The first time Mercado thought seriously about becoming a professional model, she surfed the Internet for someone with a physical disability in the modeling world. That was six years ago, when disabled models were 1. Thus, her search came up empty.
"I didn't think there was a 2." she talks of the career she'd imagined. However, Mercado has helped 3 that reality because of her not giving up. Last year, Mercado signed with IMG Models, the powerhouse agency which represents top supermodels.
During a shoot, there are certain movements and poses that are simply not an option for her. But her team has always found a way to work around these 4, and she's never been cut from a campaign because of concerns about her disability.
"There's never been an excuse where it's like—'she has a disability, this is not going to work because the 5 won't look nice.' "She says.
With her small body having more than a dozen surgical 6, she says, "7 I'm very outspoken with what I believe in, I'm very much of a 8 person still at heart. But I wanted to 9 a challenge." Mercado liked 10 people that everyone can and should feel attractive in their own skin: "You shouldn't be ashamed of your own 11."
In the meantime, she's focused on her work and using her blog to encourage those who want to follow her 12. When the next generation of disabled models searches the Web for 13, they'll find her.
Mercado 14 her success to confidence, faith and never 15, "I'm an example that you can do what you want, because..." she pauses. "Just because! That's it. You just can."
