I come from a long lineage of remarkably beautiful Danish women. All of the women in my family have chosen to either be homemakers for husbands, or become models for good income and then become homemakers for husbands and children. Truthfully, these are the only two options which were ever discussed in my family home for me.

I was never told I could not do anything else but become a housewife or a model, but I was also not told that there were other options I could explore if I felt to. Especially since my sister became one of Paris’ top runway models, there was increasing pressure on me to follow in her footsteps by everyone, my mother, my brothers, and my father too who said he would be very proud if I had some good money in the bank when I married my husband.

Everyone was so sure that this was the road I would take that no one even stopped to consider, for a moment, that I may not be model material!!!

I spent a couple of years feeling rather resentful, of all of them. I didn’t see why I had to be either a model or a wife – was that all I was fit for? To be the worship of all men on the pages of some magazine, or to be submissive to one man cleaning his home and taking care of the children? At what interval was my brain, my intellect, my feelings going to come into play? Seemingly never.

So I decided to outsmart them, and I took a modeling assignment in North America. Part of the contract included a Visa which would enable me to legally attend a college or university of my choice, and one which would accept me, and one which I could manage to finance.

My family was so happy that I would follow in my sisters footsteps, and possibly become a supermodel of the world. Sounded absolutely ridiculous to me, all things considered. The lifestyle alone did not appeal to me in the least, and I surely did not want to be remembered forever as one of a long line of girls who were paid for their pretty face for a very short time in their lives.  I wanted to make a difference on the planet, I wanted to be proud of myself, I wanted to FEEL important on the larger scale of things.

So I am proud to say I have followed my dream of becoming something great, that has nothing to do with my physical appearance.

I am currently studying Engineering at a very reputable North American University and finished last semester at the top of my class. I intend to go all the way with this, and  I hope that my family will completely understand one day.  The longer I stay here in this large north American city – the more I am convinced that my family is stuck in the stone ages when it comes to women and their acceptable forms of contribution to the planet.

I will take my  degree back to Denmark with me – and move mountains for other young ladies just like me – who wish to be valued for their intelligence and academic accomplishment, rather then the shallow rules they choose to judge us with now.