Fashion is part of our culture, and it's about more than just a pretty dress.
I was the troublemaker, always being funny - that's just who I am.
When you want something so bad and when something great happens, I think it's instinct that you say, 'This is gonna be the moment that's gonna change everything. Everybody is gonna see me a different way.'
My personal style is bipolar. Sometimes I feel like dressing in a boyish leather jacket; other times I want to dress more elegantly. Most of the time it's what I like to call 'comfortable chic': Giuseppe Zanotti flat sandals, Rag & Bone jeans, slouchy Isabel Marant shirts.
I became obsessed watching fashion TV shows when I was a teenager and recognized that I had the height and body frame. I especially became hooked when I saw on 'E! True Hollywood Story' how much a model can make and how I can achieve a better living for my family and me.
I work out almost every day, and I mix it up: I do Thai kickboxing. I have a personal trainer. I work out at my gym.
I still get butterflies when I'm doing a runway show. The music starts, you're wearing these gorgeous clothes and your nervous about your high heels, if your shoes are going to break, if your going to slip or do something wrong.
I always remember my mom saying she wanted a son, so I basically filled that position, like, being outside and always having dirt underneath my nails. I was never afraid of getting dirty and grimy.
I'm a little bit of everything. Sometimes people think I'm not Puerto Rican, because my name doesn't sound Spanish.
I always knew that whenever you go out there, you're not just representing yourself. You're representing a heritage that's behind you, your culture, so you always have to do things, like, bigger, badder, better.
I would always hunch over, I was always taller than the boys. I had the extremely skinny legs... I would double up my socks, those ones from Footlocker, to make my legs look thicker.