Some people want to know if I get sick of answering questions about the show. Although I love being asked questions about who I really am (and not just what the show portrayed me as), I am happy to respond to any show related questions. If I don’t respond, it’s probably because the answer can be found in the FAQ link on my tumblr page. I don’t want to torture my tumblr friends with repeats of the same questions!

I only answer questions that I haven’t answered 893157 times before. I don’t want to clog up my followers feeds with repetitive questions. Go to my FAQ page if a question hasn’t been answered!

:)

If I haven’t gotten to your question, it may be in my queue. It may also be a question that I have gotten a lot before. Since I don’t want to spam all my kicka$$ tumblr chums with the same messages over and over, I have provided a FAQ page!

BTW I love getting questions and comments - you guys are awesome.

Hope y’all are having a good night/evening/morning/afternoon depending on where you live.

BTW Part 2. Where are y’all from? I am obviously in Boca Raton, FL as we speak!

• How do you pronounce your name?

Mi-kay-luh Shi-pan-knee

• What does your tumblr name mean?

My tumblr name is the title of a 50 second song by Band of Horses from their album Cease to Begin.

• What ethnicity are you?

Italian/Irish

• What is your sign?

Gemini.

• Are you still modeling?

I have been modeling and acting since I was 15 years old, and I am continuing to do so on a full-time basis! I am currently signed with Ford.  I am also working on building my production company, Last Ditch Effort Productions. Our first film (Velhem) premiered at the 2011 Palm Beach Int’l Film Festival last April. Our second film (Hemisphere) is currently being submitted to several film festivals in the U.S. In addition to my production company, I have started a comedic Youtube channel with my boyfriend and my best friend under the moniker Gang of Babies.

• What was your favorite photo shoot on ANTM?

My favorite shoot was the Rachel Zoe faux fur shoot with the baby jaguar. Even though he bit me like crazy, I had a great time. I was (and still am) very proud of my picture that week. It was my strongest photo.

• What is your favorite type of modeling?

I have always said that my favorite part about modeling is runway! I love the fast paced atmosphere of a runway show. Something about rushing around, changing clothes and changing accessories backstage, and then walking onto a runway pretending that you didn’t just do all of that is exhilarating.

• Favorite designers?

Dior, Calvin Klein, Chloe, Cavalli, Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood. I also love Jeffrey Campbell and Balenciaga shoes.

• Who is your favorite photographer?

Steven Meisel. Forever.

• Who is you favorite model at the moment?

Andrej Pejic is amazing for obvious reasons.

• Could you give some advice to aspiring models?

First: if you really want to get into this industry you have got to believe in yourself 110%. You will be told “no” and doors will be slammed in your face. This happens to every model. Don’t take it personally. Second: get some test shoots under your belt! No matter what city you live in, you can make a Model Mayhem page. You can network with local photographers, MUAs, stylists and designers. You can also search for castings in your area. I recommend this site for people who are 18 and up. When you are planning a shoot with a photographer, ask for references. If she/he is a good photographer, she/he will provide you with a list of models that she/he has worked with. You can go to the girls’ pages and asked them what they thought of the photographer personally. Third: visit agencies! If you have collected some good photos, take them to open call at agencies and see what kind of feedback they give you. If you don’t have any big agencies near you, then you can always submit online! Make sure that it is a reputable agency though. No real agency will ask for money up front. Ever.

• What are some of your favorite movies?

I have too many to name: American Beauty, Look Who’s Talking, Psycho, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Buffalo ‘66, Revolutionary Road, A Bronx Tale, Blue Valentine, Casablanca, Drive, A Little Princess, Memento, American Psycho, The Shawshank Redemption.

• Favorite bands?

Jimmy Eat World, Something Corporate, Jack’s Mannequin, Elvis Presley, Metric, Dead Man’s Bones, The Format, Fun., The Doors, Band of Horses, stellastarr*, Interpol, Arcade Fire, Damien Rice, Hellogoodbye, Goldfrapp, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, The Radio Dept., The Raveonettes, The Kills, Third Eye Blind, The Killers, My Chemical Romance, Smashing Pumpkins, Panic! At The Disco, The Beatles, Patsy Cline and a million more.

• Favorite books?

1984, Brave New World, Harry Potter series, The Four Agreements, The Alchemist.

• What is your favorite food?

Anything Italian: homemade lasagna, baked ziti, linguine with clam sauce etc. I also LOVE desserts. This includes but is not limited to banana wontons, brownie sundaes and fruit cobbler.

• What is your model diet like?

I don’t follow a diet. I think model diets are insanely unhealthy and unrealistic. I eat until I’m full. I don’t weight myself. I drink almond milk (regular milk makes me ill), I like fruit, I like oatmeal and I like steak! That’s all I got.