"So what do you like to do for fun?"
"Well, I like to sing. Love it actually. I read a lot too. Young adult fiction mostly. Same with writing. I do theatre... oh, and I also do pageants."
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It's right after that last statement that I'm usually met with one of three responses: silence, a confused expression, or a deepening curiosity to know more.
Unfortunately, it's usually the first two and not the last one.
I remember when I told my mom I wanted to start competing. I was getting ready to finish out my freshman year of high school and I was looking through an old friend's Facebook photos when I saw that she had recently won a local title within the Miss New Hampshire's Outstanding Teen program. I immediately began gathering all the research I could on this program and found out that there was going to be a local pageant in my area in a couple of months and I decided right then and there that I had to do it.
My mom looked at me like I was nuts.
"A pageant?" she asked incredulously. "But... why?"
I shrugged and simply said that it looked interesting. It was a newfound item on my bucket list that I wanted to check off and before too long, I had her convinced. I was actually going to compete in this pageant.
Walking in that day, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. What if the girls were mean? What if it was like that TLC show? What if I tripped and fell? What if I hated it?
But the moment I stepped foot into that theatre, I knew that this was nothing like the TV shows or what people thought. It was something so much better. From that point on, I got bit by the "pageant bug" and my life began to change.
Through pageantry, I have met some of the most incredible young women that this society will ever see. I have met doctors, lawyers, teachers and business people just to name a few. I have met productive members of society who are devoted advocates and humanitarians who work with our local government to bring awareness to issues and to improve the world we live in. I have met encouraging and life-giving individuals who only want to see the people around them thrive and succeed in everything they do.
Are they incredibly beautiful girls with flawless hair and makeup? Yes, but they also can throw their hair up in a ponytail and go mudding and hunting with the boys. Do they walk across the stage in a swimsuit and six inch heels? For sure, but they can also chow down on a huge bowl of fettuccine alfredo if it's put in front of them.
Yet when people look at pageant girls, all they see or think of is a girl whose main goal in life is to sit still and look pretty. And I get it. I do. Pageantry is a hard thing to wrap your head around, and honestly if you told me five years ago that I would have competed in close to 20 pageants by the time I turned 20, I'm not entirely sure I would have believed you.
I was a member of three Honor societies and graduated salutatorian of my class with a 4.16 GPA and am now a University Honors Program student with a 3.97 GPA. I want to graduate summa cum laude with my degree in Communications and go on to become a college admissions counselor. I was a student team leader for a mentored ministry organization, a VBS and Sunday school teacher and a member of my high school's student council. I performed in local youth and pre-professional theatre groups for five years. I'm a student host and a small-group leader for new students at my University.
And on top of all that? I'm also a pageant girl.
Does that look like sitting still and looking pretty?
Be blessed xx
