My very first show I think was Rag & Bone. I think my last show in New York was Calvin Klein and in between that I did 20 shows. Then I went straight to Milan to do some looks with Gucci. Looks just means you are helping the designer to put together the outfits — trying them on to see, like, does this shirt fit with this T-shirt on the runway? And that would take maybe three to eight hours. And that probably would happen during the night. They always used the newer girls they like to do the looks in the beginning. After you've done the shows for a while you get a better schedule because they already know, "Oh, she'll look good in this, this, and this."

That first season in Milan, I opened Alberta Ferretti and closed Prada in the same day and I didn't even know [that was that a big deal] because I didn't know enough about fashion. Now I have a whole routine, I know people and everything, but that was just — it was amazing.

I would tell young models to be really polite. I feel like a lot of the new girls are like, "Oh, why do I have to sit and wait for six hours?" But it's a process. Get ready to wait a long time, make sure you always have snacks and water and something entertaining to do. And don't be complaining in front of the designer or anyone because they're working their butt off — everybody is doing their best. I am the "hangry" type. I get angry if I'm too hungry. I have to make sure I always have snacks in my bag because it does get stressful, and sometimes you don't have time to eat, or you get stuck too long at some place. When my blood sugar drops, that really affects me.

Also, try to get enough sleep, even though it's not really possible, and to try and eat healthy because you need the right vitamins even though you might have a metabolism that allows you to eat McDonald's all the time.

I can't [eat McDonald's] like that anymore. I'm 20 now. I used to. That was fun.

I did 54 shows my first season. After that, I met Meisel at a casting with Pat [McGrath]. Pat I knew from the shows. We just talked and I was again thinking, "Oh my god this is going to be so intimidating — this is major." But he is so nice, so calm. He's sitting there with his bandanna and really relaxed and just made me really comfortable, so we just talked and laughed. It was actually my longest casting ever. We talked for, like, 10 minutes. A lot of time they just see your book and it's, "Next." But he actually took his time. Shortly thereafter I got confirmed for Italian Vogue.

I was really impressed with that shoot because normally you're in front of the camera and you have to move and they take thousands of pictures and, of course, one is good. Meisel maybe takes 10.

Shooting with Meisel opens a lot of doors. Shortly after that, I got a Bulgari fragrance campaign with Inez and Vinoodh. It took us three days to shoot one picture. They made a fake pool in front of a lake to make it look like we were in the lake, which was super cool. I had the fanciest trailer ever, I have to say. It was like — maybe if you saw the Justin Bieber movie or something, it was kind of like that. It had white leather couches and I was like, "Wow." That was my first glimpse of like the higher-fashion model life, when it gets really glamorous. When you're shooting advertising, all of a sudden there's like catering and chefs that stand there and make the food for you and you're like, "Oh, really? Wow."