I was essentially paid to perpetuate the myth that we are all, or should at least try to be, 17 and a size 2 forever.

There is nothing more attractive that a woman who is sure of herself.

When you become a parent, it's not all about you anymore.

Eating disorders, body dysmorphia and a general dissatisfaction with one's life and body seems to ail too many young people.

I had been on this insane diet for almost 17 years to maintain the weight that was demanded of me when I was modeling. My diet was really starvation. I am not naturally that thin.

I had dropped out of school and was a runaway, so I didn't have family to fall back on if I didn't work. I didn't have a lot of other options of making money other than modeling.

Just as young people absorb all kinds of messages from the media, young girls learn what it means to be a woman by watching the older women in their lives.