"A military brat raised nationwide, my hometown on paper may be in Houston, TX but my heart claims the entire U.S. A former football player, current marching band member, and future attorney, I am Paxton Gutierrez."

Okay.. so if I'm being honest here, I've never actually given that as my introduction up on stage before but you get the gist of what a pageant girl might say when it's her time to introduce herself in front of a large crowd.

As a "pageant girl," I have competed in National American Miss for a few years now and will continue to do so in June of 2017. When I decided that I was going to compete in a pageant, my family and friends were taken by complete shock. Here I was, this football player and marching band member that had grown up refusing to wear dresses all of my life and literally did not start wearing even chap stick until my freshman year in high school, about to get all glammed up in a dress and heels. In reality, I would've been taken back by it too, that decision was completely unnatural, at least for me it was, but it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

The great thing about this wonderful program though is that it doesn't focus on outer beauty at all. There is no swimsuit competition, it is actually against the rules for young girls under the age of 12 (Pre-Teen, Junior Pre-Teen, and Princess divisions) to compete with make up on, and the program is literally based off of instilling inner confidence in young women. Competing in a program like this has left me with so many valuable lessons that I don't just get to leave on the stage but I actually get to carry with me throughout my life.

One of the most important things that pageantry has taught me is that you can be anything that you want to be. And you don't have to be just one thing. You can play a sport and still love make up. You can be your school's valedictorian but have other hobbies besides having your face in a book 24/7 and constantly doing homework. You can be whatever and whoever you want to be and that's okay.

Pageantry has taught me that you don't have to abide by society's idea of what's normal and what's not normal. You are the only you and because of that, you get to decide for yourself what is normal and not normal for you. I've learned the importance of carrying yourself with dignity and respect. Many claim that pageant girls are stuck up and while some may be, most actually are not. We know who we are, how to carry ourselves with grace and how to speak with confidence.

Speaking of confidence, yet another thing pageantry has taught me, I have learned that confidence isn't just about walking with your head up and shoulders back but that there are many forms of it. When you speak, you speak with certainty yet gentleness. Authority yet humility. You speak with your audience, not to them, for they are with you and you are with them. I have learned that in order to do anything you have to be confident in yourself first because if it's not coming straight from the heart then something's wrong and well you can only fake it til you make it for so long until people begin to realize.

Pageantry has taught me that I am more than what people think of me. I am not hurtful labels or invalid jokes about who I am, what I do, or what I look like. I am beautiful inside and out and nobody has the power to change that about me. Along with that, I have learned that what people say about you is a reflection of them and who they are, not you and who you are.

Though I have gained many more valuable experiences and lessons, those are perhaps the most important of them all. Without pageantry (and everything and everyone else in my life) I would simply not be who I am today. Some can continue to state that pageantry is nothing but young girls with make up caked on their faces, parading in revealing clothing but coming from personal experience, at least for me, pageantry is nothing like that. It is about having confidence and modesty in a chaotic world. I have gained real world skills such as how to properly interview for a job, how to create a resume, how to speak publicly in a professional manner, how to address a crowd, what to wear to an interview when giving a speech, time management (especially when you're running around trying to get ready for your next event with only 20 minutes to do so and a completely different make up look, hair style, and outfit to put on), and so much more. Without this part of my life, I wouldn't be half the person I am today.