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!

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.

Gratitude needs to come back in a big way and I hope to encourage people to get involved.

I grew up a fat kid in a small town in Minnesota who was a tomboy and happened to play a mean violin. My goal was to be a famous concert artist some day.

One of my Miss America judges called me a "God-clutcher" way back when because I spoke about my faith being an important part of my life during my interview.

Thanks to my upbringing, I always believed in myself and worked as hard as I could to get where I wanted to be. Nothing was ever handed to me.

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.