1. What are three of your best qualities?
I think that I am a very caring person, sometimes to a fault. I tend to put people first, and I also tend to be very positive - its very rare that you’ll see me in a bad mood. Also, I think that I enjoy life - sometimes it’s hard. There is always fun out there and it’s not that hard to find as long as you’re looking in the right places.
3. What is your favorite part about your body?
I love my height. I grew to love it. I used to hate it, I used to be very upset about being so tall. But now I proudly say I am 6 foot - not 5’11 and a half.
2. What are three of your worst qualities?
I think I am really hard on myself. I think, too, that because I am hard on myself, I can be hard on the people I really love. I think too, I sometimes don’t have extremely strong opinions because it’s hard for me to formulate one due to seeing both sides. But I do think that it is a really great quality of people to have a strong opinion because than you can really easily follow it and have this great passion. I can be very passive when you need to be more aggressive sometimes.
4. What is one part of your body you wish you loved more?
I think specifically, my legs. They are so long that I always feel like they are a little big, but I know that is just how I feel. I would like to learn to love them more and see myself how other people may.
6. What are one of your qualities you wish shined brighter than your exterior appearance?
I think that I am extremely intelligent. And that doesn’t always come across, people always think I am some dumb blonde girl. I do really well in school and I think that I am able to have information on a lot of different subjects in a manner where I can speak about them. I have done quite a bit of traveling, and I am cultured enough to have those conversations, but people just expect me to not care about those subjects. It is frustrating. When I told someone that I wanted to be a teacher, they looked me up and down and said, “you’re way too tall and way too pretty to be a teacher.” Why do my looks define me over my ability?
8. In ten years, what do you want your stretch marks to remind you of?
Just growing up. I didn’t like going to high school, I never felt at home or accepted. I think we all go through our own struggles as teenagers, and so hope they symbolize that I did it. They are apart of life.
9. Can you speak about how to resolve the competitiveness that exists between women?
I think it’s important to always come from place of kindness instead of making someone pay or apologize. One thing women do a lot is start by attacking each other instead of coming from kindness.
5. Did you ever have a moment where you wished your stretch marks didn’t exist?
Yeah, I would say a year and a half ago. I wanted to start putting special oil on them - that lasted about three days because I didn’t care enough. It wasn’t even because of tabloid but more because of the school I am at. There are so many really thin, beautiful women and the school is known for being really fit. And so, I’d see all these girls in perfect bikini bodies with no marks on them, but then I realized I didn’t care enough to be honest.
7. What lessons do you hope to instill in your children about self-love and body acceptance?
Everyone has their own beauty, there is no one way to be beautiful. It's hard sometimes because in society there is that “one” beauty. And I hope that no matter what shape or size, people will find everyone beautiful for who they are rather than what they look like. Because that means so much more. I also hope too that color, we do see it and it doesn’t have to define someone in a negative way. Color is beautiful. Of course, I do see that someone is African American or African, and I think it’s beautiful.
