Life Lessons from a Pageant Girl

Well sorry I have been completely MIA for a a good bit of the month. This month was my state's teen pageant and I competed. It took months of preparation, but it had to be one of the best weekends on my life. I did not win the pageant, but I do get to continue to represent my regional area as a local titleholder. The amount of friendships that I have made in one weekend is amazing and I am so excited to go back. I had done a few other pageants in the past, but this has to be the biggest one that I have done so far. Pageants can be extremely misunderstood due to all of what the media puts out, but trust me, there are many types of pageants. I promise you that over 95% of pageant systems require a certain presentable eloquence and the ability to be articulate while being confidently beautiful at the same time. It is all about radiating from the inside, out. There are many lessons learned that apply to everyday life such as:

1. When all goes wrong, keep your head up and smile. It does not matter if your shoe broke, you fell on the stage, or completely forgot your name. You must learn that in tough situations, you must fix your problem quickly and remember the show must go on.
2. There will always be undercover competition. You honestly can never tell which amazing girl will win. Every judge is looking for something different and there are too many factors to guess. You are your only competition because you can't predict others outcomes!
3. Enhance, do not cover. You can only go but so far by covering your true self up! At the end of the day, your true colors will show so be yourself. Trust me, perfect is out. People like quirky talents and fun facts about yourself!
4. You can help others without doing huge deeds. One extremely important thing I learned is being under pressure. Something as simple as helping a girl who is already in a gown and needs help to fix her shoe can be a huge help. Maybe a quick hairspray assistance perhaps? Every little deed means a lot when you need a hand.
5. Working with all sorts of people. In life you will deal with everyone! In different stressful situations people have many reactions to nerves- they may laugh it off, become defensive, or stay quiet. Who knows? Learning how to help the people around you and learn to work together is the most important lesson.
6. Confidence isn't a choice, it's a requirement. The point of growth in pageants is confidence. You must be able to feel good within yourself before you have the full potential to change others lives. 

I truly recommend pageants to any girl wanting to try something different. They are truly life changing and you will learn so much about yourself while preparing. It is currently Miss Universe season as tonight is the preliminaries competition and this weekend will be the finals. Make sure you tune in the Miss Universe pageant this weekend! xoxo