Through the many struggles in my life, my faith is sometimes the only thing I have to hold onto. God was my only friend.

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.

I believe every child is born with a gift from God - big or small - and that we should all make the most of our talents.

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.

The challenging part of parenting is to stick to your ideals and not give in.

The discipline learned from putting in time and effort as a child is a skill and a talent you carry with you for the rest of your life in trying to achieve goals.

I felt like it was a sense of duty for me to give these women a voice.