WHY DO I COMPETE IN PAGEANTS, AND BETTER YET ~ CONTINUE TO COMPETE?

THAT is the million dollar question!! I can't even begin to count how many times I have been asked this question, LOL!! Actually, the answer is very simple ~ because I LOVE IT!!

I have always been a "girly~girl". I loved watching Miss America while growing up and, like most little girls, would walk down my backyard sidewalk "runway" blowing kisses and waiving to my audience (usually a few chickens or a couple of cats walking by...). Although I loved watching pageants, I didn't start competing until I was almost 40. Why? Because I never had the confidence in myself to even dream of stepping out of my comfort zone. From the time I was very little through adulthood I was TERRIBLY shy!!

What changed my mind? My daughter, Tai, competed in pageants as a young girl and into her teens. I watched with great pride as she blossomed into the beautiful, confident, daredevil - "nothing is going to get in the way of what I want" woman she is today. It was through a fellow "pageant mom" that I learned of Mrs. pageants and it sounded like fun...and this was the "seed" that was the start of the new adventure that would forever change my life.

The confidence that I have gained through pageantry is worth every penny that I have ever spent. Where I am in my career I attribute to my participation in pageants ~ I am not afraid to go after what I want and I LOVE meeting new people. I have not a problem walking into a room of strangers and striking up a conversation or speaking in front of an audience - before, I would have hyperventilated at the mere thought!! I was even asked to make a commercial for my company because of my pageantry experience!

Why do I continue to compete? Easy ~ I am in love with the entire experience. I like to call pageants my "extreme sport" ~ it is an adrenaline rush that leaves you saying WOW!! - I want to go again!! Sure, I love to shop and wear beautiful clothes. I enjoy planning every detail and setting goals for myself, and the friendships that I have gained over the last 10 years are PRICELESS (Hi "Posse" ~ you know who you are!!). But most of all it is a GROWING EXPERIENCE that has given me the opportunity to reach deep down into my very soul to find out who I really am and to grow as a woman.

So, to all of you that once walked down her own make believe runway blowing kisses to her pets ~ I am living proof that it is NEVER TOO LATE TO FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS ~ AND THE CONFIDENCE AND WISDOM THAT COMES THROUGH AGE IS TRUE BEAUTY!!!