In seventh grade I received a letter in the mail inviting me to compete in the Miss Chicago pageant. Struck with interest and curiosity I begged my parents to let me compete. A few weeks later, all the pageant preparation began. Now, this pageant was not what you would expect when you hear someone say "beauty pageant." All the glitz and glamour, and all of the rude entitled girls competing. It was definitely a learning experience that I wish had not happened and do not like talking about to this day.
That was all until I found the community pageant in my town. I am from a north suburb of Chicago known as Gurnee, Illinois, home to tourist attractions such as Six Flags Great America, Key Lime Cove, and Gurnee Mills. A small group of girls ranging in ages from the wee age of six, all the way to a college graduate at age 22 are able to compete each summer for the titles of Little Miss Gurnee, Junior Miss Gurnee, and Miss Gurnee. Categories of competition include a speech, a pop question, and the most important category: interview. Although my first experience with pageantry was not ideal, this pageant showed me what pageantry should really be.
I started out competing in the Junior Miss category based on my age. I never went home with the title but I held plenty of runner-up sashes, as well as various titles of Miss Congeniality. Most people have only heard of Miss Congeniality thanks to the hilarious story of Gracie Hart FBI agent turned pageant queen, but the title of Miss Congeniality is voted on by your fellow competitors based on who is the nicest, the most helpful, or who you got along with best throughout the course of pageant practices, picnics, and pictures. To me this title almost means more than the crown.
Eventually I aged out of the Junior Miss category and matured to compete for the title of Miss Gurnee, something I had strived for ever since I started in this system. My first year I lost the title to a pageant newcomer but I was honored to receive second runner-up. The next year as I stood competing against a former Junior Miss Gurnee and my two best friends, I was shocked when my name was announced as Miss Gurnee 2015. Through tears of joy the year ahed of me flashed before my eyes.
Looking back now I truly had no idea how much of an impact this experience would have on my life. When people hear the word pageant they automatically assume "Toddlers in Tiaras" or pageant girls are stupid. Well, I can tell you yes, there are pageants like that, sadly, but there are also pageants that provide you with interview skills, public speaking skills, and professional experiences with important people in the community. For example, I worked very closely with our mayor, as well as members of the village board at many events this past year.
Our pageant system is platform based, meaning we find a cause we care about and we raise awareness for that cause. In my case, my platform is animal welfare. At the pageant my speech was about how I would support this platform and raise awareness. Once I won, part of my duties as queen was to host an event that supported my platform. In June I created an event called Fido Festival and I raised over $200 for one of our local rescues. We even had the police department do a K-9 unit demonstration.
Pageantry gets a bad rap, but I want to show people that not all pageants are that way. Being a pageant queen provided me with professional experiences and prepared me for the business world. While I will receive a scholarship for my year as Miss Gurnee, this past year gave me so much to be thankful for. If you are interested in perfecting your public speaking or interview skills, want to meet new friends, volunteer in your local community, or even just do it to try something new, check out your local pageant system and get involved. It will be worth it, trust me.
