I've never really been the type to dress up like the other girls do. I'm more of a casual, relaxed kind of girl. More athletic.

I was always the tallest girl in my class, and it made me have really bad posture because I wanted to seem shorter than I really was. It really reflected how I felt about myself. I spent most of my youth in school feeling really insecure about the way I looked because I was different.

Pageant makeup is so different from your day-to-day look. When you're on stage you really have to pack it on.

Modeling and pageants help me overcome feeling insecure about the way that I look and my height.

We're into this barrage of pop culture - you know, TV, movies, the Internet. We become creatures that we've made up, made of certain different flotsam from pop culture and certain different personas that are in style.

Before we had the Internet, we would either call or write to our friends, one at a time, and keep up with their lives. It was a slow process and took a lot of effort and time to learn about each other.

We are all now connected by the Internet, like neurons in a giant brain.

Social media is the ultimate equalizer. It gives a voice and a platform to anyone willing to engage.