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!

I'm advocating for companies not to make women sign confidentiality clauses just to be able to come to work. I understand that companies need to keep some things secret - like business practices and trade secrets - but confidentiality clauses were never supposed to be keeping private what's happening to people within the workplace. It's a human right issue.

Our faith is what inspires us to reach out and volunteer to help others. As a child my parents taught me the biblical charge, "To whom much is given, much is expected," and faith guides me that way. And I believe, especially in this day and age, it's vital that we provide our children with a foundation from which to build their lives - one that gives them a sense of purpose.

I learned that I had to work triply hard every time I started a new job in a newsroom to prove my value and worth.

Here we go again. Pandering to the .3 percent of the American population that consider themselves transgender. Now I get to explain this to my 8-year-old, if I just wanted to watch a nice family show with some nice music.