I was born on a chilly December night, in the frost bitten city of Manhattan. Due on Christmas day, I arrived a few days too early! Oh, my poor mother, what a Christmas present, right? A screaming baby!!!
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I grew up for the first 14 years in a lovely, quaint little bedroom community in Connecticut.

I guess I would say that I was a normal, tomboyish and curious child who loved to explore almost anything I could get into. I built forts, played with Barbies, made sandcastles at the beach, played kickball, etc. etc.

I have always loved to swim for as long as I can remember. I should have been born a mermaid!! I believe I started around the age of 4 or so. From then on, it was competitive swimming year-round for me!
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I swam in meets and competitions up and down the east coast, and broke quite a few records. I was always a very good, hardworking student. I was in the honors and high-honors classes, and worked my butt off when it came to homework (too much of a perfectionist, I now see).

When I was 15, I moved to very scenic and beautiful Charlottesville, Virginia with my family, for a change of life. I went to a small private school there, and adjusting and fitting in was hard for me. I never felt like I fit in. I became shy and a bit of a wallflower (with this expressive performer trapped inside). I loved the arts and drama, and they didn’t really encourage it there.

 
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Also, girls can be so mean at that age, you know?? Especially when you are the new girl. I let out my frustrations in my poetry, artwork, and at the gym. I also volunteered at a rape crises/sexual assault center to give myself a feeling of purpose. I studied drama as well, becoming the youngest person to go through this department at the University of Virginia. I started to work in a gym on my free time, received my aerobics certification and personal training certificate at the age of 16. I also started to model around this time.

A scout approached me that summer to go to NYC and give the modeling biz a try. I was unable to go to NYC for the test pictures, so my mom, who experiments with photography, shot most of my stuff. She was already an awesome artist, so photography was a natural extension of her talents.
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College was temporarily put off for me. Trust me, I strongly believe in education and believe you should have something to fall back on. But every situation is different. I am a very self-educated person. I chose to travel, model and work at a young age. Unfortunately, in the modeling biz, women have a limited window of opportunity … so I am seizing it now! However, I did manage to attend an interior design school in New York as a correspondent student. I apprenticed as a designer on some major projects and graduated with a certificate in interior design, as well as, a license to practice.

I think this sums me up, for the most part. I feel as though I’ve told you most of my life story!!! But I hope it gives you good insight into the individual that I am and what I represent.
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© 2001 Amanda Swisten. All Rights Reserved.