America’s Next Top Model 8: Why Diana is Not a Top Model

I’m back! I’ve escaped the grasp of Renee, only to return and find out that her reign of terror is still not over, and it was Diana who was sent home this week. Thank goodness Jenn Brasler was around to cover for me, as I literally had to escape from Renee by posing my way through a laser maze. Luckily, Renee stinks at doing that and couldn’t follow me. So Jenn and I did the old switcheroo, and I’m here to talk about the Top Model Tips this week! Okay, okay, on to Diana!

Diana came into this season of America’s Next Top Model as one of two plus-sized girls in the competition. Although she didn’t have too hard a time with the photo shoots, Diana certainly lacked the passion (at least in front of the judges) to be there. However, I don’t think that’s the sole reason Diana was given the boot. Could she have been saved had she followed the Top Model Tips? Let’s see!

Our first tip says that girls should be welcome and open to change. There’s not a whole lot to go on with this rule concerning Diana. Her makeover wasn’t much of a drastic change from the long, blonde hair that she was rocking beforehand. As far as the competition was concerned, though, Diana was a little insecure about doing the nude photo shoot because of her body, and wasn’t really up for the challenge, actually landing in the bottom two that week. I think it’s fair to say that Diana was welcome to change, but it seemed like there was a line she didn’t want to cross.

Tip #2 advises that you should know something about the fashion industry. Makes sense, right? I mean, you wouldn’t want to become an electrician and not only have no interest in electrical wires, but have no clue what you were doing! Diana never showed that she knew a whole lot about the fashion industry, but on the other hand, she never showed that she didn’t either.

Although that can be debated because whenever the girls had a challenge that required them to pick their own clothes, Diana never had a clue what was going on and put on the most unflattering outfits. Sure, that can be credited to her size, and the lack of things available, but if Diana knew anything about the industry, it’s that you have to work with what you are dealt, which she never seemed to do.

Practicing your walk, poses, and working on your flaws is tip #3. I can’t recall a time that we ever saw Diana doing any of these things, although we did see Tyra give her some tips on how to give better poses in order to hide her belly. Even Jay told her that she needed to suck it in during a photo shoot, but not once did we ever see Diana trying to figure out how to do that. Instead, she tried to lose weight.

The bad news is that weight doesn’t disappear overnight, so instead of doing that, she should have just tried to correct her problems. Diana’s walk was never really criticized by Ms. J., so I think it’s safe to say that she did okay in the walk department, even though we never really saw her working on it.

The fourth tip says that personality counts. Oh, Lord, where do I even begin? This is most definitely the tip that Diana ignored the most. If you are going to be one of the plus-sized girls, you need to realize that you have to show personality, since you are automatically at a disadvantage compared to the other girls.

Diana never really seemed to go out of her way to show her personality during the challenges or photo shoots, to the other competitors or even to the judges. She sort of always just stood there and was just an extra body. While Whitney showed the judges her personality and joked and laughed at them, Diana kind of just faded in the back. When she did smile and show personality, the judges complained about her smile!

Focusing on yourself, and not the other girls, is tip #5. On one hand, I think Diana did a good job with this tip. As far as photos were concerned, we never really saw Diana worrying about how well the other girls were doing. However, where she faltered on this tip is when there wasn’t a challenge or photo shoot. It seemed like whenever she was in the house, Diana was worried about gossip, her weight, or the other girls. In fact, now that I think about it, every time there was gossip in the house, Diana was close by. She might not have instigated it, but her presence was still there.

She sat with Renee and talked smack on Brittany. She sat with Whitney and talked smack about Renee. She bashed Renee in the confessional numerous times. Just because you’re focused during the photo shoots doesn’t mean you’re following tip #5, and Diana didn’t realize that, strictly keeping her drama at the house.

Our sixth tip tells our model wannabes to roll with the punches and not fight with the judges. I think Diana did a good job with this tip. The judges gave her advice, and she listened. Now, if she actually used this advice is another story, but Diana never snapped back or tried to offer up an excuse. She tried to explain to them that she wanted to be there, but that wasn’t really snapping back. Diana did a good job here.

Here comes tip #7, which is showing the judges that you want to win. I think this tip sums up pretty nicely why Diana isn’t a Top Model. When Jay Manuel asked her why she wanted to become America’s Next Top Model, this was Diana’s perfect opportunity to say that she wanted to inspire other plus-sized girls to apply for the show and become a role model. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders and said, “Just ‘cause.” I think she was toast from that point on. Jay told the judges what she said, and then Diana didn’t even really defend herself or show some passion about sticking around. The judges felt like she had no clue why she wanted to win, so they cut her!

The final tip says the girls should be confident, not cocky. Well, I think it’s safe to say that Diana wasn’t cocky, but she wasn’t confident either. Diana was constantly worried about how she looked on camera, not to mention comparing her body to that of the other girls. While Whitney embraced her figure, Diana seemed uncomfortable in her own skin, which isn’t something you should be if you desire to be a model. I think a lack of confidence is what ended up turning into Diana having no idea why she wanted to win the competition.

I think it’s pretty easy to see why Diana was eliminated this week, and in reality, after looking at Diana and the way she followed (or didn’t follow) the Top Model Tips, she probably should have gone sooner! However, Diana did stick around for five episodes, until the judges realized that she had no idea why she wanted to win the competition and they saw her complete lack of self-confidence – then they sent her home. That’s why Diana is not a Top Model.

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