I wanted to share a personal and exciting experience of mine that took a lot of courage and encouraging! One week ago, I was a part of a pageant here on campus. I have been wanting to participate in a pageant since I was in high school and did one, North Carolina Junior Miss, but that was it. Now, I know this might seem a little crazy to be blogging about but trust me, there is a reason. So, for the last 5 years, I have been wanting to participate in a pageant. A state-level pageant. But every year when it was time to apply, I freaked out at the last minute and decided not to do it. Well, 2 years ago, a friend who is a part of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., came to me and asked if I would participate. It was their first year and they were looking to recruit some ladies of distinction. Well, I wanted to really bad but my confidence level was at an all time low. I kept telling myself that I was not competition material. Long story short, I decided not to participate that year. I felt really bad because again, it is something that I really wanted to do for a long time.
Last summer, I thought I had the courage to proceed with doing the Miss NC USA pageant. I freaked out again and felt ok about it. Fast forward to this year, I decided, what the heck, what do I have to lose? So I decided to use the Kappa Alpha Psi Inc., Miss Krimson and Kream pageant as a practice round. I wanted to gain the experience, lose the stage fright, and see how well I could manage the pressure. I did amazing. Although I did not win, I gained so much more from the experience. I learned to to tackle my nervousness, thrive under pressure, and how to love myself and have the confidence and courage on stage, that I have every single day. Shout out to all of the participants, we all did AMAZING. I am proud of all of us and I am glad to have had the experience. So from this, learn from my lessons. I now know how Cowardly Lion felt during his moment when he found COURAGE. It is an amazing feeling and I hope you all get to experience one day.
Realize, when you live out your dreams, no matter how big or small, life is a million times better. Successes and failures require you to ponder on how you got where you are, where you want to go, and what changes need to be made to achieve greatness. Don't be afraid of your feelings. Once you acknowledge a higher power that can conquer ALL, you can get there. Anywhere ♥
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