Model Friend Sabrina Servance

Sabrina Servance is a woman who lights up a room. When I met her, it was at a mutual friend’s bachelorette in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. From working at David’s Bridal, I could tell she was at least a size 26 and stands at almost 6 ft tall. She had style for days as a plus-size model and floor manager at Dillard’s. I had never met someone black or white that was of her size and had her level of finesse, confidence, and congeniality. The bachelorette weekend went off without a hitch. She came up with the cutest nickname of “Van” for me. Why Van? We were up late for the bride-to-be’s last hoorah and I almost went into the van of a group of attractive men. We laughed and talked about how nice it was to find someone to be steady with and not have to be on the hunt constantly. I remember some of the other women were not excited about her being on the trip because of her size. It was not the fact that she is African American. It was not the fact she had rode up with the woman that showed up six hours late. It was because she is much larger than most women. It impressed me how even though there was this animosity towards her because of her size, she was able to captivate a room and soothe the mood to have everyone behave kindly and respectfully towards her. The next time I saw her was on the day of the wedding.

I had spent weeks picking out my outfit from the perfect lip color to what nail polish I was going to wear. I felt like a million dollars. In addition to capturing pictures of the bride and groom, I wanted to capture how good I looked in my outfit of choice. Before I could ask anyone to take pictures of me, Sabrina comes up and asks me if I’d like my picture taken. I say yes, of course. It was great. I normally don’t like having my picture taken or the outcome. What I loved about Sabrina taking my picture is it wasn’t the typical, “Cheese – 1-2-3.” We had time to be playful. To take different shots in different poses and it is one of my best memories at a wedding. It was great too because the shots turned out perfect for the moment. Sabrina was also able to capture good pictures of myself and the bride. I normally am the photographer at events. To have someone else capture my essence and joy on that day was amazing. After we had such a good time at the wedding together, Sabrina and I added on another on Instagram.

I followed Sabrina on Instagram and found out more than I had known through conversation. I found out she suffered from depression. This is comforting to me that she goes out of her way to make everyone feel included because after I suffered head trauma I’ve had to see a mental health professional regularly to deal with resulting head trauma related issues. Her sharing her story made me feel not so alone. Due to my continuous mental health treatment, sometimes I need time of extreme alone time.

During an experimental mental health treatment, I ran into Sabrina at her Dillard’s job. It had been about a year to six months since we had last hung out. There she was with a huge smile and she didn’t miss a beat. I caught her up on what was going on in my life and the biggest change was that I had taken on a roommate since being laid off from my job and decided to switch career directions from Information Technology to Accounting. She didn’t miss a beat to make me feel comfortable in her presence. She talked about how much she missed me and how she’d make sure my roommate wouldn’t feel excluded from a girl’s night if she and Rebecca came over for a movie night. It gave me the love and acceptance I needed from a friend in a time of transition.

Whether it’s a time of transition or a time of celebration, Sabrina Servance is a friend I’ve been thankful for. I admire how she always puts her best foot forward and has established herself as an African American woman from New York City in a mostly Caucasian town in Florida. Sabrina’s come as you are attitude and willingness to share her story makes her not only an inspiration, but a friend to all.