Narrative: Winning the Miss USCA pageant
White paper with black and pink ink-stained words advertised an upcoming university pageant. The flyer gave slight details that included the date and location of an interest meeting, which after a few personal self-affirmations I decided to attend.
I’d never been apart of a pageant before, and I won’t feign the slight perturbation I experienced. However, stronger than my fright of the unknown is always my willingness to try, and I walked into Penland 110 on the 3rd of October ready to participate in something new. I am writing to give an account of my Pageantry experience.
The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated hosted the Miss USCA Pageant. Each practice was held in the B&E gym, with members of the sorority present to give opinions, direction and constructive criticism. Everyone present dedicated their time and attention to us contestants, and overall I consider the event a well-organized one. Our pageant coach gave each contestant personal attention and opinions on how to improve in each category.
They were always pleasant, enthusiastic and patient. It was refreshing to see the positive attitudes of everyone in the room, especially given that this was a competition, after all. The pageant consisted of four categories: Express Yourself, Talent, Formal Wear and lastly, Question and Answer. Throughout each practice, we went through the order of events with the exception of the question and answer segment, which created a familiarity for the stage. To me, each practice provided a consciousness of placement for each contestant to best perform.
Pageantry to me has proven the following: It requires a commitment to attend practices as scheduled, you must utilize your critiques to improve, you should not take anything personal, and you must dedicate time to practice on your own. Contrary to belief, interacting with my competition was always a friendly experience and everyone seemed quite supportive of one another. Each segment brought out a different quality within each of us.
The Express Yourself Segment called for honesty with each personality, the talent segment allowed for a showcase of what makes each contestant unique, the formal segment revealed each lady’s personal style and view of elegance, and the question and answer segment allowed us to prove that there is intelligence to accompany the beauty. I personally noted how wonderfully diverse each of my competitors were, and I was able to appreciate what each of us brought to the event.
The sorority would hand out three awards on the night of November 1st: Fan favorite, Ms. Congeniality, and the Crown Miss USCA. Could you image the beat of my heart as I first won first the fan favorite award and then the winning title? Humbled and excited, the experience proved more rewarding than I could’ve imagined. The personal growth was for me, the greatest reward.
I will use my position to promote positivity and the acceptance of cultural diversity, inner development, and the importance of community service; all of which are I am truly passionate about and see as quality character traits. Having participated, I have a new appreciation for those who compete in large-scale competitions.
The bravery, the persistence, the lessons taught, I wouldn’t trade them for anything. I am grateful for the opportunity to compete in the pageant, the changes in myself, and I thank the judges for choosing me as Miss USCA.
