Once
upon a time, a long, long time ago (okay, not THAT long ago),
a little Korean princess came into this world with big “Bambi”
eyes, unaware of all the gifts that life may bring her. Born
in a New England cottage, she grew up eager to try and experience
new things. Whether it was sneaking out to the Broadway plays,
or dragging her family to Chucky Cheeses so she could jump
on stage to do a dance number with the big stuffed animals,
she needed to be on the go. No matter what anyone said, there
was no stopping little Miss Natasha Yi.
“No
stopping me” was completely right. I was a crazy little
girl with stars in my eyes from the very beginning. Growing
up, I was never able to sit around, always pleading with my
dad to take me everywhere, even if it was really nowhere.
I was a huge fan of Janet Jackson, Madonna and Paula Abdul.
Loving how they carried themselves and the way they could
move, I would run around the house with an ice cream cone,
pretending it was a microphone, lip syncing and trying to
mimic the dance moves.
Let
me tell you, that was not always a pretty sight. Yet the wild
and crazy Natasha did share a softer and creative side. I
used to write hard cover books made out of cereal boxes. One
thing that I would never forget to do was paste my current
school picture of me on the back of my books. (I guess I always
liked the shine of fame.) My parents loved that side of me.
I guess they thought it calmed the house a bit.
Then
there were my two wicked sisters! (Okay, caught me again,
they weren’t THAT bad!) I really can’t imagine growing
up without my two sisters causing a menace right behind me.
My older sister, only a year and a half older than me, was
always bullying me and my little sister around, so a lot of
times we would gang up on her, but it never worked. She always
seemed to be stronger than the both of us combined! I remember
as we were growing up, our parents would dress all of us exactly
alike.
Everyone
actually thought we were triplets! We all hated it, but it’s
something we all can look back and laugh about. I really don’t
know how I would have ever grown up without my sisters. Although
we were constantly fighting with each other, we have always
had a special bond that keeps us close.
My
family moved around a lot as I was growing up. From the fine
arts of the East Coast, to the Mile High City in the Rocky
Mountains, I got a taste of both worlds. I loved moving around.
I always thought of our traveling experiences as a new adventure.
I have always loved change and making new friends.
The
fairy godmother came and turned the duckling into a swan.
I’ve always thought of myself as an ugly duckling growing
up. I never thought that one day, people would want to take
pictures of me. It never dawned on me what kind of opportunities
were about to approach me, until one day, during my senior
year of high school; my friends and I decided to go to McDonald’s
for lunch. We strolled in there and I ordered my regular fries
and ice cream cone. Little did I know, a Playboy scout was
in town and just happened to be at that particular McDonald’s,
watching me stuff my face with greasy french fries. Funny
enough, they asked me if I would audition for them. The only
thing that ran through my head was, This is something big.
Without hesitation I said yes, of course, not really knowing
what I was really getting into.
Now,
all these years, I really never looked at a Playboy magazine
before. Living in a conservative, Korean household, a Playboy
magazine was not a regular thing to have around the house.
I always thought that they featured beautiful girls, in sexy
bikinis or something. When Playboy asked me if they could
take a few test shots of me without my clothes, I quickly
stripped down to my cute little bikini I had put on under
my clothes. Then they said more. I really didn’t know
what to think until they showed me a couple of their magazines.
When I realized that they wanted me to bare it all, I changed
my mind.
The
prince came back to return her glass slipper. A few days later,
Playboy called me and told me that they were shooting for
a new Newsstand Special book called Playboy’s Natural
Beauties. This book features girls with all of their original
equipment. I was very hesitant to answer, but then they told
me to come along while they shoot another girl. They told
me that if I feel comfortable, then I could do a few shots
as well. The more I thought of it, the more I liked the idea
of being presented as being natural and representing my culture
as a beautiful, natural model. I went to the shoot and the
rest is history. It did take me almost until the end of the
shoot to actually take it all of, but when I did, it was worth
it. I was happy with the results and quite amazed with the
professional and comfortable atmosphere they provided. Posing
nude was a hard decision for me, especially coming from a
Korean background. I knew that it would shock a lot of people
(and it sure did), but I am glad that it was through Playboy
I wouldn’t have done it for anyone else. That opportunity
was the beginning of a whole new life for me.
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