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Pageant Update!


As some of you might know, I participated in the Miss Austin Peay/Miss Queen City pageant that happened on Saturday the 22nd. I had a blast meeting so many new faces and seeing some again for a second time. Pageants really are a wonderful thing to bring young women together, but they are also a way to shine lights on topics close to our hearts. The Miss America foundation promotes service and platforms that the contestants bring with them. Our current Miss America, Nia Franklin, has the platform of "Advocating for the Arts" and has since teamed with Sing for Hope which you can learn more about here.

My own platform, as you may have guessed, is Speak Up Stand Tall Against Teen Dating Abuse. During the course of Saturday night, I was able to not only speak to the crowd but some of the contestants about what I did within the community as well as my own experience with teen dating abuse. I was met with great acceptance and praise-- and I even won the inaugural Doug Barber Service Award which was an absolute honor. Even though I didn't place, I see that as a huge win and look forward to continuing to serve in my area with hopes to further branch out in the comings years. I once heard that you should never make plans big enough that you can achieve them yourself-- you need to make plans big enough that you can only achieve them with the help of God. That's what I plan to do with this ministry. In the coming years, I want to reach all the teens within Middle Tennessee if not more whether through pageants or through some means I've yet to find. As it's said, God works in mysterious ways.

 A big shout out to everyone who has supported me through all of the pageant craziness, especially my parents who invest so much in me. A big thank you to my friend Natalie, who did my make up, and to my mom, who did my hair, for both the private interview and the pageant. A big thank you to my dad who got me to the pageant, brought me flowers, and carried a lot of my things to the car after the pageant. (And a special thanks to my boyfriend, Sam, who took me to get an Oreo Doublestuff cone from Sonic after the pageant-- I really needed some ice cream).

Wish me luck in the coming month as I continue to update this blog and continue to work with the youth at Springcreek, my new church home. I am so excited for all the doors that keep opening up before me. All glory to God!

If you know any organization (scouts, church, etc.) that would like to have me speak on Teen Dating Abuse, please contact me through my website here with your email address. To keep up with updates on this blog please feel free to hit the subscribe button in the top right corner to be alerted to new posts every Monday. Have something you would like to know more about in the future? Leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer right away! Remember, the first step in solving the problem of teen dating abuse is awareness!
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