My older brother, Dougy, and our dog Foxy, who just passed away.

In high school I liked to hang out with my older brother and his friends. They were always a lot of fun to be around. My brother was very good to me in high school and always looked out for me if I had any problems. Having an older brother made my high school years a lot easier -- I was able to meet people right away because of him. As a kid I played baseball for six years, bowled for seven years and played volleyball for two years. I had to stop playing sports my freshman year of high school, though, because of modeling.

I went to Japan during my sophomore year of high school to model, but it turned out to be a bad experience; I decided Japan wasn't for me. Back home, I did some local modeling jobs and then went to L.A. as a finalist for Teen magazine's Great Model Search. I came in third place, and it was so exciting! I graduated from high school in Tacoma, and then I was off once more.

My High school graduation, 1996