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.