My year as Miss Westchester was a great experience—one that I documented
that here on my blog! I loved getting involved in my community on a deeper
level, meeting some incredible new people and making lifelong friends among my
pageant sisters, and serving as a role model for young women in Westchester
County. Of course, I didn’t need a crown to do all of those things, and after
my “reign”, I continued to volunteer with My Sisters’ Place (albeit in a more “behind
the scenes” manner than PSA filming!), support the Westchester Children’s
Association (a favorite advocacy group of mine), and make decisions that I felt
would serve as a positive example to youth I came in contact with. However, I
learned from my year that having a crown can help to draw more attention to the
causes that you believe in—and naturally, I wondered what it would be like to
carry a state title, which would afford for opportunities to serve throughout New
York—not just in Westchester County. However, my experience at Miss New York
USA was disappointing. It had nothing to do with my placement (or, I should say, non-placement...haha!), and more to do
with the fact that I felt like I was participating in a system that didn’t care
at all about internal beauty, and only focused on the exterior. From the start
of my time spent in pageantry, I felt that I was a better fit for the Miss America
Organization (my very first pageant was actually an MAO local back in early
2011). After passing on my Miss
Westchester crown last year, I began to prepare for the 2013 MAO local pageant
season.
The preparation process was long, but enjoyable. In the Miss
America system, the interview segment of competition is longer (10 minutes) and
of course, there is the addition of a 90-second talent routine. I wasn’t
extremely worried about interview—while I spent time polishing up my paperwork
and preparing for difficult questions, I love meeting new people and speaking
about my platform. I almost always leave interview feeling confident and
content with my performance. Talent, on the other hand, was something that I
feared. As a child, I took almost ten years of dance classes and dabbled in
music through choir and piano lessons. However, I took a step back from those
hobbies when I was in middle school to focus on figure skating. I don’t regret
that decision—I love being on the ice, and had the chance to compete at a
national championship with my synchronized skating team—but you can’t exactly
figure skate for a Miss America talent. (Actually, I take that back. You can—if
you’re willing to pay for your own synthetic ice and are able to find a pageant
willing to take the time to set it up for you during the talent portion of
competition. However, just one look at the cost of the synthetic ice and I
realized I was going to have to find a talent that did not involve lacing up my
skates.)
I threw myself into piano lessons. For months, I visited my
teacher and practiced for hours each week. I improved, but it was a struggle
for me. In spite of months of training, when my first local pageant arrived in
February of 2013, I wasn’t ready to premier my piece and had to modify it for
competition. Still, I decided to compete for the experience. In spite of my
weak talent, I felt good in the other areas of competition. I had been working
out regularly for swimsuit, scored an awesome interview outfit at BCBG on
clearance, and borrowed a beautiful evening gown from my amazing teen sister
queen. But the day of the pageant, I flopped. After feeling great after my
interview, I found my nervousness surrounding the talent competition
influencing the rest of my performance on stage. I stuttered during my on-stage
question in spite of a fairly solid answer overall, felt like I rushed during
swimsuit, and almost tripped as I entered and left the stage for evening gown. I
was so unbelievably disappointed in myself.
As lame as it might make me sound,
I decided to stop competing after that day. I just couldn’t measure up to the
high expectations I knew that the Miss America Organization placed on the
talent competition, and thought that the time I was spending practicing the
piano daily would be better served focusing on my upcoming college graduation
and finishing my senior year strongly. The disappointment began
to fade away as I watched some wonderful ladies win the next few local titles
and truly felt like I had made the right decision to stop competing. But in the
back of my mind, I continued to wonder “what if?”
In March, two of my favorite
pageant friends, Amanda and Megan, competed in their final local pageant of the
year together. After the pageant, we all headed out for dinner together. Their year
of competing was over—but Amanda was already thinking about the future.
Specifically, she mentioned the upcoming Miss Thousand Islands Pageant. I
mentioned my desire to compete again, and she surprised me by saying that the
pageant was open to the entire state. That night, I decided to enter the
pageant. 2014 is my final year of eligibility in the Miss America system, and I
decided to go out with a bang. I may not be exceptionally talented, but I
am exceptionally dedicated to bettering myself and giving everything that I do
my very best effort. I think that is why my first local performance
disappointed me so much—I let myself down. I’ve learned since then the
importance of valuing the fact that I try something, in spite of making
mistakes, over always performing perfectly. Nobody is perfect—and part of what
makes being a pageant queen special is the fact that we aren’t trying to be
held up on pedestals as shining examples of womanly perfection. Instead, we hit
the ground running each day, inspiring those around us by overcoming the challenges
life throws our way with class, grace, and (of course) a smile.
Today, I am content knowing that regardless
of the outcome of the Miss Thousand Islands pageant, I will leave Clayton, NY
with a smile on my face. Each of the young ladies that I met at the pageant
workshop was wonderful—smart, full of passion, and ready to take the world
around her by storm. I am looking forward to kicking off the Miss New York 2014
local season in just a few short days, and giving my all this year as I give
pageantry one last hurrah.
Love,
Sarah
P.S. Another “Why?” I get asked is
“Why are you competing for the title of Miss Thousand Islands? It’s like five
hours away!” I do have a few answers to that question…
1.
It is the longest running local in the state of
New York, which means that it has an amazing legacy. The directors are committed
to supporting their titleholder throughout her year of service—not just as she
competes at Miss NY, but as she serves the Thousand Islands area. It would be
an honor to represent such a wonderful community and give back to them the
support they give to their titleholder each year.
2.
If my wildest dream were to come true next year,
and I was crowned Miss New York, I’d be serving the entire state! The drives to
the Thousand Islands to serve would be great practice for that job.
3.
The five hour drive? It really isn’t so bad. It
is scenic (so many cute old buildings and towns), and it ends in one of the
most beautiful views I’ve seen in New York: the sunset over the St. Lawrence
river, as seen from my bright pink Adirondack chair off of Riverside Drive in
Clayton.
Amazing post Sarah! If you have the honor of being crowned as Miss TI 2014, Shelby is going to love you =)
ReplyDeleteThat is quite the compliment coming from a blogger like yourself! Loved reading through some of your experiences as Miss TI :)
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