9 Things I Learned at the Miss Dallas Pageant 2014

Each year, as an Official Recruiter for the Miss Texas USA and Miss Texas Teen USA pageant, I have the amazing opportunity to direct and produce the wonderful Miss Dallas Pageant.

From choosing opening number attire, creating program books, picking music, selecting bouquets, and even a little bit of choreography...it's always a blast to see how it all turns out onstage during a live show!

The undisputed Rule #1 for all contestants, staff, parents, emcees, etc. is to HAVE FUN (we encourage tons of dancing, junk food, cell phone use, tweeting, twerking...but not the tweeting of twerking lol) ...and if it wasn't fun every year, I would've been done with this a LONG time ago 🙂

So to give you a glimpse of what happened this past weekend, here are the 9 Things I Learned at the Miss Dallas Pageant 2014:

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9) Birthday cake is a pageant girl's kyptonite, especially when preparing for Miss USA

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Alright, so maybe we indulged ONE TIME in some of Miss Florida USA 2014 - Brittany Oldehoff's birthday cake...OK, twice lol

 

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8) 15 minute intermissions never ever last 15 minutes

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Not even my new calculator watch could help keep our intermission running on time

 

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7) Devin Grissom is a professional at making fish cut-outs for the on-stage question fishbowl

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What's a fishbowl without fish? Here's our fish...complete with a smile : )

 

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6) Selecting and ordering flowers is not my greatest strength : /

Im the worst at choosing flowers and apparently just as bad ordering them. We were short a few bouquets so we had to do some last minute improvising B-)
I admit that I am the worst at choosing flowers and apparently just as bad when ordering them. We were short a few bouquets so we had to do some last minute improvising B-)

 

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5) A great team will never let you fail.

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A super fun, cool, young, energetic, smart a#$, hard working staff...who also still get carded at the bar lol

 

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4) The suspense music was probably a bit too suspenseful lol

Ok so the suspense music wasn't THAT intense and scary was it? haha
OK...so the suspense music wasn't THAT intense and scary was it? haha

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3) Our emcee, the beautiful Miss USA 2001 - Kandace Krueger Matthews never ages!

Miss USA 2001 - Kandace Kreuger Matthews (center) with Miss South Carolina USA 2014 - Christina Zapolski (left) and Miss Florida USA 2014 - Brittany Oldehoff

 

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2) Between myself and the judges, just 1 box of Fruit Roll-ups is not enough haha

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It wasn't the bowls of fresh fruit that ran out first, it was the box of Fruit Roll-ups!

 

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1) This year is probably the strongest group of Dallas contestants ever…watch out Miss Texas USA/Miss Texas Teen USA 2015!

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Miss Dallas Pageant 2014 - Top 5 (top) and Miss Dallas Teen Pageant 2014 - Top 5 (bottom)


-Will the Pageant Guy
  

5 Days of Chinese Laundry – Shoe Giveaway

Beginning NOW thePageantGuy.com will be hosting the "5 Days of Chinese Laundry" Shoe Giveaway.

This is not just another shoe giveaway....you will have the opportunity to win a new shoe from Miss USA 2014 shoe sponsor, Chinese Laundry, EACH day for the next 5 days.

? Monday, April 21, 2014: Glisten (your choice of color)
? Tuesday, April 22, 2014: Blackjack (syrah)
? Wednesday, April 23, 2014: Blackjack (silver)
? Thursday, April 24, 2014: Blackjack (nude)
? Friday, April 25, 2014: Blackjack (black)

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CLICK HERE AND ENTER TO WIN a new shoe from Chinese Laundry EACH day for the next 5 days!
5 days of Chinese Laundry

-Will the Pageant Guy

   

Kandice Pelletier Swimwear Selfie Sweepstakes – Miss USA 2014

Last week, I announced Kandice Pelletier Swimwear as the Official Swimsuit Sponsor for the Miss USA 2014 pageant.

In partnership with Kandice Pelletier Swimwear and the Miss Universe Organization, thePageantGuy.com is proud to announce the Kandice Pelletier Swimwear Selfie Sweepstakes for Miss USA 2014.

Kandice takes no shortcuts in designing her swimwear. Made in the USA, these beautifully designed luxury pieces are cut from superior fabrics, utilizing strong durable materials providing a timeless style for any pageant contestant.

Interested in getting your hands on a custom Kandice Pelletier swimsuit that all of beautiful contestants of Miss USA 2014 will be wearing? Enter today to win!

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How to Enter

1. Take a Selfie of yourself and a handwritten note with your Miss USA 2014 prediction that says:
"My pick for Miss USA 2014 is <PICK A STATE>"

2. Post a photo for public view* on Instagram or Twitter with hashtags:
#MissUSA #KPSwimwear

You may submit 1 selfie per day for 2 weeks beginning today. Additional selfies may have different states. One winner selected at random.

Winner receives:
- (1) custom Kandice Pelletier Swimsuit
- (1) Kandice Pelletier beach bag with pageant and summertime essentials

NOTE: If you have a private (non-public) Twitter or Instagram account you must do the following to submit your selfie for the Kandice Pelletier Swimwear Selfie Sweepstakes:
1) Make your account public or
2) Enter using the forms at: http://bit.ly/1g6lDEg

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Journey to the Crown – Devin Grissom (March 2014)

Here she is—the (according to my mom) much anticipated MONTH 1 of Pageant Prep by Devin. As promised, I will be outlining the last month and the progress I have made to become the ever-elusive “pageant ready.”

I’m not going to lie, this month was a pretty slooowwwww start to my journey : /

Nonetheless--my overall goal for March was simple:

GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME DEV!

Getting and staying motivated for a certain purpose is difficult—no matter how far in advance, you always have that voice in your head saying, “this cupcake is more important than your life’s goals and dreams” (or is that just me?)

The trick here is to stay motivated every day and ask yourself with every decision you make if it will take you closer or farther away from your goals. A lot easier said than done so let's just start from the beginning….

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Day 1

About 20 minutes after my introductory blog went live, I had an OH CRAP moment that included thoughts like “Here goes nothing” “Woo! I’m excited!” … and “I guess I need to throw away that Easy Mac in the pantry.”

Side note: I seriously got rid of the Easy Mac, which is a big deal for me. Usually the day before I start a diet, I eat all of the junk food in my kitchen so it won’t be there to tempt me anymore. Great logic, I know. Moving on…

On top of those profound reflections, I also realized that it was my birthday week. What better way to start preparing for a pageant than on your birthday?! (sarcasm.)

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Turning 23MARCH Week 1 - MY BIRTHDAY WEEK!

Seriously though, the most depressing part about turning 23 is no longer being fully immersed every time Taylor Swift’s “22” comes on the radio.

I can no longer relate to her adolescent frivolities, I am a mature 23 year old. Sigh.

My birthday week went as birthday weeks go...lots of celebrations including wine and cake.

Therefore, I decided to put my "start date" off another week...

Bad idea.

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IMG_1240MARCH Week 2 - MY OTHER BIRTHDAY WEEK!!

Why was that a bad idea, you ask?

Well, after my official "birthday week", my parents flew to California to visit which is really awesome because--like I told you in my intro blog last month--my parents are my favorite people in the world.

Obviously they were here to celebrate my birthday and...

HAD TO show them a good time.

With Mom in CaliforniaIn Grissom terms, a "good time" really means "good food and drinks" and "good food and drinks" really mean "unhealthy food and drinks". You get where this is headed...

I was planning on starting my "healthy kick" this week but the parentals had other plans and sadly--I did not object to those plans. We decided to take a whirlwind tour of Northern California which included San Jose, Monterey/Carmel, the famous 17-mile drive, Napa and San Francisco all in 4 days!

Good news: We had a blast.

Bad news: My "Journey to the Crown" was officially off to a bad start.

I told y'all that I would fill you in on the ups and the downs--my first two weeks were majorly filled with downs (pageant prep-wise).

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Attempting to take measurementsMARCH Week 3 

GET. YOUR. HEAD. IN. THE. GAME.

Obviously just winging it was not the best option for me so I decided to create more of a structured plan for the end of March and for my preparations going forward.

After my parents left Cali--I had a good week at home before my next stint of traveling. This was the perfect time to focus without any distractions.

Everyone needs a baseline when they start a plan – so begrudgingly, I have decided to take all of my measurements and “before” pictures to keep track of my progress as I go along!

FITNESS?

My goal this month was to -- from this day forward -- start working out 6 days a week. No excuses. Even if I can only fit in a mile run some days, IMG_1103I will be active! In the past I have gotten in shape with typical gym cardio/weights, Pure Barre, Kickboxing classes and even the Insanity dvds.

This month I am going to focus on lots of cardio at the gym—6 days a week of cardio and 3 days a week with weights.I have always had a pretty athletic frame and can put on muscle pretty quickly. I would love to hear some suggestions from you guys on how to perfect the “long/lean” look.

I will also keep y’all updated as well in the months to come on what I am trying and what is working/not working.

Obviously with a gym routine comes a motivational workout playlist! These songs really make the time fly on the treadmill. Check them out!

Heads Will Roll by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
My Body by Young the Giant
Talk Dirty by Jason Derulo

DIET?

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My goal for March is to give up dessert completely from here on out. This was not enforced in Week 1 or 2 because obviously I had to have birthday cake. I mean, come on, who skips out on birthday cake?

Although I did skip Thanksgiving while preparing for Miss Alabama USA—perfect example of GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME DEV! Thank goodness I wont have another birthday for 11 months so we wont have this issue again. Phew.

Also, I will be creating a food/workout journal to keep track of my snacking and activities. Even when trying to eat super healthy, it is easy to over-snack during the day or to not realize how many calories are in that green smoothie.

With a food journal, I will be able to keep track of calories in vs calories out. That sounds obsessive and weird but seriously it helps me  (prime example: I didn't have on the first 2 weeks of March.)

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Palm Springs!MARCH Week 4

Week 4 of March included a trip to BEAUTIFUL Palm Springs, CA. My company, Barracuda, had their 2014 Sales Kickoff at an amazing resort, Rancho Las Palmas. It was stunning, fun filled and majorly work filled.

I stayed up for pretty much 3 nights straight creating 'daily wrap ups' by 8am every morning. It was exhausting but honestly, an absolute BLAST. I had such a good time that I didn't mind staying up late and it didn't feel like work--I am so lucky to have a job that I love and enjoy.

Since I was constantly working this week in Palm Springs, I only had one day that I was able to hit the gym. As a slight compensation, I tried to do squats and abs while doing computer work at night.

I figured out this week that I need a quick easy workout to be able to do early in the morning or late at night when I am traveling--which I do quite a bit.

As a result, I ordered T25! I have done Insanity in the past and absolutely loved it. T25 is created by the same guy but it's made for people who don't have much free time--cha ching! I am so excited to start it in April : ) Of course, I will let you know how it goes.

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Soapbox

never give upNow I just want to vent about some thoughts that have been bombarding my brain lately. Excuse me while I step up on my soapbox for a second (hey, that’s what a blog is for right?) --

Why keep trying? I hear this question a lot in pageantry and have really been facing this issue personally in Month 1 of my preparations. Here is my answer:

It’s easy to give up.

Some would say just giving up is easier than dealing with people asking why you keep reaching for a goal when you have already tried twice and failed. Obviously that means it’s not meant to be--right? What if I give it my all and still come up short? Is it worth it? Yes.

When these doubts start to sneak into my head I think of the ladies who have come before me: I think of Brenna Mader who competed twice before finally winning Miss Tennessee USA on her last year of eligibility.

I think of Ana Rodriguez who competed 4 times before finally winning Miss Texas USA on her 5th attempt and went on to place 3rd runner up at Miss USA 2011. I think of Crystle Stewart who also competed 5 times at Miss Texas USA before finally winning and going on to become Miss USA 2008. Both won in their final year of eligibility.

I wonder if it ever crossed their minds to “just give up.” Even if it did, these girls didn’t listen—and I wont listen either!

…and lastly, here's my final thought on pretty much everything about this post: 25 Signs Dieting Just Isn't For You

(Steps off Soapbox)

Let's hope that April goes more smoothly and consistently than March, lets do this! --and thanks again for following my journey! xoxo

Devin G.  

Inside the Making of a Gown (N. Davuluri)

GUEST BLOG: Gown designer Gaspar Cruz

I met Nina from her local director, Johnny Triquet, over the phone as he had served as one of the judges on the panel at the local she had won and then was assigned to her as her “mentor/local director”.

Johnny said he instantly knew that he was going to contact me after having watched Miss America 2013 when Mallory Hagen from New York had won. I worked with Lexie Madden from Wyoming and had designed the black gown she had competed in and placed 3rd runner up to Mallory.

So when Nina and I connected...Nina, Johnny, and myself did a lot of texting back and forth. She described and sent me text messages of dresses she liked and possibly wanted.

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Taylor Swift's white gown at the People's Choice Awards 2013

Her ideas were great but she said she wanted to make a statement and have an impact. The dresses she was showing me were very pretty and very red carpet but not much for impact.

Her favorite gown was a white crepe dress worn by Taylor Swift. I used the gown as inspiration with some modifications. I built a corset into the dress to maximize her small waist and give her great structure for her bust.

I wanted to be sure to add the cap sleeve so that it would define her shoulders and not make her look too wide with excess fabric.

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Gaspar Cruz's original sketch of Nina's gown

I also wanted to show off her back, so we cut a keyhole in the back so when she turned around it would have some detail.

Then of course I added the two foot train to make her look taller as she walked off.

I sent over one of my measurement charts and she said to me she had lost over 60lbs at that point and wasn’t sure if she was going to lose any more weight.

I said let’s make the dress to the size you are now and we can work on the small details after the fact.  We discussed chiffon, crepe, and a few other fabrics and decided to go with 2 layers of chiffon and charmeuse as lining.

I sent her photos of a few dresses, one of them was for a client that I had designed for competing in my pageant.

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Nina Davuluri with the Top 5 at the Miss America 2014 pageant

She liked the idea but was a little nervous about the color and the plunging neckline because she is Hindu and wanted to be sure she didn’t embarrass her parents or insult her religion.

I told her that I would add some sheer netting to it so that it would be classy and tasteful at the same time. After a week or so, I emailed her and her director and see if they had decided on what she was going to do. We went back and forth on color and finalized yellow.

Up until she received the dress I think she was still a little nervous. As you know she eventually won Miss New York 2013 and was headed to Miss America.

Initially I wanted to add rhinestones to the gown should she have won Miss New York but she was firm on keeping it completely simple.

I had this gut feeling that she was going to win Miss America regardless of what gown she had on. I think the fact that she had this very “red carpet” sort of gown separated her from the other contestants more typical pageant type gowns.

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Journey to the Crown – Devin Grissom

Hello World! My name is Devin Grissom.

I’m a pretty normal 22 year old who likes cats, football, traveling the world, and oh yeah—competing in pageants.

That last point is the reason why you’re reading this post right now. I have somehow been convinced to document any and all preparations for my upcoming pageant.

That’s right -- you are invited to be up close and personal to all of the ups, downs, triumphs, and many junk food-craving moments that will fall upon me this year.

If you have never competed in a pageant then be warned -- a few posts in and you will probably start to think I am a few fries short of a Happy Meal. However, if you have competed in pageants then you clearly know I won’t be stepping within 10 miles of a McDonalds until about .05 seconds after some lucky lady gets a crown on her head this fall (more on all this diet business later).

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About me

DevinandFamilySo before you commit to listening to my ramblings over the months ahead, how about I tell you all a little about myself and how I got to where I am now -- California -- if you were wondering.

I was born and raised in Memphis, TN by my precious, wonderful parents who have always supported me in everything I have wanted to do. I take that back – almost everything – but we aren’t quite to that point in my life yet (did I mention I am extremely all over the place?)

After 18 blissful years I decided to take my talents to Tuscaloosa (Lebron joke…anyone?) where I attended The University of Alabama and experienced 3 national championships in my 4 years, ROLL TIDE!

All of this was to my Dad’s absolute horror since he is a die-hard Tennessee Volunteer and we have - to put it nicely - dominated the 3rd Saturday in October for the past seven seasons. Roll Tide again.

It was in Tuscaloosa that I decided I wanted to get back into the pageant business. Unfortunately, I literally gained the Freshman 100 – you’re not getting a picture to document that time in my life, just take my word for it.

DevinSweetHomeAlabamaNeedless to say I had to put my “walking on stage in a bikini” dreams on hold until I had my fill of messy fries (Tuscaloosa staple—seriously worth it). Finally my sophomore year I decided it was time to compete – Miss Alabama USA here I come!

It just so happens that God yet again had other plans for my life.

I was given the opportunity to star in a brand new dating series on CMT called “Sweet Home Alabama” and that meant I had some serious decisions to make…

Who am I kidding? They asked my 20 year-old self if I wanted to take a month out of my year to date 20 cute guys?!

If the suspense is killing you…I said yes...thus putting the Miss Alabama USA pageant temporarily on hold.

I had the absolute time of my life. I met some amazing guys who continue to be great friends. The guy that I picked – Adam – is now adorably married (not to me just to clarify) and expecting his first little kiddo! Go Adam, so happy for you 🙂

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Miss Alabama USA 2013

Okay back to pageants! After the whirlwind that was CMT passed through my life, it was finally time to strap on the Chinese Laundry heels and butt glue. It was my Senior year at Alabama and I was definitely at a crossroads in my life. I just KNEW that this was the year all my dreams would come true.

DevinMissAlabamaUSA2013I busted my butt at the gym for 6 months, found an absolutely stunning dress and honestly did just about everything I could do to win the Miss Alabama USA crown.

I even skipped Thanksgiving!!! No dressing or blackberry cobbler for Dev – now that’s commitment. When December 2012 finally arrived – I was more ready and confident than I had ever been.

Everything went exactly according to plan – except the result. I placed 1st runner up to Mary Margaret McCord – and although I was disappointed, I couldn’t be prouder.

I mean have you SEEN that stunning gal? She is a 20 out of 10 and placed 1st runner up at Miss USA 2013! (Does that technically make me an unofficial 2nd runner up at Miss USA? No?)

Not even one week after the Miss Alabama USA pageant, I graduated from The University of Alabama. Graduating college is a huge step in every young person’s life and just like most people who came before me and most who will come after me...

I had no clue what to do.

I spent a couple of months on the job hunt before I got the call from my one of my best friends about a job opportunity. She worked/still works/now I work for an IT company called Barracuda. That opens up the next chapter in my life: California!

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California!

DevinBarracudaDon’t let the tech stereotype fool you --  I work for the absolutely coolest company in the universe. I do a little bit of everything for Barracuda including marketing, video production, events, social media, trade show presenting and much more.

In my first year I have traveled to just about every city in the United States, plus Barcelona, Dubai, London and Paris… Did I mention I’m only 22?!

Even with all of the excitement of building my career in California, around April of 2013 I caught the bug again. All of you pageant girls know what “the bug” is and what it feels like. I absolutely had to compete so I decided to sign up for my home state pageant, Miss Tennessee USA.

I made the assumption that it would be just as easy to workout, eat right and make all of my preparations as it had been when I was in college and had absolutely nothing to do besides go to class and sleep.

I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE WRONG IN MY LIFE.

It was a struggle from the beginning. As I have mentioned before, I travel a ton with my job. I absolutely love it and would not trade my travel experiences for the world. However, when you are a major foodaholic like myself, constantly traveling to new places and trying new amazing restaurants is TORTURE when trying to prepare for a pageant.

Also, finding time for all of the other little details needed to prepare was difficult as well. So I did the best that I thought I could - worked out when I could, ordered a dress online and hoped for the best.

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Miss Tennessee USA 2014

DevinMissTennesseeUSA2014When October 2013 rolled around, I was in a completely different place mentally than I had been at Miss Alabama USA not even a year before. I knew that I had not done everything that I should have (and honestly COULD have) to be my very best.

It made me feel guilty that I had not pursued my dream with more determination and also much less confident than one should be going into pageant weekend.

Even so, the Miss USA system is incredible and Kim Greenwood’s team puts on a flawless weekend for all of the girls...so of course, I had a blast.

Meeting all of the awesome contestants is definitely always a highlight for me at any pageant. It truly makes you feel inspired to be around such a big group of accomplished and beautiful ladies (special shout out to Sarah Stonier and Lauren Ledford for being AWESOME!)

When finals night came around I really didn’t know what to expect. Interviews went great (I got to meet Herschel Walker!!) and I was feeling pretty good after prelim competition, but with pageants you really just never know. By the end of the night I was in the Top 5 and absolutely freaking out, I couldn’t believe it!

I ended up placing 3rd runner up and truly was content – I knew I did not deserve to win. Congrats again to ALL of the girls who competed but especially to Kristy Landers Niedenfuer for winning the crown. You are going to be a stunning representative of Tennessee at Miss USA 2014!

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The Present

I walked away from the Miss Tennessee USA 2014 pageant with a determination that I would try one competing more time and give it my absolute all, no matter what the obstacles that may stand in my way. That’s where this blog comes in.

I am putting my preparations out there for the world to see. The main reason, honestly, is to keep me motivated and on track while I navigate through the struggles to following my dream of becoming Miss USA and also pursuing my career.

So what can you expect of me in these coming months?

Each month I'll set specific monthly goals that will help me move closer to attaining my overall goal of being 100% prepared to win my next pageant. To stay accountable, I'll also set weekly "sub-goals" that I will try to achieve as I go along.

After outlining my monthly and weekly goals for you, I'll document (with photos, videos, and text) and keep you informed of my ups and -- hopefully not so many -- downs for that week 🙂

So for all you readers out there I have a few favors...

If you think pageants are silly or a waste of time then I hope you get more than a few belly laughs out of my coming experiences- I won’t be holding anything back.

If you are in the process of preparing for a pageant as well then please feel free to reach out and ask me any questions you have or even to tell me something I am doing is completely crazy. There are no right or wrong answers when preparing to compete on any type of stage but I think it’s great to have a community to talk to about it—event if it’s just to say YOU AREN’T ALONE.

For everyone—I would seriously love to know what you guys think, feel free to write comments below the post or reach out to me on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook!

So I guess I will see you guys next month! Until then… I’m hitting the gym (ugh.)

DevinSignature