walk down memory lane
Watching the MISS USA Competition (they are trying not to call them "pageants" anymore) made me think back to my winning moment LIVE on CBS some 9 years ago. WOW! The live telecast, the performances from the then-hottest band, the anticipation of the 51 girls... it all brought back so many memories. The oober early mornings to rehearsing dance steps and walking patterns for the 3 phases of competition....envisioning the crown being placed on my head. Ah, there's nothing like live TV, nothing like a chance at being named the best of a group of people... being set apart by people who just got to know a part of who you are. The stage is so large, the lights so bright, the unknown so exciting!
I had to watch with more butterflies in my stomach than when I myself was walking across the stage in my bikini, my amazing gown from this year's sponsor, Sherri Hill. And like the winner, I felt like a mermaid in my white gown with Swarovsky crystals circling the knee area...the two hour telecast flying by as the ladies dwindled down from 15 to 5. Then, one by one, being named and led to the side of the stage as I remained. An out-of-body experience that no one could prepare for. No ONE! Not even the most confident, poised or dedicated could really swallow the power of that moment. A part of me always wished that Donald Trump himself could know what that felt like. After all, he was the one providing young women with that one-in-a-million feeling.
This competition changed the trajectory of my life, from school to living in New York City 11 days prior to 9/11 happening, to living with Miss USA and Miss Universe. I matured so much in those 365 days from a bright-eyed 18-year old girl from Missouri to a humbled young woman with a greater sense of purpose and self. Trump is a businessman yes, but he also has capitalized on changing women's lives through service.
This past Sunday was a reminder of how much my life was changed through entering, vying and winning the Miss Teen USA Competition that August day in 2001. I never imagined that I would win, let alone get to live in NYC, hug Muhammad Ali, speak to 100,000+ young people about who I was and how they could dream bigger, leave my mark on the world in some way. Sunday had 3 ladies who were chosen to represent their state. Vanbros & Associates were their state director's just like mine... Thanks to my pageant family, Vanbros & Associates for the putting this together with all of their titleholders crowning moments! I am so honored to be a Vannatta girl and their 2nd of 4 National Pageant winners from their state.
