The End

The pageant was over and I ws SO grateful.  My feet felt as if they would never be flat again; they hurt so bad being shoved into heels for 10 hours.  I descend from the stage and enter the mob of people gathered around it to find 3 wonderful friends there to greet me with hugs and smiles and flowers.  It was my favorite part.

Felicity

Happy Birthday

Hey y'all guess what?  Today is Arizona's Birthday.  Oh, also, it's valentines day for those who didn't know (jk)!

On this day be kind, share a smile, give a compliment, help your neighbor, be polite and love the Lord your God with all of your heart.

Felicity

Family Heirlooms

It was time for the gown.  The pageant had an intermission so it was the first costume change that wasn't rushed.  I took my time changing into the purple velvet and silk Oscar de la Renta gown that was once worn by my mother.  It was a beautiful deep purple and oh so classy.  I was not done-up like the other girls in sparkly, showy gowns with huge slits up the sides but I was beautiful and i knew it.   I felt like a princess.

After showing the crowd the evening gowns it was time for the onstage question.  I was asked a question about my platform.  I said I would continue to write letters to soldiers over seas and told the audience where they could get involved operationgratitude.com.  I was then asked my opinion on SOPA and PIPA.  I used the first amendment to defend my answer.  My momma was thrilled.  I was proud for standing my ground in an environment where they questions were asked in a biased way and you knew what answer the judges wanted but I did not waver.  I gave it to them straight and smiled the whole time.

Obviously I didn't win the pageant.  I did win the swimsuit portion.  That made me laugh out loud.  I learned a lot about being in pageants.  I learned a lot about the purpose pageants serve for the people in them.

Pageants are pointless.  They hurt self-esteem, they make you feel that the plain old you is not beautiful, they make you cry when six strangers say that you are not the winner.  Who cares what they say.  Who cares what the world says.  I am beautiful just as I am because I am God's creation.  I am His temple and I do not need to adorn myself with material goods to make that so.

With that being said, it wouldn't kill me to put just a little make-up on once in a while!

Felicity

The Talent

The hard part was over.  I ran down to the dressing room and literally ripped by swimsuit off of my body.  It was at the pageant that I was introduced to butt glue.  Yes, that's right.  I glued my swimsuit to my butt so I wouldn't get a wedgie on stage.  I might be missing some skin down there because it stuck to my swimsuit . . . TMI.

Anyway, swimsuit off talent dress on.  Pantyhose on.  Different shoes on.  Put flute together.  Grab music, run to stage.  Walk onto stage composed.  Pretend I am not out of breath.  Raise the flute to my chin.  Escape into a world of bliss.

For the first time Saturday I felt comfortable.  I was dressed in a beautiful gown I wore when I was sixteen for All-state auditions, I had my glasses on for the first time all day and could see what was going on, and I was playing music I knew like the back of my hand.  It felt so soothing to escape into the melody, feel the cool silver of my flute and the warmth of my breath as it escaped through the keys.  I was performing and I was beautiful and I was calm.  I could have stayed on that stage and played all night.

Felicity

Swimsuit

The swimsuit is the most demoralizing part of the pageant in my mind.  Girls and women parading around a stage scantily clad so a panel of judges can examine your body and determine if you are what they deem 'beautiful'.  All the questions going through my head were being said by the other girls as we got ready.  'Am I thin enough?' "Did I eat to much for lunch today?' "Do I look bloated?' 'Are my legs too jiggly?'  I think this is absurd!  These girls are between 17 and 24 and are incredibly thin; of course you look beautiful, of course you are thin enough if not too thin, of course you did NOT eat enough for lunch, of course you don't look bloated, if anything you look anorexic, and finally Yes, your legs jiggle because you are human and if they didn't you'd be DEAD!  It makes me so mad that society does this to people, having this unhealthy image of what you should look like, and having pageants where strangers who have no bearing what soever in your life judge you based on how close you are to looking like Barbie yet I am just as affected by this as every single other girl that was backstage with me.

One girl said she spoke to her dad about how he felt about her strutting her stuff in a swimsuit on stage and her dad told her 'you worked hard for that body, flaunt it!'.  It made me sick.  Flaunt your body?  Your dad wants you to dress and behave in a sexually provocative way on stage in front of tons of people?  I just want to give that girl a hug and tell her that she is beautiful and that she doesn't need to flaunt her body to get attention or love or recognition or self-confidence or whatever it is that she is seeking in competing in pageants week in and week out.

Anyway, enough of my pedestal.  Please let your daughters know they are loved, they are beautiful, that modesty does not diminish their beauty or popularity but adds to it.  Modesty gives them mystery.

Felicity

Game Day

Saturday, 6:30 am, the morning of the pageant.  I am up, showering, make-up-ing, getting dressed and packing.  Off to the hair dressers I go where a wonderful stylist Melanie curled my hair!  My hair held all night and looked great!

I arrive at the location of the pageant at 10:30.  I put on more make-up (I didn't know that was possible) get dressed for my interview and stand in front of a panel of judges as they ask me questions about my platform of Operation Gratitude, my resume, and political questions to see where I stand on current events and apparently determine my political leaning before the night begins to biased-ly decide if I have the opinions they want Miss Tucson to have.

Once all of the girls have interviewed we begin rehearsal where we learn the opening number, practice walking patterns and each get a crack or two of performing our talent on stage.

Before I know it it is half an hour until the show begins.  I put on EVEN MORE MAKE-UP, get changed into my opening number outfit (I am dressed like Sandy from the last song in Grease).  The girls and I walk up the ramp to the stage and make our first appearance to the audience.  After saying our name, our school, and our platform we literally run from the stage to our dressing room and change into our swimsuit.

Felicity

Pageant Preperation

Whew!  I have had a crazy past week!  Saturday was the Tucson Miss Desert Rose/Old Pueblo Pageant and it is amazing how much work goes into your ten minutes on stage!  This week I will walk you through it.

First, I had to find enough dresses, shoes, make-up, and jewelry to meet all of the requirements of the pageant. Now let me be the first to tell you, I am a shoe horse, but I do not often wear stiletto heels in various outrageous colors and tons of jewels and glitter so my collection did not help me out a lot for this adventure.  I was able to use a pair of shoes I wore in a wedding a pair of lain black heels work for me though.

Next, I had to prepare me talent; playing the flute.  I practiced for hours the week before the pageant since I signed up so late!

After that getting my face painted was the dilemma at hand.  I did not own foundation, eye liner, or lipstick until Thursday night, two days before the pageant.  I walked into a mall, had a make-up booth grab me, put gobs of make-up on me and tell me how to paint my face for Saturday.  I bought some foundation and began to act like a beauty queen.  I put make-up on Friday for 'practice' for the pageant.

Friday it was time to shave my legs (something I rarely do in the winter . . . or the summer for that matter), get my fingernails done, pluck my eyebrows and beg my momma to paint my toenails.  My momma was very willing to paint my toenails and make some finishing touches to my eyebrows, she is such a trooper.  I packed up all of my stuff that night, did a final practice of my talent and went to bed.

Felicity

Stuff on a Stick

Tonight I was granted a lovely break.  I had a smoothie and shared scones with a close friend!  It was so great to have two hours of uninterrupted time to chat and giggle and sigh about life.

Next, I had dinner with five other great ladies who I cooked and laughed with all evening!  I stuck an avocado pit in my mouth to suck off the bits of avocado and almost choked I was laughing so hard at the wonderful humor of the other girls!  I almost spewed lettuce out of my nose I was laughing so hard during the meal, and practically cackled afterward.  These girls are incredible.  They are role models, they are loving life, they seem so worry free, and are the most supportive caring bunch I have ever had the pleasure to laugh with.

Love the giggling gal,

Felicity