I never had becoming Miss America on my radar screen. But when I was 17, I decided to quit the violin and my parents were devastated.

Forcing victims of sexual harassment into secret arbitration proceedings is wrong because it means that nobody ever finds out what really happened.

I'm a big believer in always challenging yourself and learning new skills.

Trust is the most important aspect of being a journalist. If people don't trust or find you relatable - you will not have success.

My hope is that when people read my story, it will inspire them to reach for their goals and not give up. The real story is this: if I can do it, you can too.

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.

I'm not superwoman. It's impossible to do everything 100 percent all of the time. And suggesting that women should be able to do it only puts more pressure on them.

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

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.

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.

An evil can only be killed by another kind of evil, because the pure spirit of peace can not do killing.

Being the evil undead wasn't fun anymore. For one thing, it was increasingly hard to get a library card.

We need all kinds of artists. We have no need to destroy drawing. We lose so much. This wouldn't happen in music.

I want to be paid fairly for the work that I'm doing. That's what every single woman around the world wants.

Visitation of God's presence is a byproduct of worship. However, we don't worship in order to gain His presence. He is worthy to be worshipped whether or not He chooses to show up.

One of the central memories of my childhood is of hunting - not well; I am a terrible shot - quail and dove and grouse on a farm on the Tennessee River.

The power to destroy the world by the use of nuclear weapons is a power that cannot be used - we cannot accept the idea of such monstrous immorality.

In general, talking about human rights tends to be very persuasive for people who care about human rights.

How beautiful was the spectacle of nature not yet touched by the often perverse wisdom of man!

The story of each stone leads back to a mountain.