Profile assignment

The idea of competing in pageants had never crossed my mind. For years, I used to throw out the letters from beauty pageant organizations without hesitation. I’ve always been really shy and have never had the confidence to do anything of that nature. It hasn’t really sunk in that I’ll be competing in my first one in four days.

            After years of not even considering entering pageants, I finally began to warm up to the idea when I found that many renowned faces in broadcast journalism, like Giuliana Rancic, Diane Sawyer, and Oprah Winfrey received their start in pageants. Even still, I didn’t have the confidence to actually pursue the idea until an ordinary Panera date with my mom last year, shortly before prom season. We were discussing the prom dress I wanted, which she said was too expensive. She agreed to buy it only if I promised to wear it more than once.

“On what possible occasion would I be able to wear a prom dress again?”

“Well, you could enter a pageant or something…”

“That’s hilarious, Mom.”

Then, as I got up to throw away trash, a sweet older lady stopped me and said, “You have such a nice figure and beautiful posture, have you ever considered doing beauty pageants? My granddaughter used to compete and you remind me so much of her.” I was floored. It was as if God was trying to throw every possible sign at me at once.  

Immediately, my mom agreed to buy the dress if I looked into upcoming pageants I could enter, and so I did. I came across the Miss Maryland Teen USA pageant and planned to enter immediately. However, my shyness got the best of me and I ended up chickening out, watching the entrance deadline come and go. I then came across the smaller-scale Miss Teen Maryland United States pageant. I was still a tad apprehensive about entering, but with the encouragement of family and friends, I finally decided to conquer my fears and go for it.

In four days, after what seems like and endless amount of practice and anticipation, I will finally compete in my first pageant. Even if I don’t win, I’m still proud of how much I’ve grown as a person. I have become a lot more confident and self-assured, and have also become more involved in community service. My parents tell me every day that I’ve blossomed and that they are proud of me for ‘coming out of my shell’. I definitely see myself competing in more pageants in the future, as I think it will be good for my career.