Before I started my modeling career at 20, I used to replay fashion show videos on-line and study how famous models walk and pose on runways.

Expressing myself is one of my strengths.

I used to fill my stomach with water because I didn't have money to pay for food.

I'm not a good singer.

True happiness arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one's self, and in the next, from the friendship and conversation of a few select companions.

It's always humbling, knowing where we came from. From being friends with the janitor in the bar and being friends with the waitress - because they were some of the only people that were listening when we finished playing - to this, we are able to appreciate every single person and every single piece of it, because we came from nothing to this.

In this age of omniconnectedness, words like 'network,' 'community' and even 'friends' no longer mean what they used to. Networks don't exist on LinkedIn. A community is not something that happens on a blog or on Twitter. And a friend is more than someone whose online status you check.

There have been times when people who weren't my friends all of a sudden became my friend. I won't allow them to use me, but I have been pretty lucky to have friends who have supported me and who I have known since I was 12. They are still the same and they don't treat me any different.