Alright, so let's face it Louisiana is a pretty rockin' state. So many things help make this little southern state so charming: from the unbeatable food, to the amazing people, and let's not forget about the rich culture. One of the things that helps to set Louisiana apart, however, is the overwhelming amount of festivals that are held to celebrate Louisiana's food, people, culture, and commodities. Anyone in Louisiana can spend their time learning about all of the things it offers, but it has been said that you have not seen Louisiana until you have seen it through the eyes of a festival queen. I may be biased, but I believe that this statement holds so many truths. Not everyone will relate to these 14 things, but I have a feeling that if you were apart of the rhinestone sisterhood, these things will bring so many memories flooding back and remind you how lucky you were to be a festival queen.
1. You will never be able to explain to someone how it felt when you were crowned.
You have tried to put it into words for people to understand, but no amount of words can capture how it felt. Everyone chocks it up to excitement, butterflies, and a few tears. Let's face it, though. Not many people get it. You stood up there hands shaking, heart pounding so loud that you could hardly hear, and waiting for what felt like an eternity to hear your name being called as queen. The moment the crown was placed on your head was a moment you will remember forever, and only festival queens will really understand just how intensely emotional that moment is.
2. Your festival colors instantly take over your closet.
"Dressing in your festival colors is so cliche," I said a few days after my crowning. It didn't take long for me to realize, however, that I would soon eat my words. It started off with a pink dress here and some black pants there. By the end of my year, my closet had been taken over by my festival colors and honestly I wasn't mad about it. It was empowering to spend every weekend wearing the colors of your festival. I made it hard for people to mistake what festival I represented. My pride came from every part of my life, but it just so happened to start in my closet. Not to mention, it is a very satisfying feeling to match your crown to your wardrobe.
3. After being exposed to the "mommarazzi," you expect your picture to be taken while performing life's everyday tasks.
I'll admit, we were all pretty overwhelmed when this whole "momarazzi" thing started. I know I had never stood with a group of girls for 10 minutes while every one's mom stood in a cluster trying to get the perfect shot. The cameras started flashing and the faces started to quiver from all that smiling only to be called to halt by someone yelling 1..2..3..break. We all began to scatter, and of course they weren't all done. Thank goodness Facebook invented the tag-people function. Let's face it, in what other group of people is there "photo-op" on every single itinerary you receive. Since transitioning into a "hasbeen," I dare to say I often wish I had someone to be there to take pictures of me doing everyday tasks, you know for scrap booking reasons.
4. Words no longer mean what they used to. Trains, and mantles, and banners. Oh My!
When you receive your goodies after your crowning, there really should be a dictionary included that contains all of the festival queen lingo. I know when I first joined this glamorous world, I had no idea what people were saying to me half of the time. It took me about 2 months to learn to call it a banner and not a sash. I now cringe every time I hear the word sash, thanks everyone. Trains are no longer things that race on tracks, but long pieces of fabric that follow behind you showing important aspects of your festival. Mantles aren't just where you hang your Christmas stockings, but something that makes it awfully hard to scratch your face all while making you stand perfectly straight up. Learning the lingo took some time and often felt like a different language. I am; however, thankful that I still hear certain words that instantly have me reflecting on the greatest year of my life.
5. Your scalp is left with a permanent indention to where your crown spent every weekend and some weekdays.
Crowns are truly the most perfect accessory. I have never found an outfit that a crown doesn't look good with, no trust me I've tested it and it even looks good with pajamas. Now, when you spend 6+ hours in a crown that was carefully hand crafted to represent your festival you understand pain. The pain always seemed to come in stages. At first things were great, you wore the crown wondering how you ever complained about having it on your head. In fact, you never wanted to take it off again, time was limited with it. Next, came the slight discomfort. I would often lift it up a few times to let that area breathe and try to reposition it to sit more comfortably. Soon after, it would begin to tingle and become sort of numb. Although I began to lose feeling in that area, the pain never quite subsided. Headaches all too often accompanied this step and you wondered how you would ever get through the time left at an event. Finally, you get to take your crown off. You put it in the box, scratch the indention it left in your head, and start the cycle again at your next event. I can still feel my indention and I'm sure some of you can too. Who's complaining though. We are the ones who got to wear a crown every weekend after all.
6. You no longer have free weekends, and that is perfectly okay.
Louisiana has a lot of festivals. No really, I had no idea how many it had. Every single weekend offered something new to experience. As a festival queen, I made it my mission to go to as many events as possible to soak up as much of this culture as I could, and I do not regret a second of that. I would not trade my busy weekends for anything in the entire world. I also didn't even consider giving up my weekends as a sacrifice, and if I were given the chance to do it all again I would do it without a second thought.
7. You become a crafting queen on top of being a festival queen.
I had no idea that festival queens loved crafts so much. Each event either required you to bring a craft to be judged, or had time set aside so you could create crafts to help remember your time at a certain festival. After my year as queen I had learned how to properly decorate shrimp boots, umbrellas, canvases, and so much more. I still have most of these things hanging in my room, and they serve as the greatest reminders of how I spent most of my time that year. They also each hold memories that make staying up all night to finish them, worthwhile.
8. You are introduced to some of the top secret beauty hacks that honestly change your life.
Before I was dubbed a festival queen I had never known some of life's most greatest secrets. Dry shampoo was like your own personal little angel, hairspray and bobby pins are as important as oxygen and water, and makeup tricks that blew my mind {that I still use today}. I guess I could have learned these things at other moments in life, but learning them from the experts was my favorite part about learning them. I now consider one of my talents that I can smoke the eye shadow out and have an up-do ready to be presented in a matter of minutes
9. Speaking in front of large crowds becomes normal for you.
I'll admit, the first few times you are thrown on stage can be intimidating. Not only did you have to try to remember what you were going to say, but you stood alone in front of hundreds of people with all eyes on you. As time went on, getting up on stage become no big deal and the nerves slowly became non-existent. I thank being a festival queen for my ability to talk in front of large crowds and for giving me the people skills that have greatly helped me in my everyday life. Most of all I think we can all agree, the only thing harder than hopping up on stage the first few times is writing and perfecting your introduction.
10. If tying a train and mantle were an Olympic sport, you would certainly take gold.
Much like perfecting the art of speaking on stage, the art of a train and mantle is a learned skill. Although I always had to have someone help me, it was inspiring how fast we got at it. In the beginning we fumbled around tying the wrong parts to each other and walking out feeling like it was all going to fall off. As time went on, we learned to have them on and ready to go in just a few seconds with no fears it would fall off. I hate to say that I am an expert on the matter, but I will say that if tying a train and mantle was an Olympic sport I would take gold. (Even with the fierce festival queen competition)
11. You learn that a year can go by in the blink of an eye.
As cliche as this sounds, it seemed I never fully understood this until my year as queen seemed to happen overnight. I remember the beginning of my reign so vividly. The excitement, the memories, and thinking I had all of this time to take it all in. The months flew by and before I knew it I was standing on stage passing on my crown while watching another girl get initiated into this elite group of women wondering where it all went. It may have happened in the blink of an eye, but without a doubt it was the greatest year of my life and houses some of my most fondest memories. I wish I could blink and relive it time and time again.
12. You make friends who change your life and will undoubtedly be your bridesmaids.
I never believed people when they told me I would meet some of my greatest friends traveling the state of Louisiana. Much to my surprise, I did not just meet friends. The friends turned into sisters and their families turned into my family. Each and every queen I was so lucky to get to travel with greatly impacted my life as well as my family's life. These friendships were some of the easiest to make because these people understood you on a level other non-festival queens just couldn't. They understood your passion and had one all their own. They understood why you had busy weekends, and spent them with you. Along the way I found girls who will undoubtedly be bridesmaids in my wedding, people who have been adopted into my family, and a group of women who changed my life.
13. Your festival will always be your favorite and it occupies your entire heart.
I know I am biased, but the festival I was so lucky to represent will forever hold a special place in my heart. I grew up attending this festival year after year, and fell more in love with it during my reign than I ever thought possible. Whether your festival was a hometown staple or one you had a dream to represent, you will undoubtedly be attending year after year. I never thought it was possible to fall in love so deeply with a festival. The people, the culture, and everything else made it absolutely perfect in my eyes. I may no longer be queen, but that will never stop me from promoting and loving MY festival with every part of my heart.
14. You fall in love with Louisiana and all of the little things that make it the most perfect state. Not to mention the memories will last forever.
Being a festival queen is not about being beautiful. It is not about the long dresses, crowns, or even the banners. Being a festival queen is something that not everyone gets to experience in this lifetime. During my time as queen I learned many things, traveled to places I had never even heard of, and most importantly fell in love with Louisiana. They say you haven't seen Louisiana until you have seen it through the eyes of a festival queen, and boy are they right. So here's to you, my queens. Whether I reigned with you or not, always know we are apart of a distinguished group of women so lucky to call themselves : rhinestone sisters. The years may pass, but the memories will last forever.
This article goes out to my 2014/2015s. Thank you for showing me the ropes of queen life and inspiring me to write this. I love you all more than you know. #stophaileethomas
-Hailee Thomas
79th Louisiana Shrimp And Petroleum Festival Queen
