Hello hello! It's been forever since I have updated my blog. I've been extremely busy for the past few weeks and did not have time to sit down and blog! I am leaving for the Miss California Teen USA pageant in just 2 days, so I decided to write about how I prepared for this big event. I most likely will not have time to post during pageant weekend due to the hectic schedule that they have planned for us, but I am definitely planning on writing a full detailed post about my experience there along with many pictures, so stay tuned!
When I was around six or seven years old, I remember walking through the casino of the Planet of Hollywood with my parents. Suddenly, a massive group of girls walked right past us and through the casino, all of them wearing sky high heels and sashes across their chests. The whole casino stopped what they were doing and started to applaud for them. At that time, I had no idea what pageants were, or who these girls were. It wasn't until later that I found out that those girls were the contestants of the Miss Universe pageant that was taking place in Vegas that year. I will never forget that memory and I believe that that was the moment where my interest in pageants had sparked. As I grew older and learned more about pageantry, I fell in love with it and have been watching the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants religiously. (Not even kidding when I say religiously.) Walking on the Miss California USA stage has been something that I never thought I would do. Every year, around this time, I would turn on my TV and watch the contestants take the stage. This would be the first year in many years where I will not be sitting on the couch wearing my PJ's with popcorn in hand, watching the pageant. Instead, I will be the one on screen competing! Never in a million years would I have thought that I would be able to have the courage and confidence to stand on that stage myself. Being a titleholder and contestant has always simply been a far away dream of mine, and I cannot believe that it is going to become a reality in just a few days!
The pageant is a three day event starting early Friday morning and ending Sunday night. On Friday, all the contestants will be checking in and get interviewed in groups in our swimsuits. We will also be having a private formal interview with the judges as well. On Saturday, we will be having a dress rehearsal in the morning, and preliminaries will be held later that night. During the preliminaries, the judges will judge all the 200 girls(Miss and Teen included) and pick out their top 20. Sunday will be the big day with finals starting at 4 PM. Right in the beginning of the finals, the top 20 will be announced for both Miss and Teen, and only those who made the cut will move on in the competition. I'm definitely going to be needing a lot of coffee this weekend!!
I have been working extremely hard for the past few weeks, and this week especially by practicing my walk, makeup, hair, etc. and finishing up some last minute touches! I have also been dieting and eating healthy to help get my body in the best shape possible. Out of everything we have to do to prepare for the event, I must admit that eliminating carbs and junk food from my diet was the hardest step in preparing for this pageant! It was especially hard during Thanksgiving, with all my favorite foods such as Mac N cheese, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, etc.. However, I am proud of myself for staying away from them and for sticking to my goal of eating clean! I can definitely feel the difference in my workouts now that I have eliminated the unnecessary carbs and junk food out of my diet. My body is stronger than it has ever been thanks to the help of my wonderful trainer, and I have been able to do workout exercises that I used to never be able to do before.
This all has been a crazy and hectic journey. I am very thankful for my family, friends, sponsors, and simply anyone that has been supporting me! Special thanks to my mom; none of this would have been possible without her constant support and help. She was the one who had encouraged me to follow after this dream and believed in me from the start when no one else did. I feel so blessed to have a mom like her who works nonstop to help me pursue my dreams.
No matter what the results are this weekend, I am forever grateful to have had this opportunity. Like I mentioned earlier before, walking the Miss California USA stage has been a lifelong dream and I am so ecstatic to finally be able to go after it. It has been an incredible adventure and I have been able to do so much for my community and meet so many inspiring people along the way. The things that I have learned and experienced within the past few months are life lessons that I will take with me forever. I will definitely be writing a post after the pageant to share the whole experience and will take as many pictures as possible! Talk to you guys soon.
xoxo,
Kaitlyn
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