To be young and restless in the fashion world

I knew it would come one day: My little sister finally approached me about becoming a model or my PR assistant in the fashion industry. \n"Next time you go to fashion week can I go with you as a PR assistant?" she hesitantly asked.\nIf it were one of my good friends, I would probably have said yes, but it is my baby sister. The fact that she asked me made me so proud, because she is finally starting to think about her future and not just boys. But it scared me at the same time. After years of her being trained to be a model, now the time has finally come and all I want her to do is be three months old again. \nAfter she asked me, I began to think about all of the reckless things I have done since I have been working in the fashion industry. I would skip school to go work 13-hour days preparing for shows, romance powerful men and get totally wild to the point of insanity. Now, there are pictures of my debauchery behavior floating around somewhere. \nI am not saying my little sister will do all of things I did, but at the tender age of 16 she isn't too far behind me. I love her so much and I couldn't stand to see her deal with the body and weight issues runway models wrestle with. Even at 5 feet 7 inches and 126 pounds, she is already a little Latina bombshell. And that is exactly what scares me. My mother has already given up on trying to control her, and the line of the pieces-of-trash she dates is limitless. Of course, I do not think this will always be a problem. But I think you should have to be a certain age to work in the industry, and 18 is good for me. \nEvery year, the models keep getting younger and younger: Many of the women in fashion magazines are 16 and 17 years old. While at fashion week, Indiana Daily Student photographer Christopher Farrar and I were looking through Women's Wear Daily and came across a page with the profiles of the hot new models. None of the featured women were above the age of 17. Actor Harrison Ford's 16-year-old son is modeling, and there are even a couple of 13-year-olds on the runways. \nI wouldn't have a problem with this if liquor and drugs didn't flow so freely at the shows, and they don't ask your age when you get booze. If I can go out on a dance floor with my martini glass in hand and leave a show completely inebriated at 18 years old, I am sure my little sister can get away with it. \nNot only that, but I think that having 17 year olds on the runway is sending the wrong message. I don't know any 22-year-old woman who looks like she did when she was 18. Many of the models don't look like they have gone through puberty. Models should look like women not little girls scantly clad on runways for older, more experienced men to lust after. I am not saying this happens to everyone, but it happens. \nStill, I would never want to deny her the same fun, friendships and opportunities I received; I can't help but think, "lil' sister, don't you do what your big sister does"