Be famous, easy or hard?

　　Do you want to be famous? Do you want to be a superstar? Most of people will say yes. If you want to be famous, you just need to send a video tape to a TV show. That is a popular show in America. It’s called "America's Next Top Model" that features Tyra Banks who was a supermodel before and now she is a famous anchorwoman. This show gives some girls an opportunity to be a supermodel. Only one girl will be the America's Next Top Model each cycle. This show is not a beauty contest. Tyra likes the girl who has a personal character and confidence. All of these girls need to take a photo shoot every week. So they need to cooperate well with different kinds of shoots and accept the comments from the judges. Each cycle will take almost four or five months. These girls live together. They need to be flexible enough and vie for a modeling contract.
　　Thousands of people from America send their introduction by video tape to the show. Tyra and other judges will choose about 30 girls in the first round. These girls have various backgrounds, shapes and sizes. Each of them has only one chance to introduce herself to Tyra. The girl needs to show her personal character or talk about why she want to come here and be a model. Some girls want to prove to their family that she can do something. One girl, her name is Shandi. She is a counter in a chemist's shop. Her parents almost ignored her and she used drugs before. In the beginning, she is short of confidence and shy. However, she has perfect modeling shape and potential. Even though she is not the champion at the end but she becomes more optimistic. When she went back to her home, she talked to her parents in heart. They had better relationship from that time on. Some girls think they are suitable to be a model. They have special confidence. Camille, a controversial girl, is confident of her catwalk. She tells the judges that she will be famous because of her catwalk. Eva, the third cycle champion, walks out just like a super diva. So the judges call her “Diva Eva.”Why the personal character and confidence are important? They are the easiest ways to let people remember you, especially in this kind of competition.
　　Do you think if you look beautiful and you will be the next top model? Of course not. If you want to be the next top model, you need to take the perfect shoot in every week. If you can’t do it, you will out of this competition. Every week these girls need to accept different kinds of challenges. No matter what kinds of situation, they need to do it. In cycle two, these 12 girls need to take their first time shoots that have the colored drawing on the nude body. One of the girls or I need to say she is a mother. Her name is Anna. Be a model was her dream and she passed the primary election. However, it’s hard to take a photo shoot without clothes. She can’t cooperate with the demand. Then, she is out. Every girls need to take shoots and after few days, they need to meet the judges and they will know who is eliminated. The judges will see their photos and sometimes give them a challenge immediately. One time, these girls need to pretend a host on the red carpet and introduce all the guests’ modeling. Some brands’ names are difficult to say and there are some professional words that are very long. Each one needs to say it whatever you understand the words or not. One girl says that she can’t do it and the judges ask her to try. Then she finished this reading unwillingly and she felt bitter. She thought that she is a joke and just give up by herself. Tyra was angry because no one can compel you to do it. If you were a model, you will get many different kinds of works. Sometimes you need to dance, sometimes you need to jump in the dirty swamp, or sometimes you need to pretend like an animal. You cannot say you don’t want to do it or you can’t do it. You will lose your job. In this competition, these girls didn’t have any experience about modeling. Every week the judges will give them some comments about their shoots, make up, dress up or catwalk. They will think which girl is possible to improve her defect and which girl’s defect is hard to change. If you are the latter one, you might be out of the competition.
　　The girl who win the competition will be the "America's Next Top Model". She will get the grand prize that includes a contract with a model management and be the Cover Girl in a fashion magazine. Before it, the girl needed to pass many tests. The most difficult one is to compete herself. These girls will live with each other for four or five months. They cannot go home, they cannot see their family, they cannot see their close friends or boyfriend and they cannot leave this group without permission. They live with their competitors. At the beginning, maybe some girls look friendly and nice. However, girls are jealous and envious. When the situations are emergent, they won’t care about others. Sometimes the girls have some interviews that called “Go Sees” with some fashion designers. They were given a strict deadline to complete their “Go Sees” in which they were evaluated on a point system based on personal appearance, their runway walk, their overall personality and their portfolio. If they see more designers, they will have more chances. Sometimes there are two girls go to the same place. They need to go faster than another one. Otherwise she needs to waste her time to wait for another girl finished. Some girls think, “How can she do that? I am the first one come here. She was behind me at the beginning but after seconds she tried to pass me then had “Go sees” first. She is nasty.” However, this is a competition. Nobody care about this. They only care about the victory and vie for a modeling contract. In this moment, they don’t know what will happened in their life. Kanlen, the girl in cycle 4, is come from Oklahoma. One day, she phoned back home to her family and her mother told her that her high-school classmate was sudden death. She felt shock and sad. However, the competition was still go on, she cannot go back to see her friend. She needed to take a shoot after few days. If she was influenced by this sorrowful news, maybe she will be out. Nevertheless, she wasn’t beaten by it. She turned the grief and indignation as strength. She took a brilliant shoot in that round. She is not the champion in the end but she is the second one. The most thing I admire her was her bravery and inflexible character. I think she will never give up her dream, to be a model.
　　Do you still want to be famous? I need to tell you this is a very hard work to do. You always need to compete with many people and keep yourself perfect. You need to do something that you never try it before and do it perfect. You need to accept all the comments no matter you want to do or not. Now, the show is in cycle 5 in Taiwan and in America is in cycle 7. This is a very popular program and might be continue to next cycle. If you are ready to take this challenge, send your video tape to the show. You may be the next “Top Model.”