by MIKE CHAIKEN
CTFashionMag.com
Model Kimberly Thompson wanted to see the world. But the world fought her and it tried to knock her down.
But Kimberly eventually picked herself up, dusted herself off and began to thrive.
Kimberly grew up in a small town, St. Joseph, Mo.
Modeling was a side gig while she attended college, hoping to earn a degree in English and journalism.
But she said there was a yearning for something else.
“I knew there was more out there in the world for me to see and do,” said Kimberly. “I knew I had to get out of that town if I wanted a successful and a happy life.”
The first stop toward freedom was flight attendant school. She finished college, packed two suitcases, sold her car and made her way to Destin, Fla. for flight attendant school.
When she arrived in the Sunshine State, Kimberly took a job as a server. She needed some bucks before she started training as a flight attendant.
Jet ahead, she arrives in Daytona Beach for the training.
“I put everything I had in me to work as hard as I could,” said Kimberly.
But then the world said it had other plans for her.
“My grandmother was sick so it was hard to take a job and travel when I didn’t know when I would have to rush to Missouri to be with my grandmother,” said Kimberly.
However, eventually, she was able to get a job at a private airport.
Then the world did it to Kimberly again.
“Right when I moved down there, I went through Hurricane Irma and lost everything I ever owned,” said Kimberly.
“I was very depressed at this point,” said Kimberly. “I had no family and no friends. I prayed every night ‘God please show me my way please.’”
God provided, said Kimberly.
She got a job at another private airport.
“I felt as though I was home, this is where I belong,” said Kimberly.
God spoke, but the world wasn’t giving up without a fight.
“Almost a year goes by at my new job and my mother is sick,” said Kimberly. “I moved her down here with me because she wasn’t getting any care. It was really hard on me. So hard on me I lost my dream job. The job I worked my whole life to get. I thought my life was over, who will hire me now.”
Then modeling came calling for Kimberly.
She was offered paid shoot.
“I was in shock. So, I did it,” said Kimberly.
At that shoot, Kimberly said, she met some representatives from Miss Fashion Global.
And that was the opened door she needed to take, said Kimberly.
Now, she is an executive director of the company as well as a franchise owner and judge.
“And now I’m working my way up as a top model,” said Kimberly, who was a recent winner at the Magnifique Showcase organized by former “America’s Next Top Model” contestant Victoria Henley.
The world fought Kimberly tooth and nail, but she prevailed.
“This is proof to never give up on your dreams,” said Kimberly. “Pray every night and believe in yourself. And I promise you, all your dreams will be a reality.”
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