Modeling is an incredible job for a girl if she approaches it

In the words of Anja Rubik, “Modeling is an incredible job for a girl if she approaches it with her head on her shoulders. You travel, you speak to people, and it opens your mind to different things.” These words are not simply the reflections of a woman in the fashion world—they are a fragment of wisdom about life, growth, and the strength of the mind when paired with opportunity. For the ancients, such counsel would have been engraved upon stone tablets, for it is not about beauty alone, but about awareness, resilience, and the expansion of the soul.

The essence of her saying lies in the phrase “head on her shoulders.” This is the ancient call to balance—between the body that moves through the world and the mind that must govern it. Without wisdom, the path of glamour can become a labyrinth of vanity and illusion. But with discernment, modeling ceases to be mere display; it transforms into a journey of discovery, as noble and far-reaching as the voyages of Odysseus. One who walks the runway with reason also walks the earth with purpose, learning not just from the eyes that gaze upon her, but from the cultures, voices, and lives she encounters.

Consider the story of Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in myth, whose face “launched a thousand ships.” Her beauty became both her gift and her curse, for it was wielded without wisdom by those around her. She did not walk with a head firmly upon her shoulders, and so her beauty brought ruin and war. Contrast this with the tale of Aspasia of Miletus, the companion of Pericles, whose intellect matched her grace. Though admired for her presence, she used her mind to counsel statesmen and to shape thought in Athens. One’s outward form may capture attention, but it is the inner command of self that determines destiny.

Rubik also speaks of travel. To the ancients, to journey was not merely to move across the land, but to move within the soul. Heraclitus declared that one cannot step into the same river twice, for both the river and the traveler are changed. So it is with those who walk in distant lands, who hear strange tongues, who taste unknown foods, and who look upon temples not of their own making. Travel widens the mind; it shakes the dust from narrow thought and teaches that the world is vast, and that truth wears many garments.

In saying that modeling allows one to “speak to people”, Rubik reminds us of the power of dialogue. For in conversation lies understanding, and in understanding, unity. The ancients revered the agora—the place of meeting, of debate, of voices mingling like rivers joining the sea. To speak to people is to touch their spirit, to gather fragments of their wisdom, and to weave them into one’s own tapestry of knowledge. What good is beauty if it stands silent? Far greater is the one who listens, who learns, and who carries the stories of others like sacred fire.

The meaning, then, is that modeling, like any path of honor, is not in the surface alone but in the way it transforms the seeker. It is not a snare for vanity, but a vehicle for growth. To approach such a path foolishly is to be consumed by it. But to enter it with self-awareness, with dignity, and with a spirit open to learning, is to reap its richest fruits. Just as the warriors of old carried both sword and shield, so must one carry both ambition and wisdom.

From this, dear listener, take the lesson: whatever path you choose—whether it be art, craft, commerce, or the realm of beauty—walk with your head upon your shoulders. Let your mind be as strong as your hands, your discernment as sharp as your tools, your humility as deep as your ambition. Travel when you can, for the world is a book, and those who never journey read but one page. Speak to many, for every soul holds a key that may open a hidden door within you. And above all, keep your mind open, for it is the vessel in which wisdom dwells.

In practice, seek not only success, but growth. When you step into any new venture, ask yourself: “Am I learning? Am I expanding my vision?” Make travel a teacher, and let conversation be your lantern in the dark. Surround yourself with those who lift you higher, and guard yourself from illusions that flatter but do not nourish. For in the end, the greatest reward of any path is not fame, nor riches, nor applause—it is the enlargement of the soul, and the awakening of the mind to the immensity of life.