Miss Oregon

Waiting for our Corvettes


Miss Oregon Parade


Friends and family run up and hand you flowers.


Had to go incognito when I went out with my friends after hours so I wouldn't get recognized


Opening number


Introductions


My awesome skater-amazon friend Jessy


Production number


Production number


On-Stage question


Allllll right....fine. Swimsuit production number


Swimsuit final look


Singing the song that Navane helped me make accompaniment for! <3


Evening gown final look on one of the prelim nights


Evening gown


Top 5 on-stage interview, sharing a moment with the future miss Oregon and my GREAT friend


After the show. It was such a blessing that my grandparents were able to make it out, they have been in and out of the hospital.


My man <3


I love this picture... <3


NOW CALORIES! FAST! mmmm Cinnabon

When I was first asked to compete in the Miss Portland pageant, I laughed. A local qualifier for the Miss America Program, I imagined Miss Portland to be a Miss Congeniality/Drop Dead Gorgeous-esque debacle of female objectification. My progressive, pseudo-feminist self would never go for such a thing! But, after thinking it over and looking over the expanse of nothingness that I had to do now that I had just graduated from OSU I figured... why not? It would definitely be some good laughs and, even though I definitely wouldn't win, I would for sure come away with some hilarious stories about stupid pageant girls for my friends. I was right about one thing, I did come away with some hilarious stories, but I was also wrong...I won swimsuit, evening gown, and the crown. The video of my coronation is hilarious, I react first with confusion, then disbelief and a look of like "no, you called the wrong name", then laugh at the hilarity as I hesitantly creep to the front of the stage.

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That started a whirlwind year of competition where I competed at Miss Oregon, winning the best overall interview award and placing as second runner up to the crown.

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I was then invited to the "Miss National Sweetheart" pageant, which is basically a loser-bracket for Miss America, a pageant for all the runners-up from all the states.

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Beyond all the competitions, I made anywhere from one to 4 appearances per week, working for charities, meeting local celebs, politicians, and other prominent figures, and being a spokesperson for the city.

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In the end, I developed a real, profound respect for the Miss America Program. It is nowhere near the stereotypical movie beauty pageant, it is a competition for real, motivated, intelligent and compassionate young women who need a way to pay for school. Most of the judging is based on your interview and talent, their way of measuring your communication skills, knowledge of current events, commitment to a social platform of your choosing, and discipline to develop your strengths. All good things to be judged on! Honestly, my faith in women was pretty much restored after I spent Miss Oregon pageant week with 40 women competing against each other, without one unkind or catty moment between us. The amount of money that is donated to charity, the amount of hours that are put into volunteering, and the sheer volume of scholarship dollars that are awarded through this program are staggering.

That brings me to where I am now. When I entered the program, I did so with the understanding that the money I won could be applied to paying off my student loans. In all, my scholarship winnings came to about 5200 dollars, enough to pay off one of my 2 remaining loans. However, when I went to collect the money, I was told that I was only allowed to use it toward "current or future educational needs," meaning it would only be paid out directly to a school. I spent weeks making calls, trying to find loopholes, and trying to understand why no-one would have told me this in the first place. Apparently, nobody knew. All my directors were outraged, as were my fellow competitors, but there was nothing we could do. The rules of the Miss Oregon non-profit are and apparently always have been such that they prevent me from using any of my winnings unless I go back to school.

HOWEVER.

IF I were to win Miss Oregon in the coming year, I would then fall under the rules of the Miss America non-profit, which is a bigger one, a different kind, and THEN I would be allowed to use my funds toward my loans. HENCE...

I'm competing again this year for Miss Oregon.

First, I have to win the only local qualifier I am now eligible for, Miss Tri-Valley. It is the hardest qualifier to win because it is open to girls from all over Oregon, not just one local region. You guys are going to love this though: I used to run on a platform of raising awareness about environmental sustainability. Something I really do care about, but this year I've switched to something a little closer to home:

"Reaching Out, Rocking Out: Mentorship Though Gaming"

THAT'S RIGHT TEAMLIQUID! This beautyqueen is taking gaming to Miss America! (She hopes.) I started an after school program for at-risk kids at a local middle school, where we play Rock Band and other games after school to ideally help reduce juvenile crime in the area. The idea is to meet kids where they are, doing things they like to do, in order to build real relationships that can lead to real mentorship and thus, less delinquency. Further down the road, I also hope to connect them to some of the Wii clubs that are popping up in retirement homes in the area, in order to build bridges between two age groups that are often forgotten by the busy rest of society. I'm really excited about it, I get to tell a lot of important people why gaming is awesome, and hopefully I can develop a program that can grow and be duplicated. I'm using Geoff already to make appearances as "A real live pro-gamer" and hopefully, if I make it far enough, I can get some of the bigger gaming companies involved in terms of sponsorship. We'll see though. First I have to win Tri-Valley. ...and since I have pneumonia, any of the working out for swimsuit or volunteering for platform stuff hasn't been happening so much lately.

Anyway, I just thought I'd update everyone on this stuff. If I do make it Miss America this year, maybe TL can win TV for me and text-vote me in as the people's choice! lol

In closing, here are some pics from the Miss Portland 2009 pageant this past week where I passed on my crown:


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Anyway, www.miss-portland.org still has pics up from my year, but not for long I bet. I'll update about Tri-Valley. Help me stay motivated!


(Edit: bandwidth probs fixed...blame the ultralisk cake lol)



EDIT: Haha... I won the title of Miss Tri-Valley! That means I am off to pageant boot camp in a couple weeks, where I will train for the Miss Oregon production, and will compete for Miss Oregon in July! After that, if I am blessed enough to win, it would be off to Miss America! There is lots to tell, and I'm too exhausted atm, but I have some pictures I can post if you guys would like to see, and I'd love to tell more about what I'll be up to getting ready for Miss O, and share the hilarious stories as I run into them at camp.

It was a tough competition, but I had so much support from friends and family. I would especially like to thank Navane while I'm here... I was without backup music until just a few weeks before the pageant. I sent him the song I wanted to sing, and he created a background track for me on his own that sounded exactly like it! He is my hero.

As soon as I get pictures together, I'll post them, as long as nobody minds that I keep bumping this.

Thanks for all the well-wishes...this is such an awesome community and I feel so lucky to be a part of it.