To me, faith is being thankful when things in life are going well and also being thankful when they are not. Its often through our most difficult times when faith lifts us up and gives us the courage and the strength to work even harder to accomplish a new goal or do something we never thought we could.

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.

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.

I believe giving back is one of the greatest life lessons we can teach our children; that the world isn't all about them, and that through our actions people will really discover what kind of a person we truly are.

I felt vindicated that I decided to speak up for not only myself but women all across the nation who've been put down.

Social media has allowed people to ramp up their personal attacks on people in the public eye - because there is a sense they can do it anonymously.

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.