On May 31st I competed in my first ever beauty pageant for the title of Ms. North Hollywood. At the beginning I was like, “yeah right, this is not for me”. But with a little determination, research, practice and watching youtube videos until 1 am on many nights, I was able to grasp the idea. I improved my walks, poses and knowledge and just went for it. I found that I enjoyed every part of the process. It boosted my confidence and was great to see new passions come to light in my life.
Then I placed in the top 3 and got 2nd runner up to Ms. North Hollywood! At first I was disappointed, I knew the areas where I wasn’t as strong as my competitors, but it soon became apparent that there was so much more to it than that. I took my walk with grace and congratulated the winner and first runner up. It was so awesome to watch these girls hard work pay off. In life you have to be happy for others when they succeed, and know that your time is coming too.
The thing about the whole experience was that I faced something I was scared of. Competing in the pageant was a series of firsts for me and I was so nervous and unsure of myself. But I took those feelings and made them work for me. As a woman in recovery, I had to. My heart said YES, so I had to get my mind to follow. All in all I’m proud of myself, and so many people are proud of me too. The love from friends and family warmed my heart. The directors of the pageant said how beautiful I looked, how pleasant I was to work with, and that they hoped I would keep competing because I have what it takes to capture the crown.
After the pageant, another pageant director reached out to me to compete in the upcoming Mrs. Hollywood Pageant on July 12th! I thought about it for days and decided to go ahead and do it! This pageant is a preliminary to Mrs. California Globe 2016. I’m going to take all of the things I learned from Miss NoHo and bring it at this one. I know I can nail it and I’m so excited!
In conclusion, life is too short to give up, and too short not to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Who knew I would love competing in pageants! I’ve always been competitive, stemming back from my figure skating career as a young girl. Yes, it hurts when you don’t win, but it’s all about perspective. I don’t think of myself as a “loser”, because I know I gave it my all. With a few tweaks in my performance, I know I can stand out in each part of the competition.
I’m all about personal improvement, overcoming fears and making them work for you. The most important thing to remember is that it’s about going the distance and doing your personal best. Not for others, but for yourself.
Much Love,
Christine
