Miss USA 2014 Contestants: Miss Indiana Mekayla Diehl Praised For Normal Body And Power Of Forgiveness [PHOTO]

Miss USA 2014 is Miss Nevada (Nia Sanchez), but the contestant most tweeted about is Miss Indiana. When she took the runway as a part of the Top 20 bathing suit competition, Twitter exploded with praises for Miss Indiana Mekayla Diehl's normal body. Out of the super skinny Miss USA contestants, Miss Nevada looked like a healthy young woman with a figure that most American women can relate to.

Read Miss Indiana Mekayla Diehl's tweet about all the positive body feedback that she got during the competition:

Miss Indiana Mekayla Diehl is 5 feet 8 inches tall and wears a size 4. Knowing that an average American woman wears size 8 to 10, no one can deny that she is very fit! But she wasn't the usual model-thin version of her counterparts in the competition. The viewers all across the country appreciated that she "worked out without obsessing about being thin".

A Twitter user called Kadee McKoin tweeted, "The fact that Miss Indiana is not a complete twig makes me really happy!" Others tweeted, showing similar sentiments. When Miss Indiana didn't get picked beyond Top 20 to advance, many more sent consoling tweets saying that beauty is more than about being rail thin.

"Well, I'm OK with 'normal,'" humorously added Diehl. "Whatever defines 'normal.' I guess it's better than being weird."

But this Miss USA 2014 contestant's story had more than trying to achieve beauty.

"I was 8 years old when I was sexually abused," Diehl revealed in an interview with WNDU. "Very quickly after that we moved in with my grandmother and eventually was adopted."

"At first I was sad. And then I found my outlets. My grandmother was very encouraging. Anything that I wanted to try to do, she tried to find the best way. I had horses. We tried 4-H, I tried saddle club. Dancing was my emotional outlet. I loved to dance, and that became my emotional release."

"I don't know where that man is. I could care less if I ever see him again. However, I have learned to forgive him so that I can move on. Forgiveness and moving on are two things that are a must in our family."

Mekayla Diehl added, "I hope [young girls] can look at me and see that, yes, I'm a pageant girl, but I had a dream and I worked very, very hard for it. And I didn't let my past define me."

Miss Indiana is truly a strong American girl that shows that beauty isn't just skin deep!

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miss usa
miss usa 2014
Miss Indiana
Mekayla Diehl
world news
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