How its going...

well ive been working out a lot, kind of. I work two jobs so I guess it varies. I have been keeping a food log and attempting to diet. I am not so good at it. I have been thinking about becoming a vegetarian. I just don't eat a lot of meat as it is and I really only eat chicken if I do. Dieting is hard. I am working with my trainer in Oklahoma. We do it over emails. I send pictures and my food log and exercise log and he tweajs everything each month. I gain muscle really fast so he has me doing a lot of cardio.

I met with a dress designer and they will be designing my dress, its white and gold and thats all I am saying! Its a supriseeeeeeeeee!!!

Journey to Miss Iowa USA 2011

I have decided to start training for the Miss Iowa USA 2011 pageant, which will be heald October 23 and 24 in Ames, Iowa! I was 4th runner up in the 2010 pageant. I called future productions about 2 weeks ago and talked to Libby. I asked her what I could improve on, she said the only thing i really needed to work on was leaning out my muscles and getting my body in better shape.

Which brings me to talk about personal trainers. I am working with a guy named Brian Atteberry out of oklahoma. Yes it is far away from Iowa, but we do it over the computer. He says he has worked with other girls like me (like me I mean hyper muscular, meaning I gain muscle a lot faster than most) He says he has leaned out girls that are similar to my situation. I am doing his workouts and diets and so far I like them, I feel better about myself already. I wish, however, i could see over night results! But hey...who doesnt!? I usually have a hard time trusting trainers, I have worked with several in the past all promising they can lean me out, but it never happens. I always end up bulking up. Trainers in Iowa don't know a lot about pageant bodys, and if they do in Iowa I have YET to meet one!

Anyway Brian has me eating 5 small meals a day, cutting out almost ALL of my carbs and replacing them with protien and "fibrious veggies" ( i think its funny to repeat that), I also have whey protien drinks, oatmeal, peanut butter, jelly sugar free preserves, and brown rice. Its a rough diet coming from someone who eats like a child. aka. chicken fingers, tater tots, pizza, etc. 

For workouts, this month I have 5 wight exercises which he will change in a month. I also am doing 30 mins of cardio a day to start with. I can obviously do more if I choose.

Brian works with a lot of girls who have great bodys! This year all four of the girls he trianed were in the top 10, one of them was 1st runner up to Miss USA. If you go to Miss USA website look up contestants : Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri I believe were his four girls he trianed! HOPEFULLY my body can look as great as theirs! Anyway that is all for now, I will keep you updated on my progress!!!

ps. sorry it has been awhile since i last blogged!

Interview Questions

When it comes to beauty pageants, I feel that the questions that contestants are asked have become significantly harder. When I did my very first pageant in 2005 I remember the questions being easy. What my favorite color was and why? If I was stranded on an Island what three things would I bring? Etc… But recently I have noticed that the questions have become serious, over controversial topics. Yet they are all opinion questions. “What do you think about such and such?” So how can one be judged on their opinion? There is no right or wrong answer when asking someone what they think about a topic. For instance: Miss California USA 2009 was asked about how she felt about gay marriage. I personally support it, she however does not. When everyone heard her answer, some applauded and some booed. She was taunted and people looked down on her for thinking it was wrong. But it was HER opinion. It was a question she may not have ever had to answer. So why did people get so offended? She is still beautiful, a great public speaker, and I think handled herself well. I have family members that are gay and I am in favor of gay marriage, but I can’t ridicule someone based on their opinions just because they differ from mine. So here are some pageant questions to go over, if you are planning on competing. 

(These are just questions I found on a website that thought would be useful)

 

Expect the pageant host to ask questions in one of the following areas:

 

Current events and controversial events
Your pageant platform
Your Bio

 

Why you think you would be a good titleholder

 

If you can confidently answer these questions, then chances are very good that you will flow right past this part and be on your way to the crowning ceremony:

 

• What is the one feature you would change about yourself and why?
• If you could change one things about the world, what would it be?
• What is your definition of success?
• What is the biggest challenge for young people today?
• Which celebrity would you invite to dinner and why?
• Name 3 words that describe you. Now explain why they describe you...
• What bothers you most about what is happening in your country today and why?
• Do you think that professional athletes are overpaid?
• If you could only bring one thing on a desert island with you, what would it be and why?

 

Questions I have personally had to answer:

• What is your worst habit and what can you do to change it?
• Pluto is now considered a dwarf planet and not an actual plant, how do you feel about this?
• Do you need the crown? Or does the crown need you?
• Where do you see yourself in 5, 10 or 15 years?
• What can you do to change the world?
• Why should you be crowned the winner of this pageant?

 

Piercings

I thought your comments were interesting on my tattoo blog. So I thought I would ask you the same question about piercings. I have a lot of piercings. I have my belly button pierced as well as a lot of piercings in my ears.

When I compete I take out my belly button ring about a month before to minimize the hole. I also take out all of the earrings in my ear except the first holes. I think one piercing looks nice and professional when competiting in pageant. However, for my personal taste and everyday life I like the piercings I have.

Do you think girls should take out their piercings or do you think it doesn't matter?

I have 5 piercings in this ear and 4 in the other.

Tattoos

I always get asked how people feel about tattoos in pageants and if the judges frown upon it. Well I guess I don't know what judges think of it, I’m sure some don't care, some do, and some hate them. Every judge is different. I personally have 2 tattoos, but I put them in places that I can hide them if I want to. I think it looks better on stage when you can't see them, or you cover them up.
I think tattoos are becoming more accepted by the world, in every situation. At the same time, there will always be people who hate them.

My suggestions for those who do pageants and have tattoos or want to get them; either put them in a place you can hide them, or you can use Derma Blend. It is a great cover up makeup!

So my question for you: If you were a judge and there was a girl you really liked competing and you saw she had a tattoo, would you score her differently?

Dedication Post

This post is a dedication to show how much my roommate from Miss Teen USA means to me. In 2007 when I went to Miss Teen USA to represent Iowa I roomed with Miss South Carolina Teen USA Caite Upton. We hit it off really well. We had the same favorite colors, her birthday was the day after mine, we were interested in the same things, and we instantly became great friends. We were connected at the hip for Miss Teen USA. When finals came around Caite was announced 3rd runner up! Meaning she was in the top 5 in the nations for BEST girls! She is beautiful, funny, smart, and has a great personality.

So why am I dedicating this post to her? Well when Caite was called into the top 5 she had to answer a top 5 question. The video is found here. Caite like many of us would choked. She got nervous, as I would to when you are live in front of millions of people. I wouldn't have known what to say to that either. What do you mean 1/5th of americans can't locate the US on a world map! Does this include babies? I have noo clue what I would have said.

Caite has gotten a lot of publicity from this answer; both good and bad. I remember her telling me that she didn't want to be remembered for this, but for something outstanding she did. Caite is not a dumb person, she is very smart.

So heres what I would like to do. I would like to put you in that situation. You have 30 seconds to answer this question, write your answer in a coment and then think of how hard it would have been to do that in from of millions of people. (BE HONEST ALLOW YOURSELF ONLY 30 SECONDS)

Question: Recent Polls have shown a fifth of americans can't located the US on a world map. Why do you think this is?

Products

So I had a suggestion to write about he different products I use, whether it be makeup or hair. So I will just tell you the things I MAKE sure to have when doing a pageant!

1. HAIRSPRAY
2. Butt glue (keeps things in the right spot, so you aren't hanging out on stage. Can be used for gluing swimsuits to your butt so you don't get wedgies, or by your boobs to hold your dress up, or any other thing you want to keep in a certian place)
3. Full body mirror (when there are 100 girls, you can never have enough mirrors)
4. Fake eyelashes ( a must have on any stage performance, otherwise your eyes look bald)
5. eyeliner and mascara
6. a back comb ( LOTS OF VOLUME!!!)
7. back up shoes (heels break a lot easier then you think)
8. bandaids (blisters and as gross as this sounds...it prevents camel toes...no one wants to see your swimsuit in your hooo ha)
9. lotion (dry skin on stage is a no no)
10. safety pins (incase of any wardrobe malfunctions, they are your lifesaver!)

Swimsuit Color?

So I asked for your opinions about color of evening gown and now I want to ask it about swimsuits. I have worn black, coral, pink, turquoise, and yellow. Here are pictures. Please leave a comment on which you like best or what you think would look good. I was thinking gold? or purple?

I cant find a picture of the black one. But thoughts and opinions!?! Thanks!

Dress Color?

So as I was totally creeping on the Miss USA website at all of the contestants competiting for this years MISS USA title, it got me thinking about next year.

What color would you like to see me in for next years Miss Iowa for evening gown, Here are a couple of pictures to show you what I have worn in the past. (I have also worn a turquoise dress which is on the blonde)

My first year doing a pageant I wore the turquoise dress
My second year I wore the red and gold swirly dress ( Im on the far left in the group picture)
My third year I wore a gold dress
At nationals I wore a pink dress
This year at Miss Iowa I wore a black dress

Day 3

On the third and final day I get the most stressed out. I once again get up at 630 and get ready for rehersals around 8. When we get to rehersal we go over the swimsuit and evening gown pattern. After we have done that we go over what you do if you make the top ten, where you stand, and your new number. (I forgot to tell you that the first day we get numbers, so lets say I am contestant 18, that is my number) Anyways we practice top ten spots and top 5 spots for forever!!! (well its only a couple hours but it feels like along time.) We do it in different random groups of top tens so everyone gets practice. We then do the same thing for the top 5. And the same for on stage practice questions. We get done around lunch time and we can either eat lunch or get ready for the final show at around 1 or 2.

The final night is so stressful because you don't know who is in the top 10 until the calling of it during the show. By this time you can only hope you did good enough to get in it, it is a mix of emotions. You are excited, nervous, and anxious. YOu dont want to get your hopes up too high because there are always amazing girls. After they announce the Winners you take pictures and are free to go home.

(Here is a picture of this years top 5 at Miss Iowa USA and the picture below is me answering my top 5 question)

Pageant Day 2

Day 2

Usually involves me getting up at 6:30am. I shower, I eat, and I make sure I have everything I need for the day. (which includes everything for prelims that night, sweatshirt, water bottle, and snacks)

Rehearsals tend to start around 8. We get there and the same motivational "Do your best, have fun, you're amazing...blah, blah..." speech is said. It is said for good reasons. There will only be two girls crowned the next day; Miss Iowa USA and Miss Iowa Teen USA. So the directors always want to make sure the girls know that they are wonderful, beautiful, smart, well-rounded women. Every year there is a different judge and every year there will be different results.

Here is an example of what I wear and what a few other girls wore to rehearsals (sometimes I dress up, sometimes I wear sweats, and sometimes I wear jeans and a t-shirt; it all depends on what we are doing that day):

After the speech we rehearse. We are shown what the swimsuit pattern is and then we each practice it. This takes a long time as there are usually about a hundred or more girls. We then do the same thing for evening gown. After we have practiced evening gown we go to lunch.

After lunch we go quickly over what to do if you make top 10 and top 5. We also practice on stage interview very briefly. We do this briefly because being called into the top 10 and 5 and having your on stage question doesn't happen until the final night.

We go over swimsuit and evening gown once more. We go over introduction. Introductions in the USA system are very easy. You say your name, hometown, and how old you are. For example: Dakota Crosswhite, 21, Cedar Rapids.


We also learn an opening number production. This varies; it can do from a full out dance to just walking across the stage a few times in different patterns so everyone can see you.

You are not judged on opening number. You are judged on Interview, Swimsuit, Evening gown and if you are in top 5 your onstage question.


After we practice all of this the day is pretty much over. We are invited to eat lunch (usually pasta, walking tacos, pizza, and things of that sort) and get ready for prelims which usually start around 6:30. This part of the pageant will last a couple of hours. After prelims we go to the hotel and go straight to bed. We are all pretty tired at this point and we have another early day ahead of us.

Pageant Day 1

In class we had our fellow classmates make suggestions about what they would like to see in our blogs. A reoccurring topic suggestion for my blog was that many people wanted to know what a Pageant competition day was like.
I have done the USA pageant system for four years. Three of the years it took place over three days. This year however it only took place over two days. So I will explain what happens in a three day pageant this week.

Day One:

Usually is a Friday.

I go to school, because school is always during the week of my pageant.

Right after school mom and I leave for where ever the destination of the pageant is that year.

We Check into the hotel and get settled into our room.

We then have registration and check in for the pageant.

We get a packet of information to go over; which I usually do over dinner. In the packet it has your interview time. It also has all of your rehearsal times and your schedule for the weekend.

I then go back to the hotel room and shower (I like to start fresh). I give myself about an hour and a half to two hours to prepare and get ready for interview.

While I am putting on makeup mom and I try and do a couple of practice questions. These are usually questions that are almost guaranteed to be asked.
Where do you see yourself in five year?

What do you want to do after college?

Why should you be crowned Miss whatever?

Tell me about yourself...
Those are only a few of the questions.

Usually after interview, I think I do horrible. So I go back to the room order pizza and blab to my mom about things I wish I would’ve done differently, or things I thought went well. I then go to bed early because I usually have an early day ahead of me.

Here are a few pictures of interview outfits I have chosen (incase you are wondering what we wear):
(The white and pink is what I wore at Nationals and the brown outfit is what I wore at this years Miss Iowa USA pageant)

AB EXERCISES

Being in Pageants it is always important to keep you figure. Especially if you are doing a pageant that inculdes swimsuit as part of the competition. So I have decided to help share some of my favorite  ab exercises. I will also in future blogs share some of my favorite other types of exercises.

The Bicycle

This works your obliques and your rectus abdominis (which is what gives you the six pack look)

Step One:
Lay on your back facing the ceiling. And put your hands behind your head.

Step Two: Bring your knees towards your chest and lift your shoulders off the ground. Do not putt on your neck to lift yourself.

Step Three: Straighten your right leg out and touch your right elbow to your left knee

Step four: Straighten your left leg out and touch your left elbow to your right knee.

Step Five: Repeat. Many people say to do about 15 reps, however, I like to do it until my abs hurt.

Regular Crunch

I also like to do a regular crunch as many times as I can. I shoot for 100 reps. Most people can't do that starting off, so do about 25. If you think its to easy, do more. If it is too hard, do less. With my regular crunch however, I like to do it a little different than most people.

When crunching up don't look at your knees. Look at the ceiling and while you are bringing your shoulders blades off the ground try and push your chest to the ceiling as well. I think it makes the regular crunch more effective.

There are many other ab exercises I do and many that I love, but I find myself doing these two the most.

Remember to stretch out your abs after each exercise.

Diet/workout

Since I promised I would explain what I do to trian for a pageant, I will. Even though I am not doing one soon I can still share my secrets with you! ;)!

This year I got my Miss Iowa USA pageant dress at a dress shop in Kansas City called Sassy Chic. I met Lisa Forbes, who was Miss Kansas USA back in 2004 she was also Miss Earth in 2007. She owns Sassy Chic. She helped me train for this years Miss Iowa USA pageant. She sent me an email of what she does for a workout and for dieting and this was something that I tried to go by as much as possible. However, I am horrible at dieting becuase I loveeeeeeeee food and have a hard time telling myself no to certian types.

so here is the e-mail:

Diet/Workout: I eat about every hour and a half or 2 hours at the max... 3 hours is pushin it :) I also work out 2x a day- morning is straight cardio...afternoon/evening workout switches up between kickboxing, weight training and stair stepper (about 20 mins on machine) or a class of some sort.
AM- first thing I do in the morning is drink water (only) and go on anywhere between a 40min-1hour walk/jog. I would say that I jog 2/3 of the time. I know some trainers tell us to eat straight protein before, but I found my body changed much quicker without it.
Right when I get home (or within 30 mins) is eat a mixture of eggs/egg whites/egg beaters and you can or not add any veggies to it (tomato, onion, mushroom, spinach, etc) but no cheese. I was not "allowed" (haha) to have any dairy ANYWHERE in my diet.

with breakfast, I also could have about a quarter cup of oatmeal. The morning was the only time I could have a starchy carb...thats it... :(
Every 1 1/2 to about 2 hours...
I ate and still eat a mixture of eggs and veggies, tuna an veggies (no mayo, just plain) or chicken and veggies
Also, the only protein powder I could have was whey isolate protein...mixed with water and Ice only..sucks, but it does the trick.
Here is an example of my day:

8:00-8:45: morning cardio- 1st thing (walk/jog)

9:00: have about 4oz. of egg/veggie mix with 1/4 cup oatmeal

11:00: 4oz grilled chicken with veggies

2:00: protein shake with ice/water possibly fruit mixed in...

3:00(ish)or later in the evening (6 or 7pm): workout #2

5:00: 4oz grilled chicken with veggies (or tuna, fish or eggs)

7:30: 4oz grilled chicken with veggies (or tuna, fish or eggs)


For meals, if I was "cheating" I would have salmon or salad with the Wishbone Balsamic breeze spray (found in the salad dressing isle at the grocery store)
NOTE: I know it sucks and it is a lot of preparation...but once you do it for a couple days, it gets easy and you get in the swing of things... Keep in mind, because the only real carbs or energy source is going to come from your oatmeal in the morning.. You will feel crabby, tired, emotional, etc. Feel free to reach out to me for support (even emotional support) Trust me, I went through it too!!
 
Also my last tip for the day...BUY MRS. DASH seasoning. It has 0 calories, 0 salt, and has all the flavor! :) it helps make things taste good, espcially when you eat the same thing over and over again.

Decisions and Thoughts

So after futher discussion with mom and much consideration, I have decided to not go through with this pageant for a number of reasons. But my most important ones are:

I have two hard tests next week. I think that most pageant people can agree that when you do/compete in a pageant or even watch you get very consumed in it. I usually struggle with getting back into school mode after doing a pageant. I become really consumed with preparing for the pageant and after the pageant I reminice about it a lot. So it order to keep my head in the game so that I can get good grades was one factor in not doing the pageant.

My second reason and my most important reason is that my great grandmother (who lives with mom and I) is 91 years old. She hasn't been doing so well lately and the doctors aren't sure how much longer she has. She keeps getting phnemonia, which throws her heart rhythm off and puts her ina funk; usually causing her to be in the hospital for awhile. The valve to her heart is closing and mom and I just want to spend as much time with her as possible.

This really got me thinking... I wish all people would realize how important certian people are in your life. I feel like many people take their friends, family, and loved ones for granted and I feel like I do too. I know I don't tell my mom I love her enough or thank her for how much she has done for me. I guess I just assume she knows, but I could always show her that or even be more verbel with her about it. I know she puts up a lot, my mood swings, temper, when Im angry, everything negative. But I feel like I can be like this around her because she is one person who will always love me no matter what. Although I am working on trying to be more positive around her like I am around everyone else.

Even with my great grammy (whom I just call grammy bt the way) I feel like I have just recently started to truely appreciate her. I remember when I was younger and she moved in and I kind of dreaded it. But I was a brat and just hated change. But lately I truely truely appreciate her. She is a very kind and quiet woman. Although when she does say things they are usually funny or really make you listen. Especially when she yells at mom for not taking her out enough...I personally think it is hilarious, I'm sure mom doesnt.

The most recent example of what I love about her: the last time she was in the hospital was a couple of weeks ago. The doctors gave her this breathing exercise with an insturment to do. She has so get this little ball to stay in the happy face (which is between 2 sad faces) on a scale type thing, while at the same time she has to raise this bar to a certian line...all at the same time.Well she was demonstrating it to my uncle, scott and me and mom was telling her how to do it and that she wasn't doing it right. So she kept trying, I swear she was going to pass out!!! She realized I thought it was funny so she kept doing it. So here is my little 91 year old grammy blowing out so much air that she was probably super dizzy and here I am laughing....mom didn't think it was funny...she made her stop. But grammy and I just looked at each other and giggled.

Grammy and I may not have many bonding moments, but I love her and the ones that we do have are worth it. She is a big fan of mine and so proud of everything I have done. She loves watching me do pageants, and I know she wouldv'e been devestated not to be able to go to the International Junior Miss pageant had I chosen to do it. Every year in her christmas letters she brags about how proud she is of me.

This is all just food for thought for everyone to realize who is important to you in your life. Spend as much time as you can with them and enjoy it. I wish I wouldv'e realized this sooner because I fear I don't have much more time to spend with grammy.

So this post may not be a lot about pageants, but it is dedicated to my grammy and how much I adore her and love that she is a huge fan of mine no matter what I choose to do.

International Junior Miss

I know in blogs you aren't suppose to tell people a play by play of your life...like what I ate for breakfast, what I'm doing later, etc... Well this is relevant to my blog. I have recently decided to try another pageant; which is actually in 2 weekends. March 20th. International Junior Miss. I thought it would be fun to talk about how I will prepare for this pageant. I have never done another pageant system. I have only done Miss Iowa Teen USA, Miss Teen USA, and Miss Iowa USA (The USA system). So this will be a new experience for me.


I was approached with the idea of doing another pageant by Megan Wettach. I have bought many pageant dresses from her when she owned Premier Prom and Pageantry in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. She is now the director of pageants.

Mom and I discussed this pageant and whether or not it would be a good idea. Our main concern was that I still wanted to do Miss Iowa USA next year! Which is an exclusive pageant. Meaning I can't hold other titles. With International Junior Miss, I am able to compete for Miss Iowa USA still. So that was good news. I will be competing in Evening Gown, Introduction, and Interview. (Good thing I am not doing swimsuit, because I haven't really been working out haha)

I’m a little nervous about the Introductions. In the USA system introductions are easy. ex. Dakota Crosswhite, 20, Cedar Rapids. In International Junior Miss the Introductions are a little more of a fun way to tell about yourself. You state your name, age, where you are from and a little bit about yourself. But it has to be creative and catch the attention of the audience... I have never had to do this before and I don’t even have an example to give. So throughout the next two weeks that will be my focus!

But like I said, this entry was just to inform you that I will be trying a new pageant. I would love advice if anyone has done this pageant. But I will be keeping you all updated on how I train for this pageant, the actual pageant, and the results!!

Weight

"That girl should not be wearing that dress"

"I can't believe that girl is going to nationals and she is THAT out of shape"

I hear things like that all of the time. When you do pageants you figure out that there are pageant forums. My personal favorite and most hated is actually the same one. They talk a lot about great issues and gorgeous girls and it is very well updated. However, I hate this board because I hear a lot of criticism. and it is not necessary constructive. Some of it is just down right rude.

Us pageant girls and parents do read what is on these sites. It is hurtful and it does not help many of us. Some of yes, but some of it is just down right rude and hurtful. For example...

(This came directly from the voy blogs)

Subject: Miss USA "No-No's"

Author:Errington

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Date Posted: 13:24:32 03/09/10 Tue

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There are only two women I do not want to win Miss USA. They are Oklahoma and California. I don't care who else wins. Any of the other 49 would be fine, NOT Oklahoma or California. If one of these two wins I will never watch Miss USA again because I will be dead of heart failure.

I dont understand why people say things like this? These girls are beautiful. I have talked to Oklahoma (whish is the blonde) She is VERY sweet and would make a great Miss USA.

I remember when I won Miss Iowa Teen USA and when I first found out about these boards. I actualy googled myself because mom and I were scrapbooking about diving. I wanted to get on and find the state results for Diving that year. When I googled myself all of these "Discussion" links pulled up, and obviously being a normal human being, I wanted to know what they were about.

As I began reading some comments were nice, about how much they liked me and others were just mean. They would say things like I was to short, I was frumpy, I was too big. etc.. for the record I was 120lbs and 5'6 I wore a size 0 jean. I was no way too short, frumpy or big. But I began to believe it. The longer I was in reign the more I heard these comments.  It all started with this photo:

I recieved a lot of support from fans who would argue aganist when people said things like this. And even though I think of myself as a strong individual, it really got to me. I had a personal trainer for Miss Teen USA and even what he said I began to take critically. He would say he wanted to work more on my thighs, I would take it as they were fat. Even though that wasn't what he meant. I would run everyday and I started watching what I ate. Whatever I ate I would work out in calories. When I finally found the dress I wanted to wear at Miss Teen USA I was so happy. I loved it, I thought it looked great and I felt great in it. When I went to get it altered becuase it was too long, they told me I needed to lose 10 to 15 more pounds. I thought these people were crazy! But they had been involved in the pageant industry longer than I had so I believed them. I couldn't lose the weight. Not matter what. After Miss Teen USA I didn't want to do anymore pageants. I was still having a hard time eating.

I then met my current boyfriend Scott, who walked me through this. With his help I began eating what I wanted, when I wanted and not working out afterwards. He made me feel beautiful for who I was. I was beautiful, maybe I wasn't 5'10 and weigh 100lbs. But I was healthy and I started loving myself for me again.

This happens to a lot of girls. When so many people tell you something, you start to believe it. Regardless if it is true or not. The one thing I always hold on to is  that it took only one person to make me understand. My freshman year of college I gained 30lbs. I started dating my boyfriend Scott. He thought I was the "Hottest" girl he had ever met. I thought he was crazy. As I started to lose the weight, he didn't understand why. He thought I was beautiful the way I was. In his eyes I was not bigger. It wasn't until I showed him before and after pictures right next to each other did he understand. He still didn't think I needed to but he heard my point of view. I was loved and someone thought I was beautiful for me. And I think that is what ALL pageant girls need to remember when training for a pageant.

MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT PAGEANTS

I didn't really know what I liked about pageants until I won Miss Iowa Teen USA in 2007. I knew that I liked meeting new people and that I liked the opportunities that they offered. But when I won Miss Iowa Teen USA I really found out what makes pageants so important to me and why they meant so much to me.

In high school I was really involved, I was in a lot of clubs, a bunch of sports, and volunteered for the American Red Cross and ElementorReads. I loved being a peer educator for the American Red Cross as well as helping out with other events. I also loved ElementorReads (even though I HATE HATE HATE reading) because I liked knowing that I was making a difference in the lives of kids in my community, by getting them caught up with reading and spelling.

During my reign as Miss Iowa Teen, I worked with my new organizations. Each found a place in my heart. I worked with JDRF, The American Red Cross, Best Buddies, MDA, and many other organizations. I met so many people and children that were more than wonderful!

JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation)  is the world leader for research to cure type 1 diabetes. "Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that strikes children and adults suddenly, and can be fatal. Until a cure is found, people with type 1 diabetes have to test their blood sugar and give themselves insulin injections multiple times or use a pump - each day, every day of their lives. And even with that intensive care, insulin is not a cure for diabetes, nor does it prevent its eventual and devastating complications, which may include kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, stroke, and amputation."

While I volunteered and made appearances at this event I was given the opportunity to meet with several children and adults with diabetes. I made so many lifelong friends, and these people showed me to appreciate what I have in life. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to live with diabetes everyday of your life.
 
Best Buddies is a nonprofit organization that lets volunteers create one on one friendships with people who have  intellectual and developmental disabilities. People from all 50 states volunteer for Best Buddies as well as people on 6 other continents. Best Buddies volunteers annually contribute services to the community that equate to more than $170 million USD.
 

I worked with Best Buddies a lot throughout my reign. My Best Buddies name was Ashley and she ran track in the Special Olympics. However, I can't find a picture of her. I have one of one of the kids I met while out in California while other contestants in Miss Teen USA played kickball with them.
 

Here are a few pictures from other various events that I volunteered with and with people that have all made an impact in my life.

 
 











Through working with these organizations and meeting such wonderful people, I have learned to appreciate what I have and the life that I have. I try to not take things for granted and appreciate everyone that I meet for their unique self. These organizations have changed my life and I just hope I was able to change the lives of others as well.

The Number One Thing I HATE About Pageants

If you are a pageant fan, a pageant contestant, a pageant mom, or a pageant follower you will know what I mean when I say...the number one thing I hate about pageants are "PAGEANT MOMS"! For those of you who don't know I mean, I will explain.

Have you ever seen or heard of the show Toddlers and Tiaras or Little Miss Perfect? Well if you haven’t here are a couple of videos that will show you what these shows are...

The Music Is Creepy On This One But Just Mute It

Perfect Example of "Pageant Moms"

"Pageant Moms" to me are the moms that live the life they wish they had as a kid, through their own kids. They dress these girls in ridiculous outfits and load them with makeup.  WHAT SIX YEAR OLD NEEDS MAKEUP!?They are six years old and their parents are making them look 40! Little girls should not be getting spray tans, fake teeth, fake eye lashes, hair extensions, or whatever else these moms do to them. They are LITTLE girls, not adults.


Also why does there have to be a perfect answer for little girls to say? Do they really need to be told what to say by their moms so that they have the PERFECT answer when asked what their favorite food is? I have watched these shows and these "Pageant Moms" will criticize their little girls about their answer. There is NO RIGHT OR WRONG answer when it comes to asking a little kid what their favorite toy is. How can you practice an answer for that?


Or the moms that tell the girls they need to walk a certain way on the stage?? I personally do not think it is cute when they swish their butt and hands and wink and kiss the audience. PLEASE! Why can't pageants be more like the National American Miss System? They have a rule that unless you are in the Teen division you can have absolutely NO makeup what so ever! No glitter! NOTHING! That is how little girls should be!



I remember when I was little; I always use to tell my mom I couldn't wait to be older. She would always respond by telling me I am going to miss being a kid, when I get older. I never believed her. But now that I am older I do miss it. I miss not having responsibilities other than playing outside and having fun, I miss not having to care about what day of the week it was and I miss not having a care in the world except for when I had to come inside for dinner or bed. I am pretty sure that MOST parents say the same things to their kids. They want them to have fun while they can. They want them to live a normal kid life. So why do these "pageant moms" want to take that away? Let their little girls be like Little Miss Sunshine. Go up and just have fun! Be proud of them for having fun and trying new things!


Im sure this crown is exactly what this girl wants... what do you think?


"10 Parenting Fails of Pageant Moms"

These moms are seriously messing up the way their children should be thinking! They will do anything and everything just to place a crown are their daughters head!



As for "Pageant Moms" of older girls.... I have competed in only 5 pageants in my life. The first year I competed I signed up a month before the competition, I wore a dress that was too big for me and I almost fell flat on my face during swimsuit. I ended up in the top 10! I came back the next year, because the year before I had soo much fun. I met so many great girls and I was so proud of myself for being in the top 10. That year I was 4th runner up! I became good friends with more girls who I still keep in touch with and I decided to come back again. I was then crowned Miss Iowa Teen USA. I went on to Nationals to compete for Miss Teen USA. I wasn't too worried about if I would make the top 10 or not. I was so proud of myself for winning the state competition and thought that I would just go and have fun and I did. My mom never coached me or pushed me to do anything. It was all me. When I decided this year to compete for Miss Iowa USA I placed 4th runner up. However I did not have as much fun. My mom had turned into a pageant mom. Telling me what I should say, that I should lose weight, I should wear this... blah blah blah... we had talks and I told her I will not practice what I will say when judges ask me questions. If they like me they like me, if they don't, well they don't. No matter how much you practice it does not mean you will win. Someone once told me not to be upset if I didn’t win because "different year, different judges." Meaning that I may have placed 4th this year, but the judges next year could love me and I could win. It is not up to my mom or me to determine who wins these pageants...nor other parents and their daughters. The judges like different things every year. How can you possibly prepare to be liked by every judge you ever meet?



Regardless of age... Girls should just be themselves, and be proud of themselves no matter what. I mean how many people can say that they have been on a stage in front of hundreds of people in a swimsuit and heels? NOW THAT IS AN ACCOMPLISHMENT regardless if you win or not!

I got this Image from: http://www.areyouscreening.com/2009/02/20/little-miss-perfect-on-wetv-open-the-floodgates

How I Got Started In Pageants

When I started liking boys, I would make up boyfriends. I would lie and tell people at Daycare I was dating this boy from my school (even though I wasn't), just because I liked them and none of the kids at my daycare when to the same school as me. I would have to lie, because when I was in elementary school none of the boys liked me. I was one of the guys. I liked them but they never liked me as anyone more than to play soccer with or race or 4 square or any other sport. I wasn't one of the pretty girls.


In second grade I was helping my grandpa with the recycling. This was back when you brought all of your recyclables to the local grocery store (in our case it was Hy Vee) and sorted them out yourself. I was carrying a box full of cardboard or whatever my grandpa was making me carry and one of the guys that worked at the store said, "Let me help you with that son." This was the last straw! I had been called a boy before, and it never really bothered me until this point. After this incident I decided to grow out my hair. But that still didn't help, guys still thought of me as one of the guys. I began to wear girly things: skirts, jewelry, I even wore a pearl barrette in my hair. Still nothing was working

When I hit middle school everyone had a boyfriend. I would date guys, but only for a week at a time. These boys didn't like me. They just dated me so they could tell their friends they had a girlfriend. All of their friends made fun of them for dating me because I was weird, I had a gap in my front teeth, I was a guy, I hadn't developed like the "cool" girls in our grade...I heard so many excuses as to why guys wouldn't be my boyfriend. In 7th grade I decided I wanted to model. I thought that maybe it would help me become pretty. So Mom and I found an Ad in the paper for Barbizon modeling school. I enrolled and learned how to do make-up and hair, walk in heels, and how to pose for pictures. After this experience I was invited to go to IMTA, a modeling competition out in New York. By this time I was a sophomore in High school. I loved it!!! I took acting classes and had my first photo shoot (the picture on the right is from my first photo shoot). But one thing always bugged me. I was too short to do runway. In New York I placed 1st for my Soap Opera competition and 4th runner up for my close up (out of 500+ girls in my age division). I was so excited! Even though I did well in acting I remember looking at the girls doing runway and wanted so much to be a part of that. So what did I do? I found what I THOUGHT would be the closest thing to runway... PAGEANTS!

When I was a wee little thing

When I was young, I was a tomboy. I hated dressing up, I hated playing with girls, I hated the color pink, I hated pretty much anything any normal young girl would love. I was the little girl with the bowl cut, whose mom made her wear certian clothes that made me look like a girl. The only thing I was able to choose when it came to my wardrobe were my shoes...a nasty old stinky pair of tennis shoes with holes. Note the tennis shoes and bowl cut...the dress with puppies on it???!!! Definitely not my choice...ehhhemmm mom ;)

I was friends with all of the guys at my school. Except there was this one boy, whom I went to daycare with, Bradley, and I abosolutely hated him. I would always tell him I would beat him up and we rough housed like boys would.

I was always the child that caused trouble in my family. I would be out riding my bike and getting into mischief. I was the child that all of my family, family friends, babysitters and anyone else who knew me; thought would be the one to drop out of highschool. After all not only was I a tomboy but a rebel. I never listened in school and was sent to the principals office almost everyday up until 2nd grade. Man was I a handful.


Some examples I did as a child:

Examples #1: When I was 2 almost 3 my family moved into our current house. They built a fence in our backyard to keep us (by us I mean mostly me) in the yard. The first day we moved into our house, I climbed the fence and ran up the hill. What a waste of money. Poor parents.

Example #2: Bradley (the kid that I hated) asked "want me to steal your teddy bear" and I responded (in preschool) "want me to kick your A**?"
Example #3: When sent to the principals office in kindergarten for not behaving. I instead decided it would be fun to hide in the girls bathroom under a table. The school almost had to call the police because they couldn't find me and thought I ran away.

Example #4: When my teacher had a sudent teacher from cornell, I stood up and yelled cornell sucks and coe rules and then proceeded to tell the student teacher I didn't have to listen to her because she went to cornell. (by the way, my grandpa was the athletics director, an economics professor, and head of the economics department at coe. I only got introuble with my grandma, because grandpa was actually proud of me and told the whole football team what I did.)

Example #5: When fighting with my sisters I would do something to them and tell my parents they actually did it to me, so that they would get in trouble.

I suppose that is enough examples for now, as I will continue to give examples of my transistion into pageants and adulthood.