Gracing the cover of Glamour Magazine‘s Woman of the Year December issue, Lupita Nyong’o explains her quick rise to the top, and also reflects on the waves she caused in both the fashion and film industry — known as “The Lupita Effect.”

According to the 2014 Academy award winner for best supporting actress, this is “The Lupita Effect:”

I’ve heard people talk about images in popular culture changing, and that makes me feel great, because it means that the little girl I was, once upon a time, has an image to instill in her that she is beautiful, that she is worthy — that she can. Until I saw people who looked like me, doing the things I wanted to, I wasn’t so sure it was a possibility. Seeing Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah in “The Color Purple,” it dawned on me: ‘Oh — I could be an actress!’ We plant the seed of possibility.

With a career that heavily expanded almost overnight, the stylish actress did mention that it hasn’t been as easy as one would think. When asked how life has changed since winning the prestigious award, Nyong’o responded, saying:

This is actually a conversation I look forward to having in 10 years, when all of this is behind me and I have some real perspective on what happened — because right now I’m still adjusting. I guess I feel catapulted into a different place; I have a little whiplash … I did have a dream to be an actress, but I didn’t think about being famous. And I haven’t yet figured out how to be a celebrity; that’s something I’m learning, and I wish there were a course on how to handle it. I have to be aware that my kinesphere may be larger than I want it to be.

We’re sure Lupita will evolve into her true celebrity as gracefully as she strolls the red carpets to come.

–Jamaal Fisher (@jamaalfisher)