Brianne Fast, 21

Hometown: Minneapolis
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 160 lbs.

Essay

There are many rules to being a model. One must be thin and stylish, coy yet provocative, and, mostly, one must have a walk and a pout mastered and ready. These are the things the world expects of a model, but I hope to be different. I hope to show people the most beautiful image of a woman is her captured smile. Her real smile, that is—where her eyes squint and her nose crinkles. I have what it takes because I own that kind of smile. I have made it mine, and I use it daily. Like many others before me, I have been born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is a city that has birthed art and creativity such as the world has never seen. It is an uptown culture where women have tattooed arms and piercings that show they are powerful and beautiful creatures. It is a downtown culture where females are more than a stunning pair of legs. It is a midtown culture that honors the shape, size, color, and, most of all, hard work of every woman present. I have what it takes to be a real model because throughout life, whether I am riding my bike or having my picture taken, my smile is part of every Minneapolis culture I have grown to know and love—and that beauty goes much further than skin deep.