"I started when I was in college because I was shy and thought it would be a good way to break out of that"
About this Quote
That’s where the subtext bites. Modeling, in the cultural imagination, is often sold as the domain of the naturally confident, the extrovert who loves attention. Bell flips that assumption. She suggests confidence can be manufactured through exposure: put yourself in the high-stakes arena, learn the choreography of being seen, and the body follows. It’s not “I became fearless.” It’s “I gave myself a structure where fear couldn’t be in charge.” The word “break out” implies a locked room, not a mild preference for quiet.
The college context matters, too. College is a pressure cooker for identity-building: new social rules, constant evaluation, an unspoken demand to perform a version of yourself that reads well to others. Modeling becomes a crash course in self-presentation, a place where feedback is immediate and the persona is a tool. There’s also a subtle class of realism here: for many young women, the “confidence” industries aren’t just about self-esteem; they’re about access, networking, and learning to navigate scrutiny. Bell’s quote works because it punctures the glamour and replaces it with agency.
Quote Details
| Topic | Confidence |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Bell, Catherine. (2026, January 16). I started when I was in college because I was shy and thought it would be a good way to break out of that. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-started-when-i-was-in-college-because-i-was-shy-98949/
Chicago Style
Bell, Catherine. "I started when I was in college because I was shy and thought it would be a good way to break out of that." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-started-when-i-was-in-college-because-i-was-shy-98949/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I started when I was in college because I was shy and thought it would be a good way to break out of that." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-started-when-i-was-in-college-because-i-was-shy-98949/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.





