MILEY CYRUS COVERS 'HARPER'S BAZAAR'

Teen starlet Miley Cyrus covers the February 2010 issue of Harper's Bazaar, where she talks about growing up, insecurities and being a role model.

To read excerpts from Miley's interview with the magazine, you can do so by clicking the 'Read More' button below:

On Being a Role Model:
"People like controversy because that's what sells," she says with resignation. "My job is to be a role model, and that's what I want to do, but my job isn't to be a parent. My job isn't to tell your kids how to act or how not to act, because I'm still figuring that out for myself. So to take that away from me is a bit selsh. Your kids are going to make mistakes whether I do or not. That's just life."

On Filming 'The Last Song':
"I got on the plane [to Georgia], and I was lying in my mom's lap and crying and saying, 'I'm so happy to be getting out of LA," Miley says. In Tybee, "I went out every night with my friends. I did karaoke. I danced. All this stuff would've been such a big deal in Los Angeles: Who's she with? Why is she dancing? I felt alive and real. It's so much easier to know who you are when there aren't a thousand people telling you who they think you are. I felt like I was really figuring myself out. Usually I have someone whispering in my ear, but I was on my own. I never felt at home anywhere, she continues.

On Her New Tattoo:
One of Miley's closest friends died of cystic fibrosis in 2007, and both of her grandfathers died of lung cancer. "It reminds me not to take things for granted. I mean, breathing -- that was something none of them could do, the most basic thing," she says. "I could never get a meaningless tattoo, but I think that if you're doing something that's important, that's significant in your life, it takes some of the pain away."

On Her Insecurities:
"I used to ask everyone all day, 'Do I look pretty?' I probably asked that question about as many times as I blink," she admits. In Georgia, she finally got over it. "It's not because I started feeling beautiful; it's just because I was comfortable. I was so used to the paparazzi and the cameras and the 'What are you wearing?' and having people stare at me."

On Growing Up:
"I'm doing a record right now that's another pop record, and then I want to come out with an album that's really who I am." She pauses. "I don't know exactly who that is yet."