“This wasn’t the first pageant I had done, but it was the first one I can remember. I didn’t think any other juniors were going to do the pageant, so I was like ‘I’ll be the junior to do it.’ Then Madison Nowlin was going to do it and I thought, ‘Hey, some competition.’ As I was getting ready, I wasn’t nervous. I was a little upset because my eye was swollen. The person who did my makeup was able to cover that up easily. So everything was going well. Then the people who did my nails did them wrong. Completely wrong. They were nothing like I had wanted. When we got to the gym, I was stressed out and freaking out. Sammy brought me a Dr. Pepper, my happy juice, to calm me down. I walked around and watched the girls to get a feel of what I should do and how things were supposed to go. When I started getting ready, I put my dress on and had a dress malfunction. So everyone was rushing, trying to help me with my dress. After that was figured out, us girls just goofed around in the dressing room. It was a bunch of fun. When it was time to walk out, I was really nervous and my dress was still malfunctioning. It had started ripping when I was walking out. I was so shocked when I got second alternate. When they called me I was like ‘Me, Me?’ I had to look at my number and make sure they called me. While walking out to get my trophy I slipped several times.”

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