The History of my Pageant Career : Read on! It's kind of Interesting. And not that politically correct.

Alright, friends of the social blogging lifestyle.
This is my first official "non-school-related" post on blogspot.com..which means..
I have joined the ranks of obsessive writers and information- givers alike!
Be patient with me as I attempt to navigate the site and figure out how I want to run this blog.
Be it Platform Based, News Related, PR Directed, or filled with useless personal thoughts and goals of my own (that one will probably sneak in there most days), this is sure to be a therapeutic experience for me, because I really do get a lot out of writing. It's how I have been wired.

Anyway, this post is also about my last pageant, Miss Maumee Valley 2010! It was held at the Maumee High School Performing Arts Center last Saturday, October 30th. Yes, we wonderful contestants decided that it was collectively more beneficial to pursue our personal desires and goals by competing in a scholarship program for money, than by getting dressed up and making a series of potentially dismantling decisions on all Hallow's Eve.
That being said, it was my first pageant since 2009, and that means that I have had quite a long break since I came back to this scene.
Let us go back in time with a few pictures:

Miss Heart of Ohio 2007. My first title ever! I was barely 18, and it took me four tries to win this first local. Before that I was 1st runner-up in Miss Greater Dayton (of which the current Miss Ohio, Becky Minger, was crowed the previous year). She was the first "local queen" that I had ever met, and now she's Miss Ohio! Blows your mind, doesn't it? Anyway, this local led to my first year at Miss Ohio. I had a blast. I had no idea what I was doing..Which is probably why I had a blast.


One memory.....So the Miss Ohio System operates on a collaboration of volunteers and sponsorships, right? Held in Mansfield, Ohio, local sponsors from all over the area help us out with scholarships. So we pay them back by volunteering, making appearances, and wearing rehearsal shirts with various sponsorship logos on them. I was told to bring black pants and jeans by another contestant. Sabotage. lol. (It's okay though, maybe she honestly made a mistake.) I show up and have No pants to wear. Seriously. This actually happened. Melanie saw my dismay and went to her own suitcase and let me borrow a skirt, pair of shorts, and pants in white for that week. I will never forget that. She'll always be a very respected Miss Ohio in my book :)

Miss Miami Valley 2008. This picture was taken at Miss Ohio 2008, during an after party. Melanie Murphy, Miss Ohio 2006, posed with me and her crown. For any fellow Miss Ohio-ers out there, I wanna ask you this question: Do you ladies remember the very first Miss Ohio that you ever met? The one you had never personally gotten to know or competed with? The one who's butt you hadn't helped put glue on or snuck late night brownies with in the snack room? The Miss Ohio that you met and you were like  "Wow, what an amazing woman. I want to be like that." For me that was Mel. (See story above for more unnecessary details.)

Miss Ohio 2008 was an interesting competition year for me. I hadn't gotten to the physical shape that I had originally planned, and I was dealing with a series of personal issues that I had not yet learned to compartmentalize.
A word of advice to anyone who wishes to compete in Miss Ohio: Learn to Compartmentalize. It's not you and your boyfriend, or you and your mom, or you and your sorority sister up on that stage. It's just you. 
A culmination of factors led to a breakdown in the bathroom, and I experienced a lot of behind-the-scenes soul searching. That year at Miss Ohio was a huge growing experience. As difficult as it is to admit, I learned a lot about myself that year. But: I was not finished learning! Onto Miss Ohio year 3:

Miss Scioto Valley 2009: This was taken shortly after crowning at my first local of the year. It was the first time I had won a local with sister crowns= made the experience a lot more bonding for me. Winning a title with more than one queen doesn't take away from your own internal appreciation, it enhances it. It's like "we're in this together, let's go do it!" Miss Ohio that year was better for me in a number of ways, but I was still struggling with some issues that, unfortunately, I was not able to leave behind the stage.

I was the only girl to wear a one-piece that year.
Anyway, after year three of competing and not exceeding my own personal expectations, I decided it was time to take a year off. So I did .

I will pick up next time with pictures of my year off, why I decided to jump back in the saddle, and details of Miss Maumee Valley that you would only know if you were backstage too :)
 

And plus, my coffee's cold. 

In love and coffee grinds, 

-Alyssa