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.

Self esteem is built from the inside out and that is my inspiring message to all people.

If you Google me, you'll find plenty of "dumb blonde" references - even though I graduated with honors from Stanford and studied at Oxford University. I don't let it bother me.

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.

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.

I don't read all the junk. I joke if I did, I wouldn't get out of bed in the morning. But, Sometimes the comments over the top - really ugly. Many of them are critical of my looks, like the one that criticized my "thunder thighs." I get that a lot. Some of the tweets are too vulgar to repeat.

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.