Julia Jewel Martin attended the Beyond Boobs! Gala in 2013 and was inspired by the unveiling of the next year’s calendar. Tears came to her eyes as she looked around the room at all of the women whose lives had been affected by breast cancer. At that moment she decided to be a calendar model so she could help other women by sharing her story.
Julia is not shy about confessing her love for the camera. “The photographer and everyone at the shoot made me feel good,” she said. “I loved the dress I wore; it made me feel like a goddess. I felt pretty even with the scars from my breast reconstruction surgery.”
Julia loves and lives every moment of her life. She works at Our Lady of Hope as a recreation therapist, planning fun activities for the residents. She makes sure to schedule fun for her personal life, too.
“I am a shopaholic,” she said, laughing. “I love to buy new clothes. I used to ride a motorcycle and I want to get back to that now that the weather is warmer and my surgeries are done. I bought a guitar and recently paid for four lessons. My goal is to learn how to play over the next three weeks.”
Julia, 29, originally hails from Connecticut. She moved to Virginia in 2003 to attend Virginia Commonwealth University. She and her husband Eric live in Richmond with their three children.
“June 26th was the one-year anniversary of my diagnosis,” Julia said. “That was a big milestone for me. I made it one year and I plan for many more years to come.”