Quotes from Joan Smalls

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.'

I adore my two older sisters, Erika and Betsy.

My mom always tells me, 'Joan, you're the brightest star. Embrace your strength and your power when you walk into a room.' So I always have that in me to have that confidence.

I was always being athletic, climbing trees and running after boys, just being trouble. It was always in me.

I actually like working out. It's such a stress reliever when you're just focusing on yourself and not thinking about anything else except the music and your body.

I know I'm representing a group - black, Latin, whatever you want to put me with - and I want to show that they are beautiful the way they are. I think that's really important for our youth to see.

I was the troublemaker, always being funny - that's just who I am.

I've always had a struggle trying to get a hair campaign. It's mind-boggling.

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'd like to see more beauty campaigns for girls who are mixed Latina and black.

I'm a little bit of everything. Sometimes people think I'm not Puerto Rican, because my name doesn't sound Spanish.

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 always had crazy, curly hair up in a bun, messy, running up and down, sweaty.

I also work out because I have scoliosis. I have to maintain certain strength in my core.

A career high was when I did a cover for 'W Magazine's July issue with Steven Meisel. So few girls shoot with Meisel in their career, and a lot of people had told me I would never achieve that, so it was a dream come true.

I just want to continue to break barriers and to show the industry and the world that beauty is diverse, and you don't have to be a certain stereotype to be beautiful.

It always just feels good going back home. It feels like nothing has changed. Seeing my room, the views. It, like, grounds you.