Each year, thousands of young girls (and boys) decide to take a leap of faith and compete in beauty pageants. They choose to subject themselves to the criticism so often heard about pageants, in order to achieve a goal that they have set for themselves. Pageants are far beyond what people understand them as. Pageants give girls a voice, and empowers them to be leaders in the classroom, their communities, and the world. There is so much to be learned from competing in pageants so, below, are a few reasons why so many have fallen in love with pageantry.

Confidence

No matter the pageant or age division, it takes an extraordinary amount of confidence to grace the stage before an audience of thousands, and to answer questions about issues taking place in the world. Pageant judges naturally gravitate towards girls who are confident in themselves, since that is the purpose of pageantry: to allow women to be confident and comfortable in their own skin. Pageantry teaches young girls to be confident in who they are and what they stand for, this is a lesson that carries girls far beyond a pageant title.

Persistance

There are not many pageant girls who can say they won their desired title on their first try. Many girls return to the same stage year after year with the same goal of attaining one particular title. It takes a year’s worth of hard work and dedication in order to reach the desired goal.

Health

Pageantry promotes health and fitness. It inspires girls to be active and to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The swimsuit portion of the competition allows girls to showcase their hard work and to be proud of their bodies.

Communication

On stage question and the interview portions teach girls how to speak in public and to articulate their beliefs to not only people their age, but also their elders. In addition to the competition, once a girl revives a title she communicates with the public throughout her reign. It is her responsibility to be a voice for her community.

Service

Winning a pageant makes a girl a public figure in her community. With the crown she is able to touch the lives of many. She is able to give a voice to the oppressed and shed light on causes and organizations that she believes are important. Throughout her year she is taught the importance of giving back to the community, and just how lucky she is to be given certain opportunities. Pageant girls have an understanding as to why it is important to give back to others, and this is a lesson that goes far beyond her reign.