She sees the beautiful irony in that now. "I really own it, and love it, because that makes me different, and I love that it makes me different. It didn’t always feel that way." Karlie has advice for anyone (teenaged or otherwise) for making the most out of whatever feels like a painful difference. "Instead of letting it control you, instead of letting it eat you alive … [flip] it on its head," she suggests. " Being so tall and lanky and skinny as a teenage girl certainly didn't get me any dates to high school dances, but it did open up this world of a career for me."