Why???

Sometimes I get asked the question, why do you participate in pageants? Pageantry is something that I have done since I was 3 years old. My pageant career started with a fundraiser, Easter themed, Sunday Best pageant and has evolved into becoming a national title holder for the very best pageant system around! So why do I do pageants? Because I love them! It is something that I do. It started as a hobby and it has become part of who I am. Below is a list of five things (I could list 50) that I have learned from competing in pageants.

1. Meet new people! Pageants open doors to meeting new people! It’s important to take advantage of that opportunity. Some of the people I have met along the way have become my very best friends! These acquaintances range from peers, to role models, to community leaders. Being a titleholder means that I get to be apart of many different things. Being included means that I am building relationships everywhere I go. I still keep in contact with several girls that I met at Miss Pre Teen International! Experiencing the national pageant together helped us form an immediate bond. Supporting and encouraging each other through such an emotionally charged week gave me the opportunity to make new, lifelong friends.

2. Perseverance! Perseverance is important as a pageant contestant. When I first entered Little Miss Arkansas International as a 5 year old, I placed 2nd runner up. But that was okay! I had a blast meeting new friends, getting dressed up and spending the day doing what I loved. I went back the next year and won Overall Grand Supreme. If I wouldn’t have ever stepped back onto that Arkansas International stage, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Of course you can’t win them all! My mom would always remind me after a pageant that I may or may not have been what the judges were looking for that day, and that is OK! The important thing is to learn from the experience and improve for next time.

3. Confidence! I have never really been a shy kid or gotten super nervous beyond just normal butterflies. However, just because I am not shy doesn’t mean that being in front of large crowds and speaking to strangers has always been easy. One thing I learned really early on is to practice and listen to my coaches. When I feel prepared it gives me the confidence I need to be on stage, whether that is modeling or speaking. After spending quite a bit of time on stage I have learned it will be OKAY! I CAN get on stage and speak to a group of 700 students, I CAN get in front of a crowd of 200 people completely put on the spot and speak! Knowing that I CAN do it came from my experiences and pageant preparation! 

4. My biggest competition is myself! Back to my mom, she likes to say the quote “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Well, I totally get that and believe it! It’s important to me that I work hard to do my absolute best. This could be on a stage, in an interview room, or on the volleyball court. Yes, pageants are a competition, and an individual sport, but I have to be happy with how I did at the end of the day and not worry about what everyone else is doing or wearing. Winning the crown isn’t what it is about. It is about setting a goal, giving it my all and going for it. 

5. Be yourself! I am an 11 year old girl that loves to play sports, play outside, play video games and I happen to like doing pageants, too. I am not trying to fit a mold or pretend that I am something that I am not. During my interview at Miss Pre Teen International I told one of the judges that I liked to catch lizards and frogs with my little brother. That started the best conversation about playing outside. Just being myself made that a really great interview. So my advice to any pageant girls out there going after the big crown is this...Know that you are beautiful being you, don’t try to be something that you aren’t!

So, being a pageant girl really is part of me! I have learned SO much being involved in pageantry. I have been able to meet some incredible people and have some awesome experiences! I am looking forward to serving another five months as your first Miss Pre Teen International!

Madilyn K.

Miss Pre Teen International