I never had becoming Miss America on my radar screen. But when I was 17, I decided to quit the violin and my parents were devastated.

I'm a person who likes to give 100 percent to everything I do. I want to be the best at my job and as a mother.

Miss America gets a lot of flak, but the reality is that it is uplifting and aspirational - 50% percent of my points were based on talent.

Being REAL means showing people who you are underneath all the TV make up too.

I might even pursue a career in politics. If I do, I will have had great practice dealing with the avalanche of daily criticism from working at Fox News and being a former Miss America. I'm ready for anything!

The first time I was asked whether women can "have it all" was at the Miss America pageant. I said no. I didn't mean that women shouldn't fully pursue their dreams, only that we need to be honest with ourselves.

In the Miss America system talent is worth 50 percent of a contestant's points so my mom encouraged me to give it a try. And once I decided to do it, like anything else, I gave it 110 percent.