Miss Idaho 2013

I am back from the dead. Actually I wasn't dead at all. Just off living the pageant dream. Hanging out backstage with 19 women that are too fit (seriously the best bodies I have ever seen in a class as a whole) for anyone not working out to feel good about themselves. Sleeping in a dorm room. Eating as if I was going to be on stage because I felt too weird to eat the chocolate. Hanging out with my mom. Realizing just how much hairspray you save if you aren't in pageants.... That is the life.

It was a great week with my mom. We drove up on Wednesday morning. Checked into the dorms to be the host ladies. Then we got to run around town with pageant girls.  

The week was nuts. Seriously nuts. It is so weird being on the opposite of pageantry. I'm not the one looking for butt glue and duct tape anymore. I'm not the one with 30 seconds to change from a dress to a swimsuit. Then one more minute to go from swimsuit into talent. This year I got to be the one coming backstage yelling, "YOU NEED TO BE ONSTAGE RIGHT NOW!!" So much adrenaline from being bossy.

Best of all... I didn't have to be there worrying about competition. I could focus on being a shoulder to cry on, words of comfort, and a quick pep talk before each portion of the interview. The relationships built through the Miss America organization are my favorite. That is why I kept competing, and now, that is why I have become a volunteer. I loved being there this week. I loved seeing familiar faces. I loved cheering for my sisters. It is a wonderful experience. The pageant world is so much more than high glitz, on stage answers, hairspray, spray tans... It is truly a family. And we all support whoever is crowned. We all cheer for her. iss Idaho 2013 is my friend, Sarah Downs. We both started competing together 5 years ago. And oh how times have changed. 

In our five years competing we have both had our failures and our success. We have spent a lot of time supporting each other through crazy diets, our emotional breakdowns, and, best of all, we have supported each other through times of achievement. We both started at the bottom of the pageant expertise. Our goals always aligned almost exactly... in our 4th year, we both had the goal to break top ten. Sarah far exceeded that goal over the weekend.

I am proud to call Sarah Miss Idaho. I am looking forward to seeing her grow throughout her year. She is a stunning individual. She has worked hard. And she is ready to represent Idaho at Miss America. And I am ready to be there to help in any way. Like I said, it is about the relationships. We all step in after the crazy moments backstage, the crying, running around, and fighting, to push our Miss Idaho and support her as she becomes the woman she wants to be.