Today we’d like to introduce you to Zelda Polk.
Hi Zelda, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
AKA Zee Lynette. I was born and raised in Ft. Pierce, Florida. It’s a small city located on the east coast. I grew up in a Christian home with my mom, stepfather, older brother and younger sister. This made me the “middle child.” Middle child syndrome includes feeling left out, emotionally distant from family, and the perception of not getting enough attention. Often times I felt this way. To make matters worst, I was bullied and picked on in school. Therefore, I struggled with low self-esteem and personal insecurities during middle school. I did things just to get attention but ended up getting into trouble. Things got better in 9th grade. I signed up for chorus, joined the Gospel and Show Choir. Performing arts became my everything. I even discovered a hidden writing talent. I wrote a few skits and a stage play that was acted out by the church youth group. Being part of the school arts program gave me confidence, connected me to friends and served as a foundation for a lot of what I do today.
In 1998 I moved to Orlando, Florida where I attended the University of Central Florida. GO KNIGHTS! Even though I had a passion for arts and modeling, I thought that I wasn’t gifted or pretty enough to have a successful career in either industry. So I majored in psychology. It seemed interesting. Plus I wanted to help people since I did not have a counselor or mentor growing up. In 2001 I graduated and went on to complete grad school at Rollins College. From there, I started a career in Mental Health.
In college, I was told that I should model. I remember getting stopped by a scout at the Fashion Square Mall. He gave me an invitation to a casting a call. I went. I listened. However, I allowed fear and insecurities to talk me out of that opportunity. I walked away and went back to my comfortable life of work at the behavioral center and church.
In 2008, I got married and pregnant with my 1st child on September 20th. Being married to a musician resurrected the artistic side of me. Together we traveled around Florida performing with JP and 1Voice, the Skillzmatic Band, and for various venues such as the Orlando House of Blues Gospel Brunch. We also did an international gospel tour in Italy with Perfect Harmony and the Voices of Victory and with JP and the Soul Singers. For five years, I also performed with Joyful, A Gospel Celebration of the Season at Epcot. I also wrote and produced stage plays: The Road to Recovery and Journey Through Gospel Music.
Singing, dancing and theatre life was great! Seemed like I was living the American Dream. I had a family, a good job, a house and was traveling. Unfortunately, my world came crashing down in 2012 when we lost our 2nd child. I did my best to cope but the grief was debilitating. I was sad, stressed and worried all the time. I became extremely depressed. The marriage had its own set of ups and downs. To top it off, the world gets hit with a global pandemic resulting in massive death, financial loss and psychological trauma. It went from bad to worse but giving up was not an option since I had another son to help care for. The worldwide lockdowns gave me time to start healing and recovering. All of my extracurricular performing gigs were canceled due to the pandemic. So I had time to focus on myself. With the help of God and therapy, I made peace with the loss of my child. I had to forgive and let go of the past. I had to forgive myself. I had to be kind to myself. I had to love me and take care of my emotional/mental state. I had to reconcile some unresolved issues. Then I set some goals and made a promise to start living my life.
One of the goals was to do something that I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve always wanted to model. Several months after setting that goal, I saw a Facebook post about a runway show. I went and was casted for the show. The company provided three months of training. On February 6, 2021 all of our training was put on display at Drip the Runway Fashion Show hosted by Dream City Orlando. The event was epic. I walked for three designers and have grown as a model ever since that 1st show. I’ve gone on to do other shows in Atlanta, New York Fashion Week and have been published in nine magazines. Modeling has definitely helped me bounce back. It helped to rebuild my self-esteem, self-confidence and encouraged ongoing self-care. I’ve met so many amazing people to include my mentor. My mentor helped me build a professional portfolio and has taught me a lot about the industry. Some of the models I’ve met along the way have become my friends/sisters. I am much happier and proud of myself. It’s only up from here. I’m going to keep my promise and LIVE MY LIFE. Hopefully, my story inspires you to do the same. Regardless of what you’ve gone through, it’s not too late to fulfill your dreams and live your life. Heal and get better. Make a promise to yourself. Set some goals. Create an action plan and get to it. You can do it.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
NO! It has not been a smooth road. Three things kept me in an ongoing negative cycle. Unforgiveness, unresolved issues, and untreated mental health issues. I’ve gone through a lot of hurtful things. Raped, rejected, grief, depression, etc. I carried that pain/trauma for many years. Research shows that trauma is stored in our bodies (primarily muscles and fascia). The stored trauma causes actual pain and eventually erodes our physical health. Pain and trauma must be released. I released it by learning to forgive and let go of my past. I also had to forgive myself. I had to tell the girl inside of me that I am okay. You made a mistake but you’re not the sum of your mistakes. Then I had to face my fears and come to terms with a lot of personal issues I avoided. You would think healing myself would come natural since I worked in the mental health field. Not so. We seem to have answers for everyone else except ourselves…LOL. Thankfully I was able to work through my issues with a counselor, prayer and by listening to lots of therapeutic material online.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Professionally I am still working full time as a Health and Social Services Coordinator for United Health Care. I’ve been with the company since 2013. My work involves helping people live healthier lives. I assess members to determine their needs. Then I develop a care plan to help address those needs. I also coordinate home and community-based services. For example, if the member needs an in home caregiver, I secure the agency provider and monitor the services on a monthly basis. I enjoy this job because it allows me to help others.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
My favorite app is YouTube. YouTube provides me with a little of everything. Music, news, and topics all in one app. I listen to the following channels the most: Boyce Watkins Financial Channel, Be Inspired, and Dr. Josh Axe. My favorite books are Queenology by R.C. Blakes, Jr., The Bible, and The Art of Not Giving a F***k by Mark Manson.
Contact Info:
- Email: zelda.polk@gmail.com
- Website: www.modelmanagement.com/model/zelda-polk/
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/zeelynette
- Facebook: @ Zelda Fields Polk
- Other: www.youravon.com/zpolk
Image Credits:
Personal photo by: Xavier Austin Additional photos: all by The Wanda Collection except for the rock and roll picture. Rock and Roll picture by Xavier Austin
