In a recent Vogue article, 23-year-old transgender model Andreja Pejic talked about how some fashion insiders tried to discourage her from transitioning. "There was definitely a lot of, 'Oh, you're going to lose what's special about you,'" she said. "'You're not going to be interesting anymore.'"

Cosmopolitan.com spoke to Pejic over the weekend, at the 26th annual GLAAD Media Awards, about how the modeling industry is treating her now. "Look, I think there's misunderstanding in every industry. And it's important to know that the fashion industry is very creative, it is very gay-friendly — but it doesn't necessarily understand trans experiences as much … the level of understanding could be better."

Her documentary, Andrej(a), a project still in the works and directed by Eric Miclette, will tell the story of her transition and its aftermath. "Things are changing now, definitely," she says. "I've been lucky with how things have gone, and I do feel very welcomed. But there were trials and tribulations, and you'll see that [in the doc]."

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"It's just important to know that we're living in a great period where our stories are being told and representation is getting better, but it's going to take more to improve people's lives and change people's lives."

There are still so many stories of transgender teens committing suicide, for example. How does she react to those? "There was a dark period when I was really young, when I had to pretend that I was someone else or to be a boy," she says. "It was a difficult period because it felt like a performance 24/7, and there was no break, even at home, even in front of your family, even in front of the closest people to you. That kind of life, where you're living in a shell, it can be very dark."

She got through it by using her "imagination," she says. "And academics. Learning, reading, and imagining what a different life would be like."

Today, that life still includes some struggle, yes, but also more reward. She made history as the first transgender model to land a major beauty campaign, with Make Up For Ever. And, again, she's in the pages of Vogue. "God, it was crazy," she tells Cosmopolitan.com. "Obviously, American Vogue is such a huge publication; it's such a mainstream fashion bible. And, you know, we've all seen The Devil Wears Prada, we all know Anna [Wintour], and it just felt incredible to be chosen. It brought a lot of tears, and a lot of happiness and relief."

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