Dear Pageant Parents,

I want to start this letter off by defining what a pageant parent is. A pageant parent is not necessarily a mother or a father, but an aunt, an uncle, a grandma, a grandpa. A pageant parent is someone who supports your pageant dreams and journey 100% and never fail to have your back, regardless of whether they’re your ‘parent’ or not. This letter is a thank you to all the pageant parents out there. It’s a thank you for everything you’ve done for us and for every time you’ve been there.

You’re the ones who support us unconditionally, and who spend hours listening to us practice our introduction and our circle turns. You watch us try on gown after gown after gown, giving us all this constructive criticism until we find the one.

You listen to our personal introduction so many times that you could probably recite it word for word if we asked you to. You know just as much about our organization as we do, if not more. You’ve spent countless hours listening to us practice for our interview and introduction, knowing more about us than we do. You’ve spent more money on our pageant wardrobe and us and all the other little things. You’re our chauffeur, our photographer, our role models, and our biggest supporters.

In my case, my mom has spent three of her birthday weekends at National American Miss pageants over the past five years. She spent her birthdays doing my hair and make up, and sitting in the audience cheering me on non-stop. You get just as nervous as we do before finales and you know just how important it is to remember the little things, which always end up the most important.

Our pageant parents are the ones who cheer the loudest and hold their breath the longest when it’s down to the last few names of the top five. You’re the ones who make sure we never give up, and who are ready with your arms wide open when we lose (gracefully of course!) You’re the ones who remind us of every deadline and who make sure we pay everything on time – even when money’s tight. You’re the first person to defend pageantry and pageant girls everywhere when you hear someone saying something negative, especially when the person has never actually experienced a pageant outside of their television screen.

And through it all, you’re the ones who constantly love us and support us through the whole thing. You support us through the wins and the losses, the good and the bad. You’re the ones who spend hours on end making sure everything Is perfect, and you’re the people who are our biggest critics and our greatest cheerleaders.

So finally, I just want to say thank you, again. Thank you for the countless hours and dollars you’ve put into this dream of ours. We wouldn’t be able to do it without you.