by Gina Scarpa

Last night, on the finale of America’s Next Top Model, it came down to the final two girls in Hawaii: Laura and Nicole.  Laura’s bubbly personality and fierce runway walk made her a strong competitor but she could not beat out Nicole, the artsy college student from Colorado, who had been a panel favorite all season.  Today, Nicole took time out of her busy schedule to talk to RealityWanted in an exclusive interview about her experiences on the show and how it feels to be America’s Next Top Model!

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Do you remember your reaction and how you felt when you first found out that you were going to be a

finalist on Top Model?
A. Nicole: Oh my gosh!  I was totally thrilled.  I had been in New York and met a casting director.  I auditioned in a room full of 30 girls.  When I left they said I’d get a call by the next night.  Of course, I waited faithfully beside my phone and I didn’t get it.  I remember that I cried that night but then, I don’t know… I found out that there had been a glitch with my phone and I woke up with a voice mail saying, “We just wanted to let you know that you made it.”  I was ecstatic!

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: How easy or difficult was this competition for you?  How do you think you changed and grew?
A. Nicole: I think that competition was honestly the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.  I have a huge fear of cameras and I’m terribly camera shy.  I have a fear of public speaking and, of course, I had to battle all of those things along my journey.  That’s one of the reasons I tried out.  I thought if I was put in a situation where I had to do it, maybe I would get over that.  Watching it, I think you can see how I was able to adapt.  By the end, I don’t think I feel I really mastered my camera shyness and I don’t feel my true personality came out.  It was very reserved but I’m working on it.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What’s the best piece of advice you were given this cycle?
A. Nicole: The best piece of advice I was given was to be yourself.  No matter what you have to do, stay true to yourself.  If you try and succeed, but you give up who you are, and lose that along the way, it’s not going to be worth it.  I did stay true to myself and I won so I got the best of both worlds!

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What was it like to be in that final runway challenge and battle the elements (the wind and rain)?
A. Nicole: It was completely crazy!  Oh my gosh!  The atmosphere backstage was insane.  I remember when it was time for us to do our third outfit change, they didn’t have a bikini bottom for me.  They had two tops hanging up on my hanger.  There was a lot of chaos that viewers didn’t get to see.  They didn’t even have the correct size shoe for me.  I ended up wearing shoes that were much too big for me.  There were a lot of things to overcome and I tried to keep my head.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Going into the final panel, how confident were you that Tyra would name you the winner?
A. Nicole: I thought, once and for all, Laura had it.  As soon as Laura was chosen as the second finalist, I knew that the competition was going to be really close.  Laura really had endeared herself to the judges at that point.  I knew that her bubbly personality was exactly what Cover Girl and Seventeen magazine were all about.  I knew I had it within me to bring that out, it was more of a struggle.  Heading into that final panel, I thought Laura had it.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What advice do you have for the young girls who look up to you?
A. Nicole: Go after your dreams.  Whatever your pursue, stay true to yourself.  Gosh, I just said two corny, cliché lines in a row but they’re clichés for a reason.  That’s because it’s a really true statement.  Don’t give up yourself by any means.  Stay true to yourself and I think that karma will reward you in the end.

(Image courtesy of The CW)

Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa

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