Aoki Lee Simmons Defends Her Choice To Model While Studying At Harvard

"Why am I going into a field that doesn't necessarily require a degree, or require a whole lot of book smarts, when I have a lot of education?" she questioned. "One, because I love it. I think we should normalize you liking something. You don't have to do what you're immediately good at."

She continued, "You can be good at something and not want to do it forever. You can be bad at something and still pursue it. Hard work will beat talent when talent doesn't work hard. You don't have to be immediately talented to go into a field, and you may end up the best one through hard work."

Aoki then focused the conversation on women not being monolithic and only being perceived one way. "I really want us to move toward a future where young women are not being asked this question," she said.

"I would like to change the idea that you can't be smart and pretty, or you can't be smart and enjoy your looks, or enjoy a creative/beauty/fashion-based career. One, that requires plenty of smarts. Two, you can be two kinds of people in one person. That's really who I am."

The self-proclaimed “that Harvard model” doubled down on her love for modeling and why people should be able to do what they want to do regardless of how others may view it.

“So one I love it and two I really don’t want this to be a question we ask women in 10 years. Do whatever you want. Get a degree, don't use it. Get a degree, use it later. Don't get a degree, never use it. Get a degree later. Do whatever you want to do," she said. "Nothing is a waste of your talent... if you are enjoying it, and you're happy, and you're living your life, then whatever path took you there was the right one and nothing was wasted."

While some people may be confused with Aoki pursuing a career as a model, the fashion industry isn’t new to her. Aoki and her sister Ming have been modeling for their mother’s clothing line Baby Phat since they were children. They have walked the runways as well as appeared in countless ads for the brand. While she and her sister are still the faces of their mother’s fashion label, Aoki has also modeled for Pyer Moss and Calvin Klein, and she has also walked in New York Fashion Week.

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