Alana Stewart

No matter what kind of challenges or difficulties or painful situations you go through in your life, we all have something deep within us that we can reach down and find the inner strength to get through them.

A Texas girl who grew up in terrible poverty, I ended up leading a pretty glamorous life.

I grew up poor and used to look at people in big houses and thought they had everything. Then, later on, I looked at models in magazines and thought they had it all. When you have the ability to live that life, to some extent you find out that they don't have any magic cure for everything.

People might have the impression I had an easy life, but it's been anything but that.

Men come and go - God knows they certainly have in my life - but girlfriends are for ever. I have a lot of girlfriends but only a few very, very close ones.

A lot of people would think I have led this easy kind of charmed life, or maybe even a fairytale in some ways. But it has been anything but that.

In my life, there have been people that I was convinced would be around forever, and yet, somehow they managed to drift away after a couple of years. Likewise there have been people who have begun as casual acquaintances but become more important with each passing year.

I have a strong belief that there is a god or a higher power. I think that if you have a strong belief in that, then you won't feel alone in life and you will feel you can get through anything.

All the violence in videos and movies, you can't tell me that that wouldn't influence a disturbed person.

I've aged well because I've had to take care of myself.

I watch what I eat. I'm careful with exercise. I do enough to try to stay healthy, but I don't overdo, and I pace myself... Most important of all though, I try to think healthy thoughts.

Our thoughts really do create our lives. They've done a lot of research showing if you're an optimistic, positive person you will be a healthier person than if you're a sad, depressed, negative person.