“Where is my butt glue, I can’t find my butt glue!” one of the contestants frantically shouted backstage in the brief transition between the opening number and the swimsuit competition.
It was the weekend after Thanksgiving and I was somewhere in between applying this body adhesive to my derrire and re-applying my fake eyelashes that I asked myself, what exactly am I trying to win at the Miss Texas Teen 2008 beauty pageant?
Since I love dressing up as much as I love asking and answering questions, I thought a beauty pageant would be a perfect venue to satisfy both my passions. I was confident that my intellectual insight, knowledge of current events, and mature disposition would set me apart from the rest of the pack.
Confident as I was, I had an extremely difficult time convincing my mom to let me enter an event that she thought trivialized girls’ true talents. It took an even greater amount of convincing to get her to buy me all of the “supplies” - evening gown, opening outfit, fake eyelashes, hair extensions, butt glue and pageant training.
Many contestants had teams of makeup artists, hair stylists, and coaches set up in hotel rooms to professionally support their girl to get one high-heeled step closer to the crown. Some girls even got up as early as 4 a.m. to get their “faces” put on. Do not get me wrong, many of the girls were intelligent, funny, and very congenial.
As different as we were, during rehearsals everyone was trained to blend in, to do things the “beauty pageant” way. However, if we all did it the beauty pageant way, how would we stand out? How would we show the judges who we were and that we deserved the crown?
With 134 contestants, the judges didn’t have the time or opportunity to learn much about any of the girls and I wondered if they would be scoring on who came the closest to the stereotypical status quo rather than who excelled and exceeded expectations.
Moreover, in the midst of all my questions, I went into my interview, with confidence that my knowledge of current events would blow the judges away. In my interview, I made sure to make eye contact, smile, and exude the “pick-me!” aura of confidence in the two and a half minutes I spent with the judges.
I also made sure to talk about my professional role model, Anderson Cooper, my marathon running experience, politics and to state my belief that the biggest issue facing teens in America today was their lack of interest in the nation and world affairs.
When my name was not called for the top 15 finalists, I was not as disappointed as I thought I would be. While standing on the stage as the finalists were announced, all I could think about was how much money my mom spent on the pageant.
All of a sudden, I felt ridiculous standing there with a layer of makeup on my face, bronzer smeared all over my body, and hair extensions clipped snuggly to my scalp. I was dressed up with nowhere to go. I was dressed up not for myself, but for what I thought others wanted me to be. I did not feel beautiful, I felt fake.
It was interesting to me that, through the whole pageant weekend, I got 15 phone calls from my friends wishing me luck and support. However, when I ran the Nike Women’s Marathon and raised over $5,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in the process, only one friend called to congratulate me.
Who knows what the judges were looking for?
The thing that all girls have to accept going into this is that:
1.) You are judged on your appearance, on brief first impressions, and on unknown criteria that you may or may not meet.
2.) If you enter a beauty pageant, enter for the experience, for the friends, not to win. There can only be one winner.
3.) Even if you do win, you only have your title for a year, and then the honor goes to someone else. Make the most out of the experience!
The winner of this year’s pageant, Miss Laredo, is truly a lovely girl and I am extremely happy for her. I wish her all the best in her future travels as Miss Texas Teen 2008. I hope she does not just fulfill her duties, but makes the most out of her reigning year to make a difference with her crown, and show people that brains and beauty can coexist and prosper off each other.
I am glad that I entered and I would not take it back for a second. I met many fantastic girls that are comfortable and confident enough in their own skin to be judged in front of hundreds of people.
The pageant kept my morals and my priorities in check and focused. I realized that I do not have to have a crown to make a difference. I can go out and create my own opportunities.
I should not wait to have them handed to me. However, most of all, this pageant has reminded me, that in life, when you compete against others, there can only be one winner.
When you challenge and compete against yourself, you always have the opportunity to be the winner. I may not be Miss Texas Teen 2008, but I am Meredith Baker - Miss Bayou City - and I alone have the power to define my beauty, my success, and myself.
I am at it again! I am training for the Alaska Mayor’s Midnight Marathon with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training! Help me get one-step closer to a cure by donating on my fundraising webpage! Every little bit counts! https://www.active.com/donate/tnttxgc/tnttxgcMBaker2
