On last week's "America's Next Top Model," it was time for the girls to shoot a Cover Girl commercial in a foreign language. It came down to Lauren's pain-filled version versus Whitney's uber-fake attitude, and Lauren was sent home.

Here's her take on the show.

MSN: Too bad you made it to Rome only to get sent home shortly after that.

Lauren: I know. That sucks. At least I got a free trip to Rome, though. [Laughs]

MSN: True. Did you get to hang out there, or do they send you immediately home?

Lauren: I got to stay a little while without the screaming.

MSN: You went in as an unconventional model type. What made you even want to try out for the show?

Lauren: My friend heard on the radio it was casting for Cycle Nine, actually. And I tried out for it just to shut her up a little bit. I was like "OK, fine, I'll try it out. Be quiet." I tried out, and I got on, but they brought me in for Cycle 10 instead.

MSN: What made your friend think you could be a model?

Lauren: I mean, I'm not ugly. My mindset, I thought, was completely different from that of a model. I've always had the idea that models were vapid and pretty vacant, you know? I don't really like how they follow the gender role thing and the expectations that come with it, so I never really did that. I did my own thing. And then I thought, well I might as well give it a shot. I don't know why I'm so against it. And it turns out I liked it.

MSN: So did you change, or did your understanding of what it means to be a model change?

Lauren: When I got in front of the camera, I actually made some pretty decent photos. I was very surprised by that. I'm used to taking pretty cheesy photos with my friends and I never saw that side of me. It was pretty cool. I took to it pretty easily. It was nice to do that.

MSN: How much did you have to restrain yourself to be on the show?

Lauren: In front of the judges I definitely did, and that's why I looked so shy. I was so self-conscious of saying something dumb. Well not so dumb as offensive. I have a habit of saying something really ridiculous that I think is funny and other people don't find funny. I wanted to come off as nice. I didn't want to come off as standoffish. I guess it came off as nervousness.

MSN: What was the best part for you of being in the competition?

Lauren: The road to self-discovery, feeling where I came from and having this totally different entity to me. I have the punk one and I have the pretty one and I was able to have them separate. Not all the girls can separate their personal life from what they do. They all have a personality, you know what I mean? I was able to separate that and find a whole different side of me. That was pretty cool.

MSN: What was the hardest part of the competition for you?

Lauren: It was very fast-paced and stressful. You would be doing something and you'd get pushed to the brink. All these girls are together in this house and girls don't really get along. It was a lot happening.

MSN: It seemed like a lot of the professionals didn't like your walk. Why did you have so much trouble with walking?

Lauren: I never walked before in my life in heels. I'm so used to wearing Doc Marten boots and Converse. I've worn the same clothes on my back for months. I used to be homeless. You can't really walk around in high heels when you're panhandling, you know what I mean? It just doesn't really happen. These girls, compared to me, look amazing walking because they've been doing it forever. They've been walking in their mom's heels. My mom's a biker chick. She has motorcycle boots and sneakers and s---. It's just totally two different worlds.

MSN: I didn't realize you were homeless. Did you bond with Marvita at all about your respective experiences?

Lauren: We didn't really discuss each other's homelessness. I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of. I was homeless by choice, not because I didn't have any other place to go. I had a great home life. But I wanted to experience things. I don't know how Marvita's experience went. We didn't talk about it. We had an unspoken bond because we did go through that and the other girls didn't. But she's cool and I think I'm cool and we got along like that.

MSN: So when it came to it, you really struggled with your commercial. Why was that so tough for you?

Lauren: I mean, all of ours were awful. By the time we got our makeup done, we had to memorize this script in Italian. It was hard. Also, a couple days before that, I cut my thumb off. No painkillers. They told me I had to take the bandage off because I couldn't have it on for the Cover  Girl commercial, so I did. And the moment I did that, ti irritated the wound from the inside. It's like the surtures are moving around. ... It was very painful, and that's why I have this look of horror on my face.

MSN: So is your finger still healing?

Lauren: It's still healing up. It's still there.

MSN: How did you manage to cut it off? I can understand getting somewhat of a cut, but to literally cut it off?

Lauren: Well, it was the angle that I cut it. It was diagonal so I sliced from the bottom of my thumbnail to the tip of it. It was pretty much hanging by a thread. It was a pretty sharp knife. I didn't even feel it at first. Then I looked down and I see a bunch of blood.

MSN: Did you watch yourself throughout the series? And if so, what sorts of things did you think about seeing yourself on screen?

Lauren: It was very strange to see myself on TV. ... I never wanted to be famous or any of that. I don't know . I'd rather be known for my artwork than anything. Being on TV for my looks, it's weird. It's cool but it's very surreal. I didn't know how to register that.

MSN: So if you could have changed anything about your time on the show, what would it be?

Lauren: I would have wanted to stay on there for longer. It didn't turn out that way. I wish I didn't cut my thumb off, because maybe if I didn't, I would have been on there longer.

MSN: Who do you think is most likely to win the show?

Lauren: When it comes down to it, it's who's likely to make the most dollar bills. I would like Anya or Kat to win. They're sweet girls with kind hearts, nice people, but I don't know if that means anything in the competition.

MSN: What about Whitney?

Lauren: I would like a plus-girl to win, but not Whitney. She's a terrible human being. She's very mean. She talks a lot of crap about the other girls, including the judges. I don't think she's the right one.

MSN: What sorts of crap has she said?

Lauren: She's very hateful. She doesn't agree with criticism. She doesn't take what they say seriously. She holds it against them. And she's very, very, very mean.

MSN: Do you know what you would like to do in the future?

Lauren: I would like to pursue modeling. ... I really don't know how to go about getting a modeling gig, but I would like to. I like it and want to continue it. After being eliminated, I'm missing it, the photo shoots and everything. I'd like to do that again.

- posted by Raoul