We're fighting a stigma: fat. People are really scared of fat. And I think we need to change people's minds and show that you can be bigger and you can be beautiful just as you are. It's about being and loving yourself and once I discovered that, life got much easier.

That's what I stand for, telling people you can be just who you are. It's actually more beautiful.

I'm very lucky that I have people styling my hair and teaching me how to work with it, but it wasn't always like that. Growing up, I had extremely wavy and thick hair and that can be very overwhelming - you end up with the same ponytail every day.

Too many of us feel that we have to be perfect, in order to be loved.

Focus and having energy is the most important goal when choosing my activities and how I treat myself.

Looking back, it didn't even occur to me that model was a job. I wanted to go into astronomy or to be a lawyer, which is really funny because I would absolutely not be a lawyer in any way now. But I still like astronomy.

My body has changed and it will continue change in the future — that is natural for anyone. What matters to me most is that even though external change is inevitable, my passion for encouraging women to love themselves at any size and to live, thrive, and to go after their dreams is a part of my permanent nature. Even though my body and mind may evolve through life and experience, my values on this matter have not.