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.
Shortly thereafter, some friends encouraged me to try out for the Miss South Carolina World beauty pageant. To my surprise, I won - and was sent to New York City to compete nationally.
When I got to be about 16,17 I got into a beauty pageant and I was allowed to start playing around with makeup.
Women in New York have to work much harder to compete with the supermodels for attention.
I wrote my own pop songs and sang one of them when I went into a stupid beauty competition when I was 16. That was my public debut, and it made my mother even more determined that I should go into opera!
I was in a beauty contest once. I not only came in last, I was hit in the mouth by Miss Congeniality.
Once a friend of mine applied on my behalf to enter the Miss Delhi, Face of 1993 contest. I soon fell in love with the concept and the ramp walks too.
When I was 13, my mom said she had a dream that I would win Miss Universe in a red dress.
There's something about winning Miss America that brings out the snark.
I was noticed by a person from a local model agency, and he proposed that I participate in a beauty contest Miss Chelyabinsk.
Would you believe that I once entered a beauty contest? I must have been out of my mind. I not only came in last, I got 361 get-well cards.
I really lived and breathed Miss Universe.
My aim has always been to win the Miss World title.
