Another weekend done, and another pageant participated in. Now, believe me when I say pageant girls put forth a TON of effort before the competition that goes a bit unrecognized. So, here's to you girls that put in countless hours in the gym, constant supervision of your diet (to rock that swimsuit portion of course), practice your talent portion, work on your modeling, keep up with current events, can answer pretty much any question given to you in about 0.345892347 seconds, and all the while you're juggling school, social life, and that little thing called sleep. I say little because with all that going on you only get a little bit of it. We pageant girls know how to do a lot of things, but one of the best things is to have fun getting to know each other and helping each other backstage.
I competed in the Miss University of Georgia pageant this weekend and I had so much fun and couldn't be more grateful for that experience. That being said, we get to the whole scenario that was the highlight of my night. But here's a backstory...
I completed my interview Friday evening and then got to spend the rest of the night with my aunt, two cousins, and my mom. We went to Mellow Mushroom and had a great dinner, followed by me standing in the hotel room calling out bones and their placement while my mom added them up with a calculator (I never did get to 206 that night) and just general merriment with the family. The next morning, I got up went to dress rehearsal and when the evening gown portion came up I put mine on and got help zipping it up when... it stopped. That zipper didn't budge, so I took the gown off and messed with the zipper, put the gown back on, and miraculously it zipped all the way up without a flaw.
I walked back to the hotel to get some lunch and lay down, and my cousin suggested Weaver D's for lunch. We went to the neon green building and enjoyed some good southern cooking (not too much mind you, I still had to get in that beast of an evening gown.) After a nap, I woke up and got ready for the exciting night! I arrived at the dressing room, got ready for opening number and the night began without a hitch. Then came evening gown. The people helping out backstage knew that it was going to take a specialized team to get me in mine so they were waiting. And dare I say it? The zipper got stuck again. We fiddled with it, and got it up... and then it happened... right as contestant number 2 was getting on the stage my zipper BUSTED. For those who don't know much about gowns, a busted zipper equals death for a gown. A look of sheer panic came on the helper's face and let the fun begin.
Other contestants came to my rescue though, with double sided tape, safety pins, even calming words. I asked to have my mother come backstage and help pin me in and all of the sudden I had at least 14 different hands holding this zipper together and each of those hands had a safety pin that got put in place and with only seconds to spare somehow they pinned that dress together. (I did say I don't care if I get stabbed... well I ate my own words with that one. My mom stabbed me with her first pin) I continued to have an enormous amount of help (and laughs) from the contestants and helpers backstage, and I walked out on that stage with a safety pinned evening gown feeling like a million bucks. I didn't win, but believe me when I say that is the best experience I've ever had backstage.
So thank you to every one who helped pin me in that dress (even you mom, although I do have a hole in my side) and helped me feel like a million dollars whenever the zipper of my dress wasn't worth a penny.
Live Today.
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