I know, normally folks on TV wouldn't readily admit their age, but since there's nothing you can do about it, you might as well own it and be happy.
— Gretchen Carlson
During my whole year as Miss America and afterward, I was calling agents, looking for advice and opportunities. When I was in New York or in Los Angeles doing different appearances, if I had time on my schedule, I tried to meet with executives.
One of my proudest moments in life was earning the valedictorian medal in high school. I worked so hard for it!
We all remember growing up with mean girls, right?
I might even pursue a career in politics. If I do, I will have had great practice dealing with the avalanche of daily criticism from working at Fox News and being a former Miss America. I'm ready for anything!
I didn't win Class President in tenth grade. I was too chubby to win a role in the school play 'Oklahoma!' and I didn't make it into a singing and dancing group in high school for the same reason - too fat.
I wanted to see how much of an insult it was to be called an ignoramus. I didn't know what it meant; I just Googled it.
Hearing that I had a 3 percent chance of ever having kids was one of the more devastating moments in my life.
There are no guarantees in life, but I believe faith provides all of us with a foundation to live the best lives possible - knowing that there is a higher being who loves us and will never leave us. Through the many struggles in my life, my faith is sometimes the only thing I have to hold onto. God was my only friend.
When people watch me on TV, they see part of my life. I wanted to let them know the real me behind the scenes. The child who was a concert violinist from the age of six. The young woman who took on the challenge to compete in the Miss America pageant. The television journalist for twenty-five years.
When people don't want to debate you on the smart issues of the day, it's just a lot easier to call you a dumb blonde from Fox.
Holding true to what you believe - even in a big city - is so important.
Once I turned 40, I stopped giving a rip about my detractors, the people who say nasty things. It's more candid and honest than it would have been. I share my failures, which is important.
I actually always say that I have a son and a daughter, but I work more for my son, because I want him to respect women when he gets into the real world like he respects his mom right now.
Maybe it's because I'm short and blond, but people have really underestimated me.
A lot of stories that aren't true get out into the mainstream, and it's hard to correct that. People want to hear what they already believe.
I've reinvented myself many times in my life. I thought I'd become a concert violinist but burned out at 17. I thought I'd go to law school but became Miss America.
I wasn't prepared for the environment I encountered trying to break into television news. In the world of music, where I spent my formative years, we were judged solely on our talent, and gender wasn't a factor.
I took off the makeup and stashed the crown, and now I was just another young woman out in the world. It's almost dizzying how fast the fame goes away - like a stage that turns dark at the end of a performance.
The minute that you go to arbitration, it's 100% confidential, so nobody ever hears about it.
Trust is the most important aspect of being a journalist. If people don't trust or find you relatable - you will not have success.
The future is wide open. I may actually go back and get that law degree someday.
My career had zero to do with whether or not my husband also worked. It had everything to do with personal identity, personal goals, and making the most of my life.
For all of you out there who don't know what 'ignoramus' is, it's an ignorant lawyer.
I always wanted to have a really successful career, but I always wanted to be a mom, too.
If you Google me, you'll find plenty of 'dumb blonde' references - even though I graduated with honors from Stanford and studied at Oxford University. I don't let it bother me.
All women deserve a dignified and respectful workplace in which talent, hard work and loyalty are recognized, revered, and rewarded.
Life is about compromise - in relationships and at work.
After I won Miss America, I called my dad, who had four kids in college, to say he no longer had to pay for Stanford.
I cling to the hope that with more and more women in the workplace, we can teach younger generations to be respectful and also encourage young women to speak up when they've experienced abuse.
During the time I was Miss America, I had come to New York City because I had decided I wanted to try to get into television.
We need a woman in the White House right now. I really think that women want to work together.
In our society, people look at women who are tenacious, smart, attractive, and talented and for whatever reason say, 'There must be something wrong with that equation. She couldn't possibly be all of those things at once.'
The assault weapon ban in this country should be reinstated.
To this day, I have an open door policy. I seek out interns and young women and try to help them. Women mentors were important to me, and I want to do that for others.
I wasn't naive, but at the end of my Miss America year, when two different executives attacked me during what I thought were informational interviews about jobs, I was shocked. I didn't see it coming, and the worst thing about it was the shame I felt, as if I'd done something wrong.
Arbitration clauses have become prevalent in most corporate agreements or contracts for employees.
I believe giving back is one of the greatest life lessons we can teach our children: that the world isn't all about them and that, through our actions, people will really discover what kind of a person we truly are.
My advice to people who've lost their job: go back to the things that made you from the start.
One week after getting married in my thirties - while I was working as the main anchor at the CBS affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio - I got fired.
We like to say Miss America is the classy one. It has a talent category. I would have been dead last in Miss USA - I'm five foot three, I'm not a model, and I never wanted to be one.
Sometimes people look at television personalities and say, 'Wow, they've never had any problems.' And I really wanted people to know that hadn't been my path. I want people to know the real me underneath.
Nothing was ever handed to me. My hope is that when people read my story, it will inspire them to reach for their goals and not give up. The real story is this: if I can do it, you can, too.
I'm ready to move on to the next chapter of my life in which I will redouble my efforts to empower women in the workplace.
The political scenario has gotten so divisive - not only in Washington, D.C., but across the country, too.
Sexual harassment can really affect you for a long time, and I want more women to come forward.
Even though we have laws against it and HR departments to handle it, a woman - especially if she is young and just starting out - can never be sure that reporting harassment won't hurt her career.
Sometimes when women come forward about sexual harassment, they're seen as a troublemaker.
I do think we need to find common ground on some of these major issues facing our nation.
One of the most important things to do is to raise our kids in a respectful way with both genders.
