Growing up as a PG (Pageant Girl)

Growing up as a pageant girl was.... okay. I really thought of the best word to use for that sentence. Okay was what I came up with. Please don't take it in a bad way. My childhood was awesome, however, as awesome as it was, there were times that I really wanted to just be a kid.

If you read the "The winner is" post, you know I won my first pageant title at ten years old. In order to do that I had to rehearse and practice at home every single day. After homework was done, pageant prep began. Knowing how to stand, how to talk, how to shake a hand, how to have eye contact, how to smile while on stage, all of it. One question I receive a lot is do I have a pageant coach? Answer is... yes I do! She's great, we work together well, she knows everything about me, and I call her Mommy. She is still my pageant coach to this day.

When I was preparing for a pageant so many rules were implied. During the summer... I had to put on so much sunscreen so that the bathing suit wouldn't leave tan lines. It was either wear sunscreen or stay home. At pageant hotels, I couldn't go swimming or even go near the pool area because the humidity of the pool would frizz my hair to the point where I could have played the role of Mufasa. Especially if I won the pageant. The only condition was, if I win no pool, if I placed... ok go be a mermaid. If I fell playing around with my cousins and scrapped my knee... oh boy!

I had to be a little bit cautious and dainty for my growing years. From the age of 10 to about 24 tan lines were not a thing for me. Now... I love going to the beach, I don't get upset if I scrape my knee, and I cannon ball into pools.

Aside from rehearsing and practicing for pageants, I also started auditioning for commercials as well, and all of the rules were tripled. Auditions were very different back in the 1900s. There were no online auditions. You had to be seen in person by the casting directors. No scratches, no Mufasa hair, I had to look like I was fresh out of a magazine. I must say Mommy did a pretty good job!

As a PG I wouldn't change my childhood for anything, I had the coolest little life. I met great people, and worked so hard and accomplished so much at a young age. This phase of my life has been about giving back, teaching my dance students what I learned and how they can implement it to their lives. Of course with their parents approval.

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