A homeless woman who suffered years of abuse before winning Miss California and serving in the US Army has shared her astonishing story.
Christina Meredith, 32, from Saint Augustine, Florida won the state beauty queen pageant after spending most of her life living on the streets.
She now serves in the US Army's Reserve Officer Training Corps and will soon graduate with a political science degree from the University of North Florida in December.
Ms Meredith endured a life of hardship, and was sexually abused by her uncle while suffering years of physical and psychological torment from her mother as a young child.
She took care of her seven siblings and worked multiple jobs to help put food on the table, but soon ended up in foster care.
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Once she was 18, Ms Meredith was too old to remain in the system and was left to fend for herself.
She gained custody of her younger sister and moved to California, where she worked multiple jobs to make a living.
The teenager lived in her car as she tried to save up money to get a place of her own, and took showers at a public beach to keep clean.
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One day, she was spotted by a scout who urged her to take part in the 2013 Miss California beauty pageant.
Ms Meredith ended up winning the pageant, beating thousands of contestants who spent years preparing themselves for California's biggest beauty contest.
She has now released a new book titled "Cindergirl", detailing the years of hardship she faced - from homelessness, abuse and bullying - to how she managed to triumph and get back on her own two feet.
Ms Meredith attended Nease High School and underwent the Junior Reserve Officers Training (JROTC) program - a youth training initiative run by the US Army - which she said "saved her life".
Speaking to students in a JROTC classroom in Nease High School, she said: "This programme saved my life. I credit all my success to this program, because it gave me the structure, purpose and camaraderie."
She has now started a nonprofit organisation to help foster care children get the services they need to lead healthy, independent adult lives.
Ms Meredith added: "So we have these 18, 19, 20-year-olds who have been trying to make it on their own for years.
“Seventy percent of boys end up in the prison system, 60 percent of the girls end up pregnant, and we wonder why we have these issues?”
The motivational speaker has added a new goal to her bucket list, and said her long-term plan is to run for office.
She added: “My long term goal is to run for office, but that’s a few years down the way. I mean I have a one-, three, five 10, 15, 20-year plan. That’s how I operate.
"I’m in the middle of this 20-year plan that I have. It’s real. It keeps me focused, it keeps me task-oriented. It keeps me motivated on days I’m not motivated; I’m human, can I just not have responsibilities today?”
Ms Meredith said she never envisioned herself achieving this much success at her age, and always thought she would end up married with children at 30.
She added: “This isn’t what I planned for myself. I wanted to be a wife and a mom. But that obviously is not in the cards for me at this point. I hope one day it is.
"My ability to serve in and out of uniform creates in me responsibilities and obligations that are just inherently there.
"As a communicator, a national speaker, I fly all over the country and talk to thousands of people. That’s a leadership position, because my words have power.”
