(Photo Credit: Kinlaw Studios 2002...back when I was Miss Fayetteville ...and blonde!)
So… I received an official email from Shanna Moaker and the K2 Production team this week. I will be vying for Miss California USA this November, and I have a multitude of feelings ranging from sheer terror to absolute excitement. This is such a wonderful state, and the opportunity to represent it in Miss USA would be the biggest honor. I just want to share with you why I’ve waited so long to pursue this.
Most of you remember when I ventured into the realm of pageants back in 2003 when I was 3rd RU at Miss North Carolina. At the time, I was on two full scholarships as a Freshman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and I wanted to be atypical from the stereotype of “just a Freshman.” It was a whirlwind of a year: from designing my own volunteering program and being an ambassador for Fayetteville, to designing gowns and outfits. Did I mention the whole “working out for 3 hours a day” (ugh)!!!
When I competed then, I had a team of committed people who wouldn’t let me settle for being less than the best version of me possible. I had a wonderful designer who lived at my house for two weeks, sewing throughout the night. I had a business manager who kept me grounded and focused and earned the title of “second mama.” I had friends who drug me to elementary school gyms to teach me how to walk (cause Lord knows I was much better at sitting!). I had a life changing vocal coach who taught me lessons about making a difference in the world as well as how to “sing the crap” out of a song. I was part of a team, and because of that pageant process, I learned about who I was as a person and as a business woman.
I took 5 years off from bikini's and Swarovski crystals. I decided that I needed focus on my education, as well as really give back to my community like I had been advocating during my year as Miss Fayetteville. In 2006 I graduated with the prestigious honor of being a Public Service Scholar and had acquired over 500 hours of community service and philanthropy training from UNC.
Over the years, I realized how much my experience in pageants had shaped me as a person. It made me really think about who I was, and how I thought about humanity, service, and achievement. I learned about my own determination to set a goal (one of which I had no experience in) and achieve it. I learned that if I had the courage to walk in front of hundreds of judging me in a bikini, I could walk into any interview clothed with confidence!!!
I also learned about my weaknesses, too. The competition forced me to face myself and love who I was in my own skin, and it gave me an opportunity to focus on a healthy lifestyle. It taught me to focus inward for the definition of who I was, and not outward.
So here I am...24 years old, and living in sunny LA, 2600 miles away from everyone who molded me into who I am today…and I am going to revisit it all over again. This time, I am hoping to represent my new home and one of the most beautiful, diverse and opportunistic states in the country, California!!! So now the real test begins.
I am now my own committee, and I am in search of sponsorships! So, if you or anyone else you know would be interested in a great tax write off and advertising, let me know! I can’t do it alone.
So that’s the exciting news!!!!....and I will keep you posted on all of the mini updates along the way! Now…I am off to la palestra…..I think it’s leg day :(
So… I received an official email from Shanna Moaker and the K2 Production team this week. I will be vying for Miss California USA this November, and I have a multitude of feelings ranging from sheer terror to absolute excitement. This is such a wonderful state, and the opportunity to represent it in Miss USA would be the biggest honor. I just want to share with you why I’ve waited so long to pursue this.
Most of you remember when I ventured into the realm of pageants back in 2003 when I was 3rd RU at Miss North Carolina. At the time, I was on two full scholarships as a Freshman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and I wanted to be atypical from the stereotype of “just a Freshman.” It was a whirlwind of a year: from designing my own volunteering program and being an ambassador for Fayetteville, to designing gowns and outfits. Did I mention the whole “working out for 3 hours a day” (ugh)!!!
When I competed then, I had a team of committed people who wouldn’t let me settle for being less than the best version of me possible. I had a wonderful designer who lived at my house for two weeks, sewing throughout the night. I had a business manager who kept me grounded and focused and earned the title of “second mama.” I had friends who drug me to elementary school gyms to teach me how to walk (cause Lord knows I was much better at sitting!). I had a life changing vocal coach who taught me lessons about making a difference in the world as well as how to “sing the crap” out of a song. I was part of a team, and because of that pageant process, I learned about who I was as a person and as a business woman.
I took 5 years off from bikini's and Swarovski crystals. I decided that I needed focus on my education, as well as really give back to my community like I had been advocating during my year as Miss Fayetteville. In 2006 I graduated with the prestigious honor of being a Public Service Scholar and had acquired over 500 hours of community service and philanthropy training from UNC.
Over the years, I realized how much my experience in pageants had shaped me as a person. It made me really think about who I was, and how I thought about humanity, service, and achievement. I learned about my own determination to set a goal (one of which I had no experience in) and achieve it. I learned that if I had the courage to walk in front of hundreds of judging me in a bikini, I could walk into any interview clothed with confidence!!!
I also learned about my weaknesses, too. The competition forced me to face myself and love who I was in my own skin, and it gave me an opportunity to focus on a healthy lifestyle. It taught me to focus inward for the definition of who I was, and not outward.
So here I am...24 years old, and living in sunny LA, 2600 miles away from everyone who molded me into who I am today…and I am going to revisit it all over again. This time, I am hoping to represent my new home and one of the most beautiful, diverse and opportunistic states in the country, California!!! So now the real test begins.
I am now my own committee, and I am in search of sponsorships! So, if you or anyone else you know would be interested in a great tax write off and advertising, let me know! I can’t do it alone.
So that’s the exciting news!!!!....and I will keep you posted on all of the mini updates along the way! Now…I am off to la palestra…..I think it’s leg day :(
If you want to see the old website that I used during my reign as Miss Fayetteville in 2002, visit http://www.unc.edu/~ejwhite/missfayetteville/index.html.
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