Nationals went by in a flash!
Hello Again!
Wow, do I
have a lot to tell you all! As most of you know, I have recently returned from
Nationals in Jacksonville, FL and it was nothing short of amazing!
We started
our journey a few days early so that we could attend Mrs. North Dakota International, Ashley
Klinger, preliminary competition and her finals. There is nothing better than
having a large cheer team supporting you far away from home! Meghanne, Miss
Teen North Dakota International and I came with two things those nights, our screaming lungs
for cheering, and tissues for our overwhelming pride in Ashley. Finals night
they announced the top 15 contestants while Meghanne and I were clutching hands
waiting to hear Ashley’s name-“Mrs. North Dakota International- Ashley Klinger!” Tears of joy
streamed our faces! It was such an exciting time and great way to start our
competition week with seeing Ashley representing her platform and state so well
on a international stage because we knew we would be there in just one more
week!
By being
there a few days early we were able to meet other Miss and Teen contestants as
they arrived and get to know them before our busy schedules took over!
Orientation
came Monday afternoon where we were able to meet everyone, meet the national
sponsors, and discuss the week ahead. Every time I thought I had met all of the
Miss contestants, I would see a new group of ladies I hadn’t introduced myself
too!
Tuesday was
our busiest day where we toured Jacksonville! We first stopped at Sweet Pete’s
Candy store were we got to make our own suckers! It was so cool to see the
candy being created and to see everyone’s unique sucker shapes they chose to
mold! We then continued to walk downtown to a few of the historical buildings.
After lunch we gathered with the American Heart Association (our national
platform) and learned compression CPR. CPR continually changes and its always
great to learn the newest techniques! After CPR we made blankets for children
at the hospital! It doesn’t end there! Then everyone got on buses and we headed
to the Jacksonville Jaguars Stadium where we toured their home and got to see
new updates to the building that hadn't been released to the public yet! Told
you it was a busy day!
That
evening we had a Gala, where we all got to dress in gowns and eat a fabulous
dinner. That evening we got to hear the testimony of Eddie Peterson. Eddie had
a great inspirational story that left many girls in tears and inspired to keep
striving! It was truly a blessing and God-felt night.
Wednesday was an exciting day
where the all the Miss contestants went to the PACE center for girls. The Pace
center is a place where girls and young women are able to build their
education, receive counseling, and building their bridge to a success future in
society. How cool is that!? It was a great time doing different activities with
the girls and learning about them and who they are. It was also a humbling time
to reflect my personal mission in the world and remember Gods leading hand. I
absolutely loved this trip!
That night we had our first
rehearsals! Every girl had a large bag with about 4 pairs of shoes and snacks
to keep them going! It was so fun to finally learn our opening number routine
and to cheer for our friends on stage! The opening number song was “Me too” by
Meghanne Trainer and the song REALLY stuck with us! We all loved the sassy,
peppiness in the song which made it even more fun!
Wow Thursday Morning came fast!
It was time for my private interview with the judges- this portion of the
competition was worth 40% of my score. Each judge is very different so you just
have to be prepared for anything! The judges were given my paperwork that I
submitted about myself and my platform about a month before nationals where
they were able to really examine my work and who I am. The international system
is well known for their platform service so I was asked mostly about my service
in my platform. Building Stronger Communities through service is a very large
platform as service can be done in so many different ways! That’s what makes my
platform so great and unique! Like I had said, each interview with the judges
was very different- I had some that were fun and exciting and a few others that
were more business-like. The important part was that I stayed calm, stayed true
to myself, and educated others about the importance of building stronger
communities! When I left the interview room I had my directors anxiously
waiting to hear all about it and I was very excited to tell them!
In the evening, the Miss
contestants got dressed up to attend the Miss-Teen Preliminaries night where I
got to watch Meghanne just rock that stage! It was a blast seeing all the
dresses and cheering with other “big sister” queens for their “little sisters!”
Meghanne sure knows how to make me proud!!
Friday was an ENTIRE day of
rehearsals! We had lots to learn in just a little bit of time before our big
night of Prelims! Again we all had a large bag full of shoes and snacks to keep
us going strong throughout the day! Oh, and coffee too! It was just as fun as
the first night of rehearsals as we were all getting pretty anxious for the
upcoming show!
Finally it was time to get on
our opening number dresses and we were ready to show off everything we had been
working hard on over the past few months! The show ended in the blink of an eye
and I had so much fun being on stage! I prayed before the show that God would
shine through me that night and by the end of the show, I felt content and at
ease knowing God was with me the entire show.
Saturday morning had come
quickly and was another day of rehearsals for finals night! That night would be
the night we would learn who made the top 10 in both the Teen and Miss categories—pretty
exciting huh?
Before we knew it, we were back
in our opening number dresses. Everyone was a bit nervous because we all had
worked so hard to be there that night but we knew that only 10 names would be
called. Don’t let that fool you though! Everyone was still laughing and being encouraging,
helping zip dresses and taking LOTS of fun pictures! This was our LAST night
together!! It came way too soon!
Everyone was on stage while our
hearts were pounding like drums out of our chests as we waited for the Teen top
10 to be called. They began announcing and suddenly, “Meghanne Quam, Miss Teen
North Dakota” was called and I instantly had tears of joy down my face as I
watched all of Meghanne's hard work pay off and her dreams unfold! The
contestants around me hugged and congratulated me as I was having a “big
sister” moment!
Soon they began the Miss top
10. My heart was still pounding loud and fast as before. One by one the top 10
were announced and I was not one of them but the girls’ names that were
announced were all very deserving
of their spot and had also worked very hard to get there! Some would think that
I should have been disappointed but that was honestly the complete opposite of
how I was feeling! I prayed long and hard that week. My goal was to allow God
to shine through me and share my platform. I believe I did just that and stayed
true to myself! I felt like a winner! I made so many friends and had a once in
a lifetime experience—how could I be upset!? Sure, making top ten would’ve been
great, but God had another plan and part of that plan was to be back stage
helping Meghanne stay focused and cheering for my friends!
At
the end of the night, my heart was still full and overjoyed as my best friend
had won the international title! I am so proud of our new queen, Amanda Moreno who truly depicts the perfect queen! I got to know Amanda pretty well over our week
together and I can say that we never had to say good bye because that week was
just the beginning of our new and growing friendship! <3
In
the end, I got to spend a week with some of the most beautiful, heart-felt
women I have ever met! Though the schedule was booked like you have read, it
was full of laughs, pictures, stories, and personal growth. I can honestly say
that this was one of the best weeks of my life. I made friends for a lifetime
and got to do things I have only ever dreamed of doing! Thank you to everyone
who has made this experience possible and supported me along the way! And thank
you to Mary and Mel Richardson for allowing me to be a part of their
one-of-a-kind pageant! Last but not least, thank you to the class of 2016 as
you all have made a home in my heart! Love you all! <3
Much
love, Miss North Dakota International 2016.
