My Journey to the National Pageant…...


“The will to succeed means nothing without the will to prepare.”   -Juma Ikangaa
 
I think that I started to prepare for nationals about an hour after I was crowned Miss Teen North Dakota International.  Janelle and Meg our North Dakota International Pageant Directors meet with the newly crowned sister queens and their families. It was at this meeting that the groundwork started and the journey to the national pageant began.  True to form, Janelle and Meg were very organized and set the plans in motion. An outline of the timeframe and expectations for nationals, were lovingly shared.  I can remember thinking “Yay” and “Yikes” at the same time.
            In the following weeks, we started to talk about what things we could improve upon from the state pageant.  We began working on ideas for branding and creative ideas for effectively sharing my platform. I looked carefully through the state judges comments and tried to use their feedback to make improvements.  Using what I had learned from feedback, I followed through on these ideas, as we developed my web site and as we did my photo shoot.  We tried to keep in mind that these photos would ultimately represent my advertising and social media at nationals. We also tried to be mindful of this, while we began building a wardrobe.
            One of the new requirements this year was a “Journey to the Crown” video that each contestant was asked to submit.  It was exciting to have a chance to talk about my platform, introduce myself and represent my state. It was an exciting opportunity, but also a bit challenging to decide exactly how I wanted to do this in the allowed time, via video.  Staying true to my music platform, I decided to sing.  Contestants were also asked to do was put together a backpack, filled with school supplies. The backpack is going be donated to the boys and girls club.  I hope there is a child who enjoys their music themed backpack, as much as I did, putting it together for them.
            Dresses and jewelry and shoes, oh my!  Over the past few months, my closet has expanded into the storage space that has connected to my room.  The space has been re-purposed and renamed the “pageant closet.”  I am so grateful my family has been willing to play along. Organization is key here.  I knew that things had just “got real” when Meg and Janelle showed up to approve my nationals wardrobe, and it all ended up on a detailed spread- sheet!
            I have loved this journey… every minute of prep, the time my mom and I have spent planning and laughing.  The people who have touched my life along the way have been amazing.  I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have this amazing opportunity.  I am truly blessed and truly grateful.  See you soon Charleston, West Virginia!
Yours in Harmony, Payton Hausauer Miss Teen North Dakota 2017

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