Adwoa Aboah

“The most amazing thing for me is when I open up a magazine and I see someone I could be friends with and looks, maybe, slightly like me. And I think that's the same with young girls. Because there needs to be diversity.”

“I have a very bad memory. So I would like a chat bot to just remind me of everything I forget. I spend my entire life on Google trying to remember stuff.”

“In the digital age, there is a new rule book for romance.”

“I never would have dreamt in a million years that I would have young girls coming up to me at Glastonbury or on the streets of L.A., New York, London, and telling me how much GurlsTalk or seeing my picture in a magazine means to them, as a woman of colour.”

“I know what my causes are. And I care about them, so I'd rather get out there and talk about them than just play it safe.”

“I forget about myself and tend to concentrate too much on others.”

“One day at a time. I live by that.”

“Boarding school was a really pivotal moment. Before I went there, I was so happy. I'm not sure I was ready for it. I was only 13. My parents didn't send me away; it was my choice as well. But I definitely shouldn't have stayed for five years.”

“I wear trainers everywhere. Weddings, parties, definitely red carpets and fashion events. It's bad. And listen, I love shoes. I love high heels. But I buy trainers all the time.”

“I knew that modeling could open doors, and I would be able to travel and forge my own path. Being able to support yourself is amazing, and I think that was one of the things that appealed to me, but I didn't want to be in front of the camera at first.”

“When you talk, you realize that the pains and worries you feel are universal; you no longer feel alone in your sadness. You relate and find comfort in the fact that there are other women going through the same things as you are.”

“What drew me to modeling was this idea of being independent.”

“I can't deal with waking up and being sad.”

“My mum never put those fashion ideals into the house. I didn't wear make-up, and I had my hair all frizzy.”

“I remember thinking I couldn't be bothered to feel any emotions any more.”

“With modeling, social media is such a humungous part of it now. You get jobs because of the amount of followers you have.”

“I'm a Taurus; I need a home.”

“I came from a privileged background, which I am entirely grateful for, but it played a part in my feeling that I couldn't complain about my own emotions.”

“2014 was a terrible year for me. I got a lot of help from psychiatrists, doctors, and my family, but also from group therapy. I met people from so many different backgrounds, and we were all able to relate to each other. It felt like a real community, and I stole that concept for Gurls Talk.”

“In private school, I definitely judged myself against the lighter-skinned girls. I wanted to have different hair. I wanted to fit in. I thought that was more beautiful.”