What have I been up to this summer?! I don't even know where to begin. I am the current Miss Huron County and have had to opportunity to compete for Miss Ohio, the official preliminary to Miss America. It has been quite the experience. It was only my first year at states and I have learned so much. I made a few errors but minor glitches that can be fixed for next year. I am truly blessed to have competed. Our first day we had rehearsal after rehearsal. Day two, I was a part of a fashion show at the mall. I sported a bohemian look and totally rocked the runway. Then it was back to rehearsal in the freezing cold theater. Day three, was the parade. I sat on the back of a convertible and waved to the hundreds of Mansfield locals. My title was on a sign on the side of the car and they announced me as I hit certain spots on the parade route. Day four was all about rehearsals. We learned three opening number routines and a production number. The production number was AMAZING! We did Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" and got to create our own costumes. My outfit was equipped with soda cans in my hair. The next day was celebrity waitressing at Applebee's. Basically, we had to ask people to buy paper crowns to support the program. Amanda (teammate support here!) came and supported me at Applebee's and allowed me to eat some of her delicious food. For some reason, the Miss Ohio program thinks girls our age LOVE chicken salad...because it was served to us at EVERY meal! On Tuesday, was my interview. My interview went really well and I felt very comfortable in front of the judges. That night was the teen pageant and the girl that won was a doll. She is so sweet and beautiful. Cecili most definitely deserved it.
Wednesday night was the first night of preliminaries. I, being contestant number one, had talent first. I did a lyrical routine and felt rather good about it. Being a volleyball player, I did not think twice about the massive bruise and floor burn I walked away with after my dance. Thursday night was swimsuit. It's my favorite part of the competition because I know I work out haha. My swimsuit was red and I felt comfortable strutting my stuff. Friday night was evening gown and on-stage question...here is the where the learning experience comes into play. My evening gown went well. I walked a bit fast but I felt like a star in my gown. On-stage question stressed me out. My question was super easy and I just choked...Thank goodness it's only 5% of your score! My answer was downright awful. I panicked, but at the end of the day, I learned from it and can laugh at it now. Saturday was finals night and although I didn't make top 10, I was proud of what I accomplished and I'm proud to have represented Oberlin. I'll definitely be competing at locals again this coming year in hopes to pursue my dreams of becoming the next Miss Ohio.
I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and I cannot wait to see how awesome our team looks come the fall. I'm back to working out at full force and am enjoying spending time with my mom and my fellow teammate, Amanda. See you in August!
