I just know that the one thing that we all have in common is challenges. No one lives a challenge free life.

I'm glad that I get to take my final walk as the princess of 2012. ...there's nothing wrong with winning an Oscar!

I hope that in some way that I can be some sort of beacon of hope, especially because I am not the typical Hollywood beauty.

I think that young women and little girls need to see that they don't have to be the damsel in distress. They don't have to not show their strength. They don't have to be whatever the stereotype is or the tropes that we go to in our minds.

Where I'm from, you learned about God before you learned to read and write. Our faith is what grounds us.

The older you get, you always learn more. Sometimes it's a process of learning about yourself and what your journey is. Sometimes the process moves forward at a rapid pace in a short amount of time - or moves backwards. And you're like, "Man, I thought I had made so much progress, and now all of a sudden, I'm 10 steps further behind than when I started."

The one thing that I realize - well, not the one thing, but it was a big thing - having in my head that I need to get healthier. It's been a very gradual process for me.