Conversations with the Inspiring Camille Arnold

Today we’d like to introduce you to Camille Arnold.

Camille, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The year 2017 was a tough one for sure. The first 10 months were a constant battle, struggling with different levels of depression and anxiety, you could say “self confidence” wasn’t exactly my strongest suit. In October, my counselor at the time was encouraging me to journal and find different creative outlets so when a long time friend reached out to me asking if I wanted to model for their photography portfolio, I figured “why not?”, little did I know my world was about to change. I went into the shoot not expecting much, but as soon as we started shooting, I felt something inside of me shift. We were talking, laughing, drinking our incredibly warm coffees in the 7 am autumn-morning air and blasting music. I had never felt such joy and confidence in myself ALL YEAR. I stumbled upon my passion without even trying, it had finally found me! I started working with more and more photographers after that, finding joy in creating stories and art through my modeling and learning how to express myself in a way I didn’t know was possible. Modeling has helped me overcome many personal obstacles and I can’t wait to conquer more with it.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
First, let me say that I am so incredibly blessed that my family has always been supportive of my dreams. It always puts a smile on my face when I show my parents pictures from a photo shoot and their reaction is “OOO! Send me that one!”. On the flip side, following your dreams will never be a “smooth road”. There have been SO MANY people in my life who do not understand what I do, nor why I do it. I have received A LOT of judgment, not just from random online haters, but from people who were closest to me. Adults I looked up to growing up who helped raised me, mentors, that always encouraged me to follow my heart, and even some close friends eventually stopped all contact with me because of modeling. This was (and still is sometimes) completely discouraging. The toughest part was that none of them talked to me about it. No one had the courage to ask “Hey Camille, why modeling? What made you choose this? Why this direction? How does modeling make you feel?” etc. they didn’t want to hear my story or how modeling saved me. They have created their own stories and believed them. However, they have taught me a lot and now I can only thank them. Thank you for showing me who you are. Thank you for showing me the type of people I want to surround myself with instead. Thank you for teaching me what “conditional” love is because I’d rather show everyone “UN-conditional” love. Thank you for showing me that even through judgment, I can succeed. You too can succeed! It might be hard at times but if you’re not “rocking the boat” then what are you doing to change the world?

What should we know about Modernn Milliee? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I manage my Instagram page as my own personal business. It connected to my website (soon to be a weekly blog) and will be growing into a YouTube channel. Everyone online is so unique and everyone is pursuing similar things right now. What sets me apart is something no one else has. My story. Everyone has a story to tell, some people might like someone’s story more than others, but if you like mine so far, I hope you stay around to continue watching my story unfold with me.

Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
Don’t be afraid to engage and ask questions. Some of the biggest tips I’ve learned were from me reaching out to people and asking for help. Its okay to not know everything, I certainly don’t, and I know, I’m probably never going to. We’re all on this journey together, we’re just taking different paths.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.camillearnold.com
• Email: modernn.milliee@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/modernn.milliee/

Image Credit:
@caliallstaring, @johnsperspective, @apollozphotography, @ashvedo, @jon.snip, @nicogaribay

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