Having a flawless appearance is crucial to becoming a model in this day and age where looks are believed to be everything. Well, Megan Nash has proven this wrong by winning her baby boy, Asher, a modeling contract.
Megan learned of an open casting call for OshKosh B'Gosh, a children's clothing store, in 2016. She submitted some photos of her then 15-month old toddler who has Down's syndrome to the required talent agency. Unfortunately, the photos were not submitted to the company.
As soon as she found out, she took her story to social media. She shared Asher's pictures on Facebook, informing the world about the incident. Fortunately, her message reached the right audience.
She got a mail from the talent agency explaining that her son's photos were not passed to the company because the casting criteria did not specify that they were looking for a baby with special needs. But, neither did they say they weren't. This was revealed in an interview for CBS News where Megan Nash said, "I asked if they said they did not want a baby with special needs," to which the agency responded, "No, they didn't specify either way." Knowing this, Meghan was determined to get the company to see her son's pictures.
A non-profit organization called Changing the Face of Beauty granted Asher an advertisement spot. Their goal is to encourage companies to start valuing children with disabilities as consumers in advertisements. They also "encourage families to share pictures on social media and tag brands that are not yet using kids with disabilities in hopes to change their mind."
What was Meghan's motive for pressing on? She wanted the world to see how amazing her son was and just how amazing and happy other people with Down's syndrome are. Their limitation was not a reason to not reach out for greater things. In her small way, she wanted to change people's view of children with such disabilities, urging them to chose to see beyond their disabilities.
Did Meghan Succeed?
Adorable Asher has now taken part in the A & E Network's "Born This Way" project and started school. Asher was also invited by OshKosh B'Gosh to be featured on a holiday ad. He has worked with other brands, including Ingenuity, Safety 1st, Toys "R" Us, Kids II, Num Num, Happy Family Brand, and Oball.
What is Asher Teaching You?
This experience helps us see that we can't focus on the reasons why we can't at the expense of the far greater reasons why we can. You can exceed what's expected of you and even venture into what others think is impossible for you.
If you are dedicated and chose to see failures along the way as part of the training process, you will achieve your goal eventually.
Remember that the possibilities of today were once impossibilities of yesterday. So the impossibilities of today are the possibilities waiting to be unraveled. So, look beyond your impossibilities, just like Asher.
