I have to admit when upn.com first posted the group shots of season 3 I was cheering for Julie; Amanda just diden't seem unique. But after the first few episodes she showed why she was worthy of the attention of the the judges and the fans. Amanda comes off as kind, humble, and above a representation of the average girl; she's not perfect. She got frustrated at the fact no one was cleaning up for them selves, she appeared to have spilled Cassie's secret, and even forgets to bring high heels for the interview test, forcing half the group to be very late; choices and actions that make her more human, because like any of us she had to find a way to deal with the consequences of these actions in a positive way. And yes there is also the matter of the degenerative eye condition, which she mentioned at least 3 times (making her come off as a pity seeker) but later she did not mention it at all thus showing some strength. Still you have to admit if you were tossed in to a new situation with new expectations and challenges having bad eyes could be very scary. All of this makes her worth admiring because a victory for Amanda would a be a victory for every one who dares to reach for their dreams.

on the UPN special it was reported that amanda was attempting to commute between her North Carolina home and the New York modeling scene. (also featured was the cute pic of her as a little kid.)

Episode1 Amanda makes the top 14, and mentions her eye condition for the first time, drawing lots of pity but gaining lots of screen time.	Episode 2 she does well enough in the Jamacia swimsuit modeling test to make the top 12 and move in to the NY apartment.	Episode 3 Old Amanda plus several hours of hair coloring and makeup tips= new blonder (kind of exotic looking)Amanda, who aces the beauty shot test to make the top 11.	Episode 4 The Lee jeans shoot where they had to pose on the floor. Her eyes look a bit to dark, but again she made the cut.	Episode 5 posing on skates proves to be difficult for just about all the girls, Amanda did well, and looked as cute as a barbie doll, dispite falling just about every time.

Episode 6 The girls had to pose on a trampoline and Amanda did what most would have see as obvious; ballet/gymnastic poses. she did by far the best, making YaYa upset that she didn't do the same.	Episode 7 Each girl has to model two costumes which would be put together into one image so Amanda ended up looking like both Marylin Monroe and Marylin Manson (with an odd little ski mask-like thing). This was also the episoide she forgot her highheels, but that did not seem to some in to play, as she made it though to the next round.	Episode 8 modeling with a spider some girls were scared but Amanda just diden't want it to step in her eye (so eventually they allowed her to hold it on her hand instead.)Once again she is safe to the next round.	Episode 9 After attending an acting class the girls had to perform a death scene. Amanda accidentally ruined her scene by moving when she was suposed to have died.Then it was off to Japan where their big test was to film a commercial in Japanese.

Episode 9.5= clip show (they skipped a week) Episode 10- Still in Japan the top 5 had to perform a traditional tea ceramony with the winner getting a free trip to a spa. Everyone made mistakes but Yaya wins trip and picks Amanda to go with her. But what really counts is the photo shoot in a kimono and a bikini.(you can't really tell in Amanda's pic because her back is to the camera.) With mistakes and lack of confidence from the other competitors she easily made it top the top 4.

Episode 11- Amanda has never looked more colorful; After modeling a japan street chic outfit (the orange one), the first assignment for the finalists was to go shopping to create their version of Japan street chic, but while doing do all four of the finalists got lost all over the city, and Yaya even got the door slammed in her face for being late to the assignment judging. But more importantly the main test was a photoshoot on a motercycle. Amanda's full body pic looks only "ok", but her face (in the cute doll-like makeup)looks amazing. And she cruises in to the top 3!

TV guide picked Amanda to win it all, and I picked up an old issue of Seventeen (before the 3rd season aired) and the picked Amanda and Eva as their favorites, however Entertainment Weekly picked Eva to win and Amanda to place 3rd. Well Entertainment weekly was correct and Amanda took 3rd place. Her final picture was a glamour shot for a potential cover girl ad. She did well, but her 'in person' persona was held against her(I think the judges saw her as lacking confidence, or somthing, they even made her take off her glasses for the judging...meanies.) I don't think there was anything she could have done to place higher, the judges were clearly not feeling her high fashion unique-ness that would have made her a star. In her goodbye speech she was visibly upset, but one can only hope she knows how much her fans love her and will look for her to make it big as the true next top model.