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How do you feel about being held up as a role model for defending your faith?

I don't say I'm a role model. I just think it's something people see in me. Real role models don't have to come out and say they are. I feel good. I know I've impacted other people, especially my generation. I think my generation is apathetic. They really don't care what's going on around them, and that's a big concern because our future depends on them, and it's scary to know that some people my age aren't in touch with what's going on in the world around them. They don't care about voting and elections.

Christian groups have asked you to come to their events and included you in advertisements. Did you ever think these groups were exploiting you for their own ends?

No, I think they embraced what I stood for. People forget that I'm 22 years old. Not many people would have done what I did. Everything was on the line; I'd worked so hard for this goal, and I wasn't willing to lie, to be politically correct to win the pageant. Regardless of who you are, people are drawn toward that. People are drawn toward a 22-year-old speaking out for what she believes in and being brutally attacked because of it. I don't think any of these groups are exploiting me. I think they're embracing the younger generation doing something.

You wrote that you don't regret getting breast implants. Have you ever wondered whether it might be incompatible with your Christian faith?

No, I don't think there's anything wrong with getting breast implants as a Christian. I think it's a personal decision. I don't see anywhere in the Bible where it says you shouldn't get breast implants.

You write that you're still standing, but do you have any regrets from everything that happened?

No, I don't have any regrets with anything I said or that happened during the pageant. I think it's important to know that I will fail, I'm not perfect. We're all sinners, and none of us are perfect. No one should be pointing the finger, when we fall down we should get up and continue what we should be doing.

Can you comment on the reports that you settled a lawsuit against Miss USA because of sex tapes?

Everything that was discussed in mediation was confidential. There is a video out there of me. I was really young and immature. It was the worst mistake of my life. It was a really stupid, stupid decision that I made. But I take full responsibility for it. Did I think I would ever be a celebrity or that my boyfriend at the time, who I sent it to, would ever blackmail me? No. I think we all make mistakes and we all do things when we're young that sometimes backfire later in life. I give advice to younger girls in my book because I've learned a lot since I was 16 or 17 years old.

You've apologized to your fans for posing in some revealing photos. Do you think parents will worry that you're not a good role model for their children?

No one's perfect. You're not perfect, I'm not perfect. Everyone's made mistakes. So if people want to judge me and say that I'm not a good person because of something I did when I was young, that's their problem. But what really matters is who I am now. We as Christians need to stick together and realize that the Enemy is powerful, and that there are so many people out there who will try and destroy good people. It's a crazy world, that's all I can say. All Christians fall short, and hopefully mothers can hear my story and check their daughters' cell phones and Facebook pages. Young people are doing it every single day.

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November (Web-Only) 2009, Vol. 53