Mackenzie Fuller's Adventures at Nationals
Wow! It has already almost been a month since nationals, and I still feel like it was just yesterday. I feel honored to be able to represent the great state of North Dakota on an international level! Get ready for a lot of pictures, because I have so many fun memories I want to share with you!
From the moment I left North Dakota, I knew that Nationals Week was going to be amazing! Miss North Dakota International 2021 Megan Koehler and I were traveling together, so of course it would be a great time!
I was able to take my picture with each pilot I was on the plane with! I told them that I flew a plane last year for my aviation class, and they were all pretty impressed that I had that opportunity at 16 years old!
Our first stop after leaving North Dakota was our connecting flight in Dallas, Texas. Guess who we found in the airport? Miss Texas International 2021 and Miss Teen Texas International 2021! We took lots of pictures together and made a great bond before even being officially at the national pageant!
Once Megan and I arrived in Kingsport, TN, we found our three preteens. We had a group meeting and said a prayer and then it was off to bed.
I had a surprise present waiting for Megan when we arrived in Kingsport. We had matching pajamas! It was so fun to take cute pictures in them, and they were soooo soft! A huge thank you to Mrs. North Dakota International 2021, Emily Brooks, for embroidering our titles on them!
The next day before orientation, I met up with Miss Teen Maryland to go swimming in the pool! We had so much fun talking about our platforms, what is special about our home states, and our goals for the rest of our reign.
That afternoon was orientation! Megan and I met our sister queens to the south: the South Dakota Queens! As we were taking our picture, we realized that we were even matching! The North Dakota Titleholders were wearing black dresses, and the South Dakota Titleholders were wearing white!
The next day was full of adventures! First, we went to visit the girls in Girls Inc. Each titleholder brought a backpack full of school supplies for the girls to take to school! A huge thank you goes to Mrs. Darlene Ruud and Mrs. Pam Matte for sponsoring my backpack!
After that, we went AX THROWING! If you haven’t ever gone ax throwing in a Sherri Hill dress and high heels, are you really living? Haha!
Next up was mini golf and a taco building contest! I definitely will need to work on my putting skills, as I started out great, but then it seemed like the ball just didn’t want to go in the hole no matter how much I tried… HAHA! Taco building was so much fun! It was our surprise event that we didn’t know was happening until orientation! Each table had supplies they could use and then one secret ingredient. Our secret ingredient was Thousand Island Dressing! Each group had a set limit of how much time to build their taco and get their presentation ready for the judge. My team made a taco based off of Tennessee and the hotel we were staying at! And guess what? WE WON THE CONTEST! It was such a fun way to end an excitement-filled day!
The next morning was interviews. I was so excited to share my platform of Volunteer- Be The Nice Kid with judges from across the world! My group said a prayer before the interviews and then we went in to share our stories.
That night was the Pre-Teen pageant! I had a blast cheering on Medora, Clara, and Sawyer! They all did amazing and I couldn’t be more proud of them!
That night my mom arrived in Kingsport! As soon as I saw her in the ballroom I ran up to her and gave her a huge hug! She is my biggest supporter, and I know that I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without her as my example. She is my biggest role model, and I was so happy to be in the same state as her again.
The next day was the Teen preliminary competition. When they announced my name and the title of Miss Teen North Dakota International 2021, I felt a huge surge of pride. I have the amazing opportunity to represent my state, platform, and who I am in a worldwide pageant. That is amazing. My cousin and aunt came to watch me during prelims. It was so good to see them again! My directors gave me a huge hug and told me how proud they are of me. They are the best directors I could ever ask for. My coach Ava Hill-Harner attended the pageant, too! I am so grateful for her expertise to help me with my pageant journey! My mom gave me a hug and told me that I did amazing! I appreciate all of the support that I get from my amazing pageant family.
The next day was our day off. My aunt, cousin, mom, and I went to IHop for breakfast. I had crepes and they were soooo good! Then we went to the water park! I loved going on the lazy river and the huge water slides. After that, we went on a carousel. It was such a fun day!
That night was the Miss preliminary competition. I cheered Megan on as she represented North Dakota on the international stage. She did amazing!
The next day was followed by lots of rehearsals! Then that night was finals! While I didn’t make it into the final competition, I am still proud of what I had accomplished. Going into nationals, my goal wasn’t to win, it was to have fun and soak in every moment! I am so grateful that I was able to meet all of the girls from across the globe, and have such an unbelievable connection with each and every one.
After the pageant Megan, my Mom, and I packed up all of our stuff and got ready for our flight. We didn’t even sleep after the pageant because our flight was early and we were still so excited! Our adventures didn’t stop after the pageant was over. Megan and I made little potted succulents at nationals and brought them from Tennessee to Texas, to North Dakota! It was so funny to carry a plant around the airport!
I feel so blessed to have such an amazing support group. Thank you so much to everyone for supporting me along my journey! But just because nationals is over, doesn’t mean my reign is. Stay tuned to see the rest of my adventures!
-Changing the world, one act of kindness at a time,
Mackenzie Fuller
