#TBT I’m a Has Been Beauty Queen

Yes, it’s true!

When I was 14, I competed in my very first pageant. I did this because I girl I didn’t like competed and I thought, if she can do it, I can too!

I found my nearest pageant it was Miss Teen Ohio America. This was like a mini Miss America where you had to have talent. I played the piano my whole life so it was perfect for me.

I showed up to my first pageant like a TRUE ROOKIE! Ha, these girls were perfection at such a young age. So well put together, they were like mini adults. I felt so out of my league. I ended up 1st runner up and was hooked!

The next weekend, I heard of another pageant and I was like sure why not enter I already have all my stuff. I got there and there were 192 girls in my age division. gulp.  I was like ehhh I’m not winning this thing, my Dad and I left mid-pageant, got Panera, came back and I was called into the top 15.

Well, I ended up winning Miss Junior Teen Ohio and from there my pageant career started. I had a lot of benefits from this as a teen, because I started to become that poised and well put together girl I saw at my first pageant. I had one on one interviewing classes with the amazing Don Baker, I worked out with a trainer, I was setting goals. It was amazing.

But this time was also very hard for me as there were these VOY beauty pageant message boards. I sometimes hate the internet that people can be so cruel and write whatever they wanted. Other girls who I was competing against, or their moms, would go on these sites and BASH me. I was too fat, I was too chubby, Marianna is too short she’ll never win. The comments would go on and on, to a 14, 15, 16 year old me. Luckily, I could care less if someone calls me short or chubby or I have a big nose and this also made me have thicker skin. But to some people, this could really break them. Some girls if you call them chubby behind a computer screen, could cause them to have an eating disorder. I suggest if you are going into pageants, to be prepared for pretty much everyone to criticize you and to not take it personally.

Anyway… on the brighter side my biggest win of my pageant career was Miss Teen Galaxy, I won this my senior year of high school.

My winning reaction was so funny.

I eventually became a MISS and I competed at Miss Ohio USA to go to Miss USA and could never crack the top 5, always top 15.

After this, I went on to win the title of Miss California United States and finished in 5th place at Miss United States 2011.

It was an amazing experience in my 10ish years of competing. It really did help me a lot as I never played sports, so this was my outlet to compete and work really hard at something. I would recommend it to anyone but only if you can really commit 100% of your efforts. And you can’t be a sore loser. There is only ONE girl who wins, so your odds are low but if you do win it is the most amazing feeling.

So there you have, I am now a has been. womp womp.