Picture Dictionary & Books : Free for English Learner!

I always just say, "Oh, I was scouted," but that means nothing.

The real way that I became a model is I won a genetic lottery, and I am the recipient of a legacy, and maybe you're wondering what is a legacy.

Well, for the past few centuries we have defined beauty not just as health and youth and symmetry that we're biologically programmed to admire,

but also as tall, slender figures, and femininity and white skin.

And this is a legacy that was built for me, and it's a legacy that I've been cashing out on.

And I know there are people in the audience who are skeptical at this point, and maybe there are some fashionistas who are like,

Wait. Naomi. Tyra. Joan Smalls. Liu Wen.

And first, I commend you on your model knowledge. Very impressive.

But unfortunately, I have to inform you that in 2007, a very inspired NYU Ph.D. student counted all the models on the runway, every single one that was hired,

and of the 677 models that were hired, only 27, or less than four percent, were non-white.

The next question people always ask is, "Can I be a model when I grow up?"

And the first answer is, "I don't know, they don't put me in charge of that."

But the second answer, and what I really want to say to these little girls is,

Why? You know? You can be anything. You could be the President of the United States, or the inventor of the next Internet, or a ninja cardiothoracic surgeon poet, which would be awesome, because you'd be the first one.

If, after this amazing list, they still are like, "No, no, Cameron, I want to be a model," well, then I say, "Be my boss."

Because I'm not in charge of anything, and you could be the editor in chief of American Vogue or the CEO of H&M, or the next Steven Meisel.

Saying that you want to be a model when you grow up is akin to saying that you want to win the Powerball when you grow up.

It's out of your control, and it's awesome, and it's not a career path.

I will demonstrate for you now 10 years of accumulated model knowledge, because unlike cardiothoracic surgeons, it can just be distilled right now.

So, if the photographer is right there, the light is right there, like a nice HMI, and the client says,

We want a walking shot, this leg goes first, nice and long, this arm goes back, this arm goes forward, the head is at three quarters,

and you just go back and forth, just do that, and then you look back at your imaginary friends, 300, 400, 500 times.

It will look something like this.

Hopefully less awkward than that one in the middle.

That was -- I don't know what happened there.

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