“Ugly Duckling was not just a story to me…”

The Ugly Duckling was not just a story to me, it was my life. However, the difference between a fairytale and reality are the scars left on a soul. Somehow I was still the school dork with bug eyes, still the down-trodden child at home. No matter how much my husband told me I was beautiful I would rarely receive his compliments. When others commended my acting, photogenic ability, or my singing, I would reason their words into oblivion. Something inside of me wanted to believe what they said was true, but another part of me would not allow it.

It was at the apex of this internal struggle that my nine-year-old daughter expressed a desire to audition for an AMTC talent search. I wanted to encourage my daughter’s dreams, but I was skeptical. They probably chose everyone. This may be a scam. As a writer, I love research, and so before we went I did my homework. When my daughter was chosen, I peppered the scout with questions. I liked what I saw and I was impressed by what I heard. So much, in fact, that something inside of me dared to believe I could do this too. If my daughter could not see me follow my own dream, would she know how to follow her own? I got the okay from the scout and the local director to compete. My daughter and I would both go to AMTC together. I was scared beyond words!

We began preparing for AMTC. The process for me was a transformation in itself. I lost 32 pounds, got in shape, changed life long eating habits, wrote much of our material and even got over my fear of singing in public. When we finally arrived at AMTC I was a new woman. I still struggled to believe in myself, but despite it all I got on that stage and I became the actress, model, and singer I wanted to be. I did my best. I soaked in every moment of AMTC with delight. By the end of the week I was exhausted, but fulfilled. I had set a goal and achieved it. I had allowed God to change my life through AMTC. It would have been enough to have come, to have followed my dream, reshaped my life and set my soul free, but this was only the beginning.

On that final night, when the call backs came, I was utterly amazed to find the names of four agents and casting directors printed below my name and contestant number. So, it was true! I could act! I was beautiful and graceful enough to be a model! I could no longer listen to those voices from my past who told me how worthless I was. At the awards banquet I was humbled to receive a Spirit Award and then amazed to hear my name called as a Finalist for Over All Mature Model. My husband came up to me afterward. He told me how proud he was of all my hard work and how beautiful I looked. My soul drank in his words without trying to deflect them. That night I looked inside the mirror and instead of an Ugly Duckling, I saw a Swan!

AMTC is not a scam, it changed my life. Not just because I feel better about myself, which I certainly do, but because I am staring at the names of different agencies and casting directors from major players in the industry who are interested in me. I have some big decisions to make and now I have the faith to believe I can do this. If you have questions as to the validity of AMTC just check with the Better Business Bureau or ask those who have attended in the past.

I say reach for your dream. The only thing you have to lose is insecurity. However, I will give you one warning, you only get what you put into it and you can only go where God wants you to go.
As my daughter sat and cried with nothing on her call back list, I was crushed for her. From the beginning I had given her preparation more attention than I gave my own. I thought she had done a superb job, I was so proud of her. Best of all she was proud of herself! Ultimately, it just wasn’t her time, even though she did her best!

My daughter is strong. She doesn’t plan to give up. She has learned, she has blossomed and she is wants to compete in AMTC again. You may go to AMTC and do well or you may go and not get any callbacks at all, but the experience is yours to keep and yours to learn from as you wish. In the end it is really you who decides what you see in the mirror; the duckling or the swan. AMTC is merely a tool to help you see more clearly and to guide you in the right direction.