This is what I've learned from my pageant sisterhood:
1. The sisterhood is 150% real.
This was me and my teen, Miss NDSF's Outstanding Teen at the North Dakota State Fair this past July!
I can proudly say that I have met some of my best friends through pageants, and a few of them will more than likely be in my wedding one day. I couldn't imagine what my days would look like if I didn't have them in my life. These women not only empower me to strive for my dream, but they pick me up when I fall. Yes, we all are competing for the Job of Miss North Dakota, but at the end of the day, we know that our friendship is what will carry on in our lives. The sisterhood we form while competing in pageants is very different than any other I've experienced. I've done the sorority route, I was in a high school sport with the same group of girls for multiple years, but there is nothing more special than a pageant bond.
As a Miss title holder, we usually have Outstanding Teen titles that compliment our year and they go on to compete for Miss North Dakota's Outstanding Teen or whatever state they are competing for. I love the bond I share with my current and past teens and I loved the bond that I held with my Miss when I was a teen title holder. The MAOT program is such a blessing because not only does it ignite the dreams of young girls, but allows them to start earning scholarships as young as 13 and to start fighting for their Miss America dream.
2. Things aren't always sunshine and rainbows.
but like...really...
GiphyI can tell you this; girls are vicious. No matter where you meet them, no matter what their platforms are; girls are mean. They will do whatever they can to get what they want and they don't care who they hurt in their path. Some girls are in it for the service and they want to really make a difference, while others want to only go to the next level; go to Miss America, that's all. You can gain your state crown two different ways; wither you win it organically or you're the 1st runner up and your state wins Miss America. No other way, but either way, you become a "forever" and get to do everything you would as Miss North Dakota and all you'd miss was Miss America. Don't get me wrong, missing that would be a heartbreaking...but thats the part of the job that I see missing to be okay.
Girls can break your heart quicker than any guy will and that is never okay, especially when they're supposed to be your "sister." Calling out girls by saying "You probably wouldn't have worked out that hard if swimsuit wasn't a factor" THE DAY they compete in swimsuit, having a vicious soul and then putting on a "nice" face for others to see. GIRLS NEED TO BE REAL. That is the only way to do a pageant. Be yourself! NO girl should fear anther girls because she's bullying her behind the curtain.
3. Everything happens for a reason.
There is a bigger power than us. Always has been and always will be. We have such a hard time accepting things the way they are and we shouldn't. In life, things will come and go, dreams fade, but new dreams fill them. There is a bigger reason why I haven't won Miss North Dakota, maybe it wasn't my time, maybe God has a bigger dream for me in the coming years; I won't know unless I trust in him. There may be a reason runner ups never get crowned, there may be 100 other reasons why that dream just isn't working out for you, but we can't be mad about it. Big things happen everyday, and every little thing leads to that one big moment where you know you have worked YEARS for. For me to sit here and say becoming Miss North Dakota isn't my dream is an absolute lie; but becoming a wife, a mother, teaching and raising a family are also dreams of mine that I hope to check off my list one day.
For now, I'll dream of being crowned Miss North Dakota, going around the state speaking about my passions and spreading my platform to all of the students of ND. I can't imagine a better job than that.
