THE FOUR KEYS

- Identify and effectively develop your spirituality

- Discover and embrace your relationships

- Take control of your health and body image

- Believe in your dreams and make them a reality

In CIQ, I illustrate just how to incorporate these four keys into your life and become the most confident, positive and beautiful YOU.

Inspired by my young high-school and college-age MTV fans, in 2007, I accomplished one of my biggest dreams when my first book Confidence is Queen: The Four Keys to Ultimate Beauty through Positive Thinking  was published by Penguin Books.

In CIQ, I share my story of how, after years of enduring physical abuse at the hands of my father,  my hard-working mom was left to raise her three daughters on her own.  It's a story with a very happy ending indeed and I share all the things I did to become Miss USA and achieve my dream of working in the entertainment industry as an actor and tv host.

It's a story of triumph and how the American dream of a woman from another country and her daughters came true because they were willing to work hard for it!

I went from a girl who was raised poor by an incredibly strong single mom in a low-income neighborhood,  to becoming Miss USA, an actor, radio show host, author, speaker and television host. And I'm not kidding when I say we were poor. We were on Welfare, used food stamps to buy groceries, and I remember going with my mom to pick up a box filled with food that, as kids,  we thought was such a treat! {Does anyone remember government cheese?! LOL!}  We needed government programs like Welfare the majority of my childhood because, even with her three jobs, my mom needed the help after my father left, but we didn't let that keep us down.

Growing up in a neighborhood where gang life and teen pregnancy were the norm, the odds were never in my favor. My two sisters and  I persevered with the love and never-ending support from my mom. So many young women grow up in similar situations and I wrote CIQ  to show them how I created the life that I would dream of as a child and how they too can find their confidence to be the queens they were put on this earth to be! 

My aim was, and still is, to inspire young women to continue striving for their dreams, and to give hope to all the amazing single parents who are working hard and sacrificing so much to provide a better life for their kids just as my Mami did.

Where would I be in life had I continued the cycle of abuse? At what point did I decide I was worth more? What was the driving force that helped me win Miss USA? I answer all these questions and so many more in my book. Additionally, I share beauty tips, give fashion and nutrition advice, and talk about building strong relationships. 

A million "thank you's" to all who've read CIQ and have sent me sweet messages over the years. I cherish them all.