You're Gonna Hear Me Roar

Katy Perry's latest anthem was setting the pace for our walk as I took the stage for the Evening Gown competition at the end of the Miss Sacramento County Pageant. I was exhausted. The day had been an emotional rollercoaster and as many lessons as I had learned at the Miss Greater Bay Area Pageant, I still felt like a total rookie. I hit my mark, looked up and saw two faces in the back of the room whom I'd just seen backstage. They were giving me a thums up, motioning to smile, and cheering for me. These ladies (Mary and Darleen, whom you can find on Facebook for all your stylist needs at www.facebook.com/jackhair.bydarlene) had been complete strangers just hours before, and now they were standing by to help me do my best. A wave of encouragement washed over me and it must have shown because the audience began to clap and cheer as well.

There's nothing like being on stage. Its exciting to be thought of as pretty or smart. Its fun to have an excuse to do elaborate makeup and hair, to match an equally elaborate dress. But as I looked past the lights at the women encouraging me, I realized that we don't always know when we're on stage. In that moment those women were my life-line. A stage isn't about making people look at you, so much as it is about telling people something about themselves. These ladies whom had helped me fix my hair in the impossibly short turn around time backstage, were now standing in the back row telling me, without words, that I could do it - through the fatigue and through the nerves. They had stepped onto the stage of my life for that moment and were telling me that I could do it. They were right!

When I stepped up to be crowned as Miss Sacramento County later that evening, I was excited to see my hard work come to fruition. But I realized that I was stepping into the same position of those wonderful ladies on "the sidelines." A position that will afford me exciting opportunities indeed, but more than that - a position that will enable me to be that cheering squad for students, artists and young women in my community. THAT is the most exciting part of this journey.

The next six weeks are going to be filled with plenty of gym hours, nutrition lessons, press time and appearances; and all of it is building to Miss California where I hope to do everyone proud. But most of all I want to remember that I am in this position as much for the people around me, as I am for my own aspirations.

I hope you'll continue to follow my story here, but check out some of my other NorCal pageant sisters too. They are each incredible women and we're all headed to state aiming to bring a crown back to this region for the first time in years.

The Ladies of the Greater Bay Area

The Ladies of Sacramento County

Yep - you're gonna hear me roar. But I'm terribly excited about the company.