Anyone that knows me is well aware that I am a pageant
almanac (in the least creepy way possible, I promise). So much so that sometimes I forget that these
women who have been state titleholders over the years are actually real
people. For example, when I attended
Miss New York last year as a spectator and saw some of my absolute favorite
contestants… ever, I was STAR STRUCK, but truthfully it motivated to get back
into the game. This year in particular
has introduced me and allowed me to get to know so many of these women on a
personal level, but each time I see them I am still hit with that initial moment
of “I cannot believe I just had a conversation with (insert any number of
titleholders here)”.
Ok, enough about my shock and awe… onto the weekend (I
promise it all ties together somehow!)
Sometimes the hardest thing about traveling to and from the
city is figuring out how to get from the airport into Manhattan. So in an effort to try something different, I
took a bus. This particular bus arrived
1.5 hours late and over the course of the entire trip put me back a solid 2.5
hours with a total trip time of 8 hours… ugh.
That said, nothing was going to dampen my spirits for the coming days.
My lovely mentor Amanda Beagle (Miss Ohio 2004 and talent
winner at Miss America) and I ventured to the Isle of Staten for the Miss NY
workshop. The day was long, but I won’t
lie, having full-blown pageant fever again is AWESOME!!! Hearing Kaitlin talk about her year as Miss
New York gives me goosebumps. Even
though only one girl gets to follow in her footsteps I am working hard, keeping
my fingers crossed, and wishing at 11:11 every night that it’s my name they
call! Then again, so are 25 other young
women.
All the contestants at the St. George Theatre in Staten Island!
I had the pleasure of having dinner with Amanda and my
wonderful hostess for the weekend, Gina Valo-Miss Michigan 2007. I loved hearing about how being involved in the
MAO has shaped their lives and how everything just falls into place and happens
as it should, you just have to trust that.
… Sunday!
Photoshoot time with Claire Buffie, Miss New York 2010. The woman is outrageous. Period. I swear she manages to find an extra 10 hours
in the day somehow. She is a student, an
employee, head of her own company, and such a massive contributor to the MAO
organization… and even with all of these she is still SO real, genuine, and
plain old fun!! So Claire and Hair and
Makeup Artist Lindsay Zelli came over bright and early to get these photos
going! Zelli is unreal. I LOVED that I couldn’t see any of what she
was doing until the very end, I just had to trust the peanut gallery’s (Claire
and Gina) fun commentary. I must say
Miss Zelli… ya done good!
We shot two looks outside the NYU library… and I’m sure
ticked off plenty of students in the process- oops! Claire and Zelli were an absolute blast. Their excitement definitely rubbed off on me
and helped me relax and I am SO pleased with the final product!
My favorite four headshot options for Miss NY
I worked with Amanda on talent in the afternoon. My gosh, the woman knows what she’s talking
about. I am so pumped to keep working on
my song “Gimme Gimme” and show the judges and the audience how far I’ve come
when June rolls around.
Gina cooked an AMAZING dinner: chicken, asparagus, and sweet
potatoes. Gina, Amanda, and Mallory
(Miss NYC), and I chowed down while we chatted about hot topics, current
events, and other interview prep questions.
Unfortunately, the night flew by farrrr to quickly and
before I knew it I was back on the bus heading to good ole Buffalo! This blog really doesn’t do this past weekend
justice, since so so soooo much happened, I’m sure I left plenty out.
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Katelynn (Miss Empire Rose) with her card!
Mallory (Miss NYC) made one too, but she was camera shy!
Thanks to all for the support, words of encouragement, and
lovin’ I have received. Keep spreading
the word about 1000 Cards, 1000 Dollars… Send me your cards and make your
donations!
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