'm sure you're all busy juggling shopping, work, cramming for finals (for you students out there), planning holiday travel and the list goes on.

As you could probably tell--for my loyal readers out there--2016 was my slowest year ever in terms of posting new content here on Modeling 101.

I hope I haven't let you down too terribly or given you the impression that I've retired or no longer do anything with this blog but if you have been keeping up with things, you already know that my lack of posting new stuff wasn't on purpose or to torture you.

I'm the type of person who doesn't like to do anything halfheartedly. That includes emailing, blogging, even visiting with friends/family. If I don't have the appropriate amount of time to be focused on the task at hand, I would rather put it off until I have ample time to be at my best and give my full attention.

I hate skimming through emails and rushing my responses and the same goes for blogging. I have a list of topics so rest assured that my falling behind on posting isn't because I've run out of steam or ideas. Quite the opposite! But in my typical workaholic fashion, I've taken on more projects and commitments that have stretched me pretty thin this year and I just had to get them knocked out.

What kinds of projects, you ask?

ACTOR MODE

While I love modeling I also love acting and 2016 had me really engaged in more acting projects, including commercials, short films and some feature film work (all in various forms of production). Several short films I was in are being shopped around the film festival circuit so, unfortunately, they're not allowed to be posted online so I can't view or share them just yet.

PRODUCER MODE

Apparently, being in front of the camera isn't enough for me because I've also spent some time this year being behind the camera. The main role I've been taking on these days is as producer but I've also been in charge of holding auditions, working with actors, coordinating shoot schedules, scouting locations, managing the cast and crew onsite, set design and pretty much being HBIC status, lol.

It's really given me an adrenaline rush to be even more involved in the industry behind the camera, not to mention being able to actually star in a few of the projects I'm helping to produce. Getting the momentum and funding for such projects isn't easy and it doesn't happen overnight but I will be sure to share all the latest goodness with you soon as everything is ready to go!

PAGEANT MODE

2016 was filled with amazing experiences as Ms. USA Petite. Not only did I spend my time as a titleholder participating in various events, I had the honor of hosting the 2016 Universal Petite Pageant, which took place on a cruise ship that took us to the Grand Cayman Islands and Cozumel, Mexico this summer.

Getting to spend a week with titleholders from different countries, as well as reuniting with my sister queens, was such an incredible chapter in my life and it was definitely bittersweet when I crowned my successor earlier this month in Florida. It was sad to say goodbye to my sister queens but I am thrilled with our new titleholders and know they will all make us proud as the newest members of the USA Petite Family!

Speaking of pageants...I am working on something pretty big and using all of 2017 to prep for it in 2018 so while I can't say right now what it is, I promise you it's gonna be worth the wait. :-)

STILL MODELING, TOO

I could never stray too far from modeling among all the other things I've got my hands in. Modeling for the most part was slow for me this year but that was because I hadn't put myself out there too much in terms of castings but suddenly I found myself in front of the camera and back in model mode doing a bunch of fun shoots.

I actually did two sets of editorial shoots with the mega talented hair and makeup artist/stylist Nomi Nguyen. The images have already been sent to various magazines and I was just told that they've all been selected for publication!

It was great to know that despite my shorter stature, Nomi believed in me enough as a model and the fact that I now have my first set of editorial tearsheets--including a cover!!!--continues to motivate me to seek opportunities that may not otherwise have been on my radar. All it takes it someone taking a chance on you to make things happen and get the ball rolling!

I STILL LOVE YOU, BLOG READERS!

For those of you waiting and hoping for new content, I truly apologize for not being better about making time to stay on top of my blog posts. The good news is that I've been scheduled for more work from home days with my other businesses so that means the downtime I need to focus on getting more modeling tips, tricks, info and other tidbit type of posts out to you on a more regular basis.

I don't believe in making New Year's Resolutions but my effort to be more diligent in blogging is probably the closest I'll come, hah.

Your patience will be rewarded and I am aiming to give you a new Modeling 101 blog post before the end of this month. That'll make two blog posts in one month, which hasn't happened for a long time here...baby steps, right???
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Comments

Biola Oloke said…
Hello, Dania! Quick question and sorry if I have posted this comment twice it's not showing up. Do you still answer readers comments about modeling and how can I send in my comment? I am an aspiring model that could really use some advice. - b xx
December 14, 2016 at 8:58 PM
Dania Denise said…
Hi, Biola Oloke!

I definitely am still answering reader questions. You can post another comment here with your questions (just like you did before) or you can contact me directly via email if you wanted a more privacy: daniadenise@gmail.com

Btw: I screen all comments so that's why they don't show up right after you post them. Gotta weed out those spammers but rest assured I do get all comments that are posted and publish them if they are legitimate.

Thanks for reading!
December 15, 2016 at 10:19 AM
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