Quotes from Ashley Graham

Eventually, I joined a church. I didn't go there to find a boyfriend; I truly wasn't looking for anyone other than the person I wanted to be.

This confidence is not something that happens overnight. I have been working on it for a long time. I look in the mirror and do affirmations: 'You are bold. You are brilliant. You are beautiful.' If my lower pooch is really popping out that day, I look at it and say, 'Pooch, you are cute!'

There are some days I feel fat. I'm not convinced there's going to be a moment where every woman in the world wakes up and feels like a million dollars. So, what I want to do is give women the tools that will help when those moments come up. Sometimes it can be as easy as telling yourself that you are beautiful.

This is the thing: I know I'm paving the way for the next generation of girls, and they're not going to have to do this. That's what I hope. I'll take the brunt work and just handle it, and then you guys can just sail right on through.

When I'm traveling out of the country, a lot of guys give me a high five, and then they're like, 'I love your work!'

'Sports Illustrated' decided to have curvy women not only in their magazine but on the cover of their magazine. Now, that means size diversity is here, and it's real, and it's not a trend.

I know my curves are sexy and I want everyone else to know that theirs are too. There is no reason to hide and every reason to flaunt.

My mom is the most positive person. She has always had a smile on her face no matter what came her way. After seeing that, I'm not going to let a little cellulite get in the way of my happiness!

You can be sexy and feel good in your skin, no matter what size you are.

I think that when you use the word 'plus-size,' you're putting all these women in a category: 'You don't eat well.' 'You don't work out.' 'You could care less about your body.' 'You're insecure.' 'You have no confidence.'

The biggest misconception is that the purpose of going to the gym is to change your body. We should be working out to be healthy.

People would do the sound of a truck backing up - beeeep, beeeep - as I was sitting down.

I always say, 'Be anxious for nothing,' because if this is my social media, if this is a platform for me to really get the word out and get my brand out, then why am I gonna be anxious about it?

What better time to write a memoir than the big 3-0?

I tried every diet, from living on cabbage soup to fasting to Weight Watchers, and then came the frozen meals and the shakes. I realized that the more I took care of my body, eating what was good for me, then I felt happy and whole.

I am more than my measurements. The cycle of body-shaming needs to end. I'm over it… My body is MY body. I'll call the shots.

'A New Model' is saying that women should be confident in who they are and that they can be their own role models.

One thing my mother did is that she never looked in the mirror and said, 'I'm so fat,'or 'I'm so ugly. I need to go on a diet.' Projecting that onto yourself is only going to make your daughter or son think that of themselves. Because they're a product of you.

Confidence starts at home, and something my mother never did was look in the mirror and say she was ugly or fat.

I felt free once I realized I was never going to fit the narrow mold society wanted me to fit in.

The sum total of what I learned about African American culture in school was Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and the Underground Railroad. This was more than my mom knew; she didn't even see a black person in real life until she was 18 years old.

My theory is that big underwear makes big girls look bigger.

I don't want women to hold themselves back. I think there are too many women who are self-conscious about the way they look - the way they see themselves in the mirror.

Growing up I didn't have curvy role models, mainly because I didn't see enough curvy women represented in major ads.