Mr. South Texas : Boyfriends in Pageantry

In honor of all you pageant pros with S.O.s, I thought I'd write a post about boyfriends. Yes, this partially an excuse to brag on my beau, but it is also a way of showing everyone that we are real people. 

The current Miss America, Kira Kazantsev, has a boyfriend-- no way right? The Miss America before her, Nina Davuluri, had one too. No pageant friends, I'm not saying you need to go out and get yourself a boyfriend by any means! I just want to let the world know some of the things guys have to put up with and talk about something people think about, but never actually mention. Me being me, I compiled a list of why my boyfriend is awesome and some of the things he has to deal with as the other half of a beauty queen.

1. Yes I am busy! Between paperwork (there is a lot of that), appearances, fittings, talent rehearsals, spray tanning appointments, and so many other things I sometimes don't even have time to sit down. If I were to win the title of Miss Texas, my year would be the absolute busiest of my life! The great thing about having a boyfriend with all of this? He makes me calm. He can tell when I'm stressed or overwhelmed and just gives me a hug. The best thing about having him is that he knows when I am busy and he respects that I love what I'm doing. Yes it gets hard to communicate sometimes when we're both running a million directions, but we always find some time.

2. Heels create an interesting situation. He's a good 4 inches taller than me when I'm standing flat footed, if not more, but when I have my 3-inch heels on it's funny how upset he gets! Lol no, he's usually a good sport, but he definitely likes being taller. 

3. Make up is always fun. I'm not usually a fan of wearing a whole lot, and my stage make up... yikes! He loves when I don't wear make up, but it's always encouraging to hear that I look beautiful-- even with so much stuff on my face. 

4. Pageant diets suck! I'm just going to say it. I am the last person to promote healthy eating. Let's face it, I grew up in East Texas. I live on pizza, cheeseburgers, mac n cheese, and bar-b-que. When I have to I can eat right and exercise, but most of the time I just do the exercise part. I love that my person doesn't judge me for not doing things the conventional way. In fact, he likes it.

5. When I get an interview, he gets an interview. I get asked so many questions every time I Skype with my interview coach. Naturally I'm curious about his answers too! He's gotten pretty used to the most random questions at the most random times. "If you could be on the cover of any magazine, which one would it be and why?"

6. It's like a sorority. I'm not generally the sorority type. Yes I look like it, but trust me, my personality does not allow for that. However at Miss Texas, I've found that I've gotten to know a lot of girls very quickly and I've made some great friends! He's constantly having to learn new names and faces and he handles it so well!

7. OMG I have to wear a swimsuit in front of people. This one has a funny story. Two of his friends wanted to come cheer me on on that night and he got very protective. I find this adorable, but honestly, he knows that if I'm confident enough to parade around in a swimsuit in front of hundreds of people, I'll be okay with a few familiar faces. I'm proud of him for being so concerned though;)

8. Yes I have to buy a tan... and hair... and nails. It's just part of the gig. I've actually found that when I have a tan it enhances the things I like about myself. When my hair is done I walk with a little more pep in my step. I'm not really sure why, but I just feel that much more confident in myself. While the concept is a little funny, he still supports me doing what I love.

9. I'm generally a pretty confident person. And I value being strong and independent. I know a lot of girls like this in pageant world and, let me tell you, it takes a special kind of person to deal with one of those! I can't tell you how many times I've worried about being too much for one person, but he's proved to me time and time again that anyone worth it will be able to handle it and love and support me anyway. 

10. I think sometimes he's kind of proud of me. I mean, when he changed his Twitter name to "Mr. South Texas" and all of his friends started calling him that, I figured as much. It's honestly such a great feeling having someone other than my family purposefully choosing to deal with me and all of my opinions. 

In the end, he's such a good sport, one of my biggest supporters, and my best friend. I couldn't imagine doing what I do without him!

Why We Need Miss America

As most of you pageant people know, there was an article written after the Miss America competition last Sunday. This article is in response to that.

Dear Mr. Gallagher,
First of all, you've never worked with, competed in, nor had anything to do with the Miss America organization excepting sitting on your butt watching the live broadcast of finals night. Therefore the fact that I'm dignifying what you've said with a response is beyond me. However I can give you the names of about 56 young women and an entire organization who would stand behind me when I say that it is people like you who motivate us to do what we do.

Let me tell you why:

The 2016 Miss America competition is absolutely necessary because each contestant in the competition is highly qualified, incredibly motivated, and firm in her beliefs. Those are the role models we need--not the all-too-common oversexualized, unhealthy-lifestyle-promoting pop stars of our generation. The goal at the end of the night is not to crown "the perfect woman," but to give one woman the opportunity of a lifetime. The crown on her head is not some justification for being a "basic bitch," but an actual tool. The four points on the crown stand for the four basic pillars of the organization: service, style, scholarship, and success... But I've already written an article on that. It is also a tool in the sense that it provides a platform. How many times have you looked at the crown on her head instead of her face? The crown then becomes a gateway to address the wearer's chosen social issue. Each phase of the competition serves a specific purpose for the women competing and if they--as feminist, opinionated, and determined as most of them are--have no problem doing what they do and find meaning in it, let them do it. I'd rather see a young girl impersonating Miss America than Miley Cyrus.

Now for your list:

1. The Opening Number

Atlantic City was gracious enough to host the entire Miss America class of 2016 for two weeks before you tuned in on Sunday night. As a sponsor,-- and a big one--our host city, and the place of our headquarters, the organization owes an awful lot to the city. The opening number isn't even completely about introducing the contestants. It's about showing off the city.

2. Kevin O'Leary

OSQ is hard AF. Please please please go stand on stage in front of thousands of people and a camera that is recording live for yet millions more and tell me you want the question read quickly with lots of intonation. Go ahead.

3. The Winning Reactions

There are 52 contestants standing on stage. Only 15 are called to move on to the next phase of competition. Then 12, 10, 7... you get it. Each time your name is called you are closer to being the one. How would you react if your team moved on to the next round of playoffs? I say they're genuine.

4. Competition Music

Finals night is, for the girls, the last phase of competition. But for the rest of America, it's all we get to see. So ultimately, to keep the audience entertained, we need a production going on around the girls. You'd be complaining if Nick Jonas picked some obscure music no one had heard before. At least he picked songs people knew and that the girls could get some energy from. And he was hired to do a job, but it's not like it exactly came with an instruction manual. Sit down.

5. Fashion

Everyday people and their fashion are inspired by whatever! I guarantee you if you stopped a normal girl on the street and asked her for her fashion inspiration she'd tell you she saw it on Pinterest. Not every girl is there for her interest in fashion. Not every girl normally has access to designer gowns either, forgive her if her fashion icon comes from her life and not the fashion world.

6. Interesting Facts

She told the world something that was important to her and seemed like an interesting highlight of her life. You got a bunch of people to read your rant... Congratulations.

7. The Monologue

Her interesting fact was actually empowering. There are girls who often get made fun of because of their height and the fact that she worked hard and used the Miss America stage to talk about something she cared deeply about was just added encouragement to girls who are self-conscious about their height. It's not a hindrance, it makes you powerful.

Her monologue was something she wrote herself from her life experience and was ten times better than your article.

8. South Carolina OSQ

Refer to number two. That is her opinion... or it's not. She had twenty seconds to say what came to her mind. Again... you try it.

9. Miss Georgia's On-Stage Question

She didn't pick the question. It doesn't count much toward the final score anyway. It's not as important  as people think it is unless it's really close.

10. Scholarship

You didn't even write this one... You left a link to a video someone else did. But nonetheless this goes back to sponsors again. Let's say a school offered you a full-ride academic scholarship, but you didn't take it because you would rather go to another school and play the sport you love for half the money. Would you deny the fact that another school offered you money? I'm going to guess no. I do believe the words were "made available." By not acknowledging the scholarships donated by state schools--whether they were accepted or not--we lose the gratitude we have for those who were so generous. There are TONS of scholarships that go to waste every year because people didn't bother to apply. That doesn't mean they weren't offered.



In the end, you had good points for an outsider. We do what we do because we love it. For us, pageantry is just another platform--like blogging. We can earn scholarships, gain opportunities, get our opinions heard, and do incredible things. Miss America is proof we need better role models, whether you think so or not.

Link to the article by Mr. Gallagher:

http://www.vh1.com/news/205526/miss-america-why-beauty-pageants-shouldnt-exist/