UNFALTERED PASSION by CATHERINE.K.NJIRU 09-1591

For her, the beginning is always the best place to start from, the Luther Vandross beginning when he sings, “Love the one you’re with.” Love you, accept you, forgive you, and enjoy you. She is for the thought that people should not change themselves to smooth over differences in their relationships with people around them. “How many of us have stood before mirrors years later, barely able to recognize the lady starring back?” She asks.

When she was born and brought up, her aspirations were to become a top model; that would break records in the world of celebrity.

Little did she know that 20 years later, she would be in a journalism class at a school far away from her small village in the middle of a an isolated island.

Janice Atieno was born in 1986 in Maomboleo village, Kisumu-East District. In 1991, she joined Kilimani primary school where she attained her KCPE certificate and was later admitted to Moi girls High-Larura for her secondary education.

Jane posing for a photo-Alloha

 

During this period, she discovered a lot about herself. Her body was growing bigger, her hips broader and her dark cheeks chubbier despite her efforts to avoid eating much. Her friends jumped at the chance to mock her and discourage her of her dream to hit the screens as a model. Her parents who were leaders in a local Catholic Church, didn’t make it any easier for her. They wanted to see her on the screen but for a different career. Just like most parents, their decision was final and she was to study to be a television anchor.

For her, this was not the end of the road. Her dream was still alive and burning inside, even as she approached the gates of Daystar University Nairobi on January 12, 2005 for a four year B.A Degree in Communication.

Janice is in her final year for the course and though she has to study some few uninteresting units, she found out that most of what she studies adds more quality to her modeling skills. She rarely misses an opportunity to have her photo taken hoping that it will end up as a cover page for a magazine.

Jane spotting a pose Outside her house

On several occasions, her friends have always complained after catching her admiring herself on a mirror at odd hours. Other times she would be found trying to catwalk on the staircase alone not to mention that her walking style is one that makes one turn back and watch.

She is a frequent visitor at the gym though one can clearly see that she still weighs more than most of her classmates. Her diet is well calculated to avoid adding more weight. Her small room is full of neatly arranged magazine covers, celebrity's wall stickers and the most colorful and fashionable clothes you can find around. However, she can be quite dramatic when provoked about her modeling passion.

Three months ago, she almost caused a scandal in one of the biggest modeling agency in Nairobi. The agency had advertised a slot for hiring interested models. When Janice read the advertisement, she took it as a golden chance determined to win, just as the Kenyan government against the Alshabaab militia, she went for it.

On that big day, she woke up earlier than usual, dressed to impress and ran off to catch up with the interview. Here, she met several other girls up for the same task and though she noticed they were all a little bit slender than she was, that didn’t seem to bother her at all. She knew she must try to get the job and nothing else mattered.

Trouble started only when one of the receptionists chose to disqualify her before she faced the interviewing panel in the boardroom. The receptionist clearly told her that she looked a bit chubbier for the job so she would just be wasting time for other participants. Janice didn’t think twice about reminding her her job, as only a receptionist and not an interviewer. She went ahead to lecture her of all the qualities she possessed and that a fashion house modeling had nothing to with her size. After all, different clients come in different sizes.

Efforts by the agency’s security to save the day proved futile as she had decided not to move an inch until she was interviewed. The noise must have attracted the panel that came out to watch the scene in awe. Her confidence, eloquence, beauty, elegance must have caught their attention. She got the job on the spot! “That day, I felt as if I had been given a new lease of life and vowed to work even harder for the sake of my dreams”

Such an experience and many others have only pushed her to believe more in her passion. Recently, she tried to contest for ‘Miss Westland’ Kenya but only managed to be number four out of the twenty contestants present. This has made her more vigorous as she always attends almost all modeling events for motivation and success tips.

Unlike in the past, some of her friends have learnt to appreciate her efforts to lose weight and her potential and strong will as well. Some take time to keep her company as she practices her steps and applaud her. “She is a strong lady, always on the run, and always smiling even when having a low moment,” Lucy states, saying that her friend’s attitude made it easier for them to cope.

Jane,Lucy and other friends

 

Her parents are still hoping that a sunny day will come and burn her long desire or modeling. For them, models are some immoral girls who love showing their bodies in public in the name of beauty. Thus, they take it upon themselves to remind her that being an anchor is a more respectable career according to their catholic faith.

Janice is now 26 years old. Her social life is one surrounded by many friends and she already feels like a celebrity in her own small

world.       

Girls day out!

  Most men have a problem approaching her for a date because of her outgoing character, but that rarely bothers her. She wishes to meet a man who can honestly understand her passion and hold her hand all the way.

With time, she is determined to change her parent’s perception about models. She constantly narrates how the former Miss Kenya, Cecilia Mwangi took a noble task and transformed many lives in Central Kenya by offering herself and dedicating her time to run a campaign on jiggers eradication. “She inspires me and even without noticing, she planted a seed of generosity in me.”Janice is very confident that she too will leave a mark in the modeling industry and in the hearts of many when her turn comes.

Twenty years on and still she raises doubts whether her dream will come to pass. Only time will tell how far Janice’s unfading passion will go. When that time comes, it will be a new story for her…a story driven by the Luther Vandross beginning, Love the one you are with. A story of a high profile model breaking the world records.