Writing Prompt: Why would a fashion model refuse to have pictures in her house?

Julia is a fashion model. She thinks pink is the hottest color ever and never ever wears white after Labor Day. She thinks Versace is the only brand to buy and has never heard of Target. Julia has been in fashion since she was discovered by an agent while eating a birthday lunch with her aunt on Rodeo Drive.

At her agent’s suggestion, Julia purchased her own apartment. She bought it right after her first big paycheck, but has never invited any of her family to visit. No one knows that her living room is empty. No one knows that her refrigerator only has day old tofu and some wilted celery. Her closet is the only room filled with her life, and that is clothes, shoes, and more accessories than there are surfers on the beach. Modeling is Julia’s life.

With a modeling contract keeping her pretty busy and an agent who’s always got ideas, Julia has found herself steadily booked. When she does have down time, it’s often spent at her Pilates class or shopping for the next great accessory.

Julia’s accessories are cared for more than any other one thing in her apartment. Much of the lack of décor and furniture is due to little time or necessity, however, there is one feature of Julia’s apartment that is by design. The walls are bare. No paint, no art, no mirrors, no pictures, not one thing graces the walls of Julia’s apartment. The walls are simply bare and white as they were when she moved in.

These blank walls were why Julia refused any house guests. They were why no one entered her apartment save herself. Julia knew that with a fashion career as bright and vibrant as her own, no one would understand why she didn’t have a single piece of inspiration on her walls. No art to raise her spirits, no pictures of her family cheering her on, no snapshots of supportive boyfriends.

An apartment empty of photographs didn’t remind Julia every day of her reason for becoming a model in her first place. The agent had convinced her; of course that she just had to model, but the cincher was that she’d be able to get her own place. She could have a home without reminders—a place without pictures, or photos, or snapshots, or memories, where she could get away from her family and their dramatics.

Put simply, it was a lucky break in some ways, a lifesaver in others. Julia wasn’t sure how much longer she could take of her family, so she jumped ship as soon as she was able. She surrounded herself with modeling and all its trappings.

She woke every morning at 8am and exercised at the gym by running twelve laps around the indoor track. At 9am, she ate a breakfast of two pieces of whole wheat toast, a glass of milk and half grape fruit although some days it was four slices of cantaloupe or an orange. By 10am she was dressed and on her way to the studio to touch up her portfolio or meeting with her agent to review her upcoming photo-shoots. She finished her day around 6pm and drove through the rush hour traffic to arrive home around 7pm.

These were the things she could control. These were the things she could affect. And she did her utmost to control what she could as there was so much she could not.