American Eagle’s Lingerie and Apparel sub-store Aerie began a movement where they did not photoshop or airbrush any of the models representing their brand. Their motto became “The real you is sexy,” and they used the hashtag #aeriereal.

Seeing these models unretouched made me more confident in myself because I started seeing people who looked more like me. If you go to the website, there are models with stomach rolls or cellulite and models with moles or scars. And they’re all completely gorgeous.

In conventional magazines or advertisements, these “imperfections” are always airbrushed out, giving girls a twisted view of what they should really look like. I remember, as a young girl, I would always look at people in magazines and wonder why I wasn’t as skinny as them or didn’t have the perfect skin that they had.

Aerie began a movement of self-confidence and encouraged girls around the world to join them by posting their own unretouched photos on their social media accounts. They realized that people needed to see real women represented on a large scale.

I recently had a chance to meet with one of the Aerie models, Iskra Lawrence, at the opening of the new Aerie store at The Mall of Georgia.

She has been one of my biggest inspirations and role models since she started modeling for Aerie a few years ago.

As I stood in line outside the store along with maybe 100 other girls, I was so excited that I couldn’t stop talking. I was finally getting the chance to meet this beautiful model that I follow on Instagram and Snapchat, but I never thought that I would actually get to meet her.

When I got closer in line, my boyfriend told me not to start crying when I met her. I knew he was joking, but I honestly almost did start crying when I saw her up close.

At first, I didn’t know what to say because I was completely floored that I was going to be able to meet Iskra. I was scared that I was going to freeze up and it would just be completely awkward.

So, when I got to the front of the line, I asked Iskra how she was doing and took a few pictures with her. I completely expected for the interaction to be done after that, but we kept on talking.

I told her about how I used to be a model when I was younger and I was always interested in trying it again, but I didn’t know if it was the best choice for me. She responded with a few pieces of advice.

First, she said to always make sure you are being true to yourself, no matter what you are doing, and not to let anyone else define you. She talked about how some of her friends who are also models would constantly compare themselves to other models when they wouldn’t get picked in a casting call and how much it really affected their self esteem.

The second piece of advice really stuck with me because it is something I know I am guilty of. She told me how she doesn’t go through her Instagram feed or worry about the likes she gets because she knows that she would compare herself to the people she follows, and she knew it wouldn’t be good for her.

Iskra also said to not get into modeling until you really know it’s what you want to do with your life because of how much work it really is. She said when she started modeling seriously at 13, she wasn’t prepared and she wished she had waited longer because she didn't know who she wanted to be as a person yet.

The overall experience just taught me so much about self-confidence and self-love, and I feel like a stronger person because of it. There is something everyone can learn from taking a step back from their own lives and thinking about themselves and who they want to be without considering anyone else.