At 19, Holden left Tulsa and headed to Australia alone on a work and holiday visa. She started out working as a nanny for a single mother, ended up doing some modeling and stayed for 12 months. She then moved on to spend a month in Indonesia in Bali and then on to Thailand’s largest island, Phuket, for a month.

“I love Phuket,” said the self-described adrenaline junkie. “It’s such a great cultural change. It makes you really grateful for what you have. Coming from city life and going to those places and seeing the kids in poverty gives you a whole new sense of appreciation. People pray for the things we have here.”

The latter trip made her think about possibly finding some type of charity that helps children there and raising funds for them, she added.

Back home in Dallas, Holden said she was prepared for all the comments on social media. But it doesn’t faze her, she said.

“You have a choice to either let what people say get to you or shove it off and laugh about it. I personally have learned to not care what people say about me. People are always going to hate on you. I choose just to keep moving forward ... I do have a lot of love and support on social media, too, so it’s about half and half.