It really comes down to being able to inspire others by being comfortable with yourself. You have to show girls that everyone is different; everyone has things they don't like, but they work it and walk the runway.

You're filmed that one very special day of the pageant, and you want to make sure you're as ready to go as you can be.

I learned the importance of being confident. I think that at the end of the day, it's not so much about what you look like - it's really about the way that you feel. That resonates with people.

I think that, if anything, the pageant is great for people who suffer from body issues. It's all about being comfortable with what you're given and what you have and being able to flaunt it without being insecure. It's about empowering women, not making them feel weak or less.

It's been a great adventure, everything I hoped for. But it's time to go home. I miss my family. I miss the Earth.

I had a very supportive family environment that gave me room to explore and discover things about myself.

As I wrote about my childhood, I realized that there was no big tragedy. Being multiethnic is not a tragedy. I didn't have any big life-threatening illnesses, no tumors, no kidney malfunctions... I came from a very poor family. I was chubby as a kid.

You know, I had my mother and my father convincing me that he would be going back to Hollywood and he'd be back with the actresses and dating them and that he wasn't serious about me at all. So I had him saying one thing to me and my parents telling me something else.