Beauty Pageants

Haley Lewallen

Ms. Humphrey

English 152

28 March 2015

Beauty Pageants

In July of 2012 I participated in the National American Miss Pageant. I was fourteen years old and I had been looking forward to the pageant since the September before when I found out that I had been elected to be in the Michigan State Pageant. I went into my first interview, and about two weeks later I found out that I was chosen to go on to the state pageant. Finally, the big pageant weekend arrived and my mom and I drove to Dearborn, Michigan. We pulled into the Hyatt Hotel and opened the doors to the pageant. It was crazy; there were about one hundred girls there that were all participating in the pageant.

After a weekend of curled hair, dresses, and being vaguely aware of where I was supposed to go, I patiently stood on the stage on the final night, hoping to hear my name called for a high placement. Although my name was not called and I did not win anything, the experience was still great; I wish I would have continued to participate in pageants. I learned a lot of life skills such as: how to talk in front of an audience, how to successfully face a personal interview, and most importantly how to be myself with confidence. Many people believe that beauty pageants are not a positive pastime for young women. However, beauty pageants open multiple doors for young girls such as: providing the ability to start a college fund, help to improve society, and to build confidence for future endeavors.

The prize money for pageants adds up after winning repeatedly. The winner from the National American Miss Pageant received a prize of a thousand dollars. The winner then had the opportunity to go on to the national pageant and win an even bigger prize (Prizes and Awards 1). Most of these young women put aside their winnings to set up a college fund for themselves; this way they can attend their choice of college. In some cases, money prizes are given in the form of scholarships instead of a...