Busy Bee!

Wow!

My second semester is off to a crazy start! It has been a very busy schoolyear for me thus far, being a junior music education major and all, but I feel very happy where I am. I know I am exactly where I am supposed to be! And I feel as though there is no better way to prepare yourself for the pageant world than to fully immerse yourself into your college career and be as involved as possible. I am active in music, which is my platform! :) And I have been working extra hard to fit workouts into my daily schedule, which is sometimes nearly impossible since finding time to sleep and eat is hard enough, but I get it done when I can!

My day starts at 11 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and does not finish until 5:3o pm, and if I have opera rehearsals at night, I go until 10 pm! On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I start at 9 and finish at 4 pm roughly, but then there are opera rehearsals that could potentially take me to 10 pm. So, to say I am busy is sort of an understatement! But I do what I can, and I feel very organized and on top of things thus far! Let's see how it progresses on into February.

In more specific pageant news, I was back home in Defiance to watch the Miss America pageant and to cheer on my good friend Becky Minger with my family! She did an absolutely fantastic job at Miss America! I followed her progress religiously each night via other blogs and facebooks of people that were in Las Vegas. I couldn't be more proud of Becky had she taken that Miss America crown! She has carried herself with such poise and confidence as Miss Ohio thus far, and she still maintains her humor and charisma all the while. I admire her so much! And she looked so good in all phases of competition, especially swimsuit! Get it girl! I see that 6 pack! I am honored to call her a close friend and a definite mentor thus far in my pageant career. She is fabulous. :)

I was home that weekend to be the emcee and guest performer at a pageant entitled The Pride of Williams County pageant. This pageant was the first annual county-wide pageant where the local city titleholders could come and compete at the "next level". I thought the pageant was extremely well run and such a fun environment for the girls. What a great way to teach them healthy competition can exist, and a way to win and lose in a mature way, all while teaching them poise, confidence, elegance, speaking skills, and teamwork! It is great, and definitely not the horror "glitz" stories you see on tv. I was impressed and so glad to be a part of it! I read the onstage questions to the girls, performed a song, and crowned the winners. I had the honor of the crowing because there were obviously no reigning titleholders, it being the first annual pageant and all. :) (Pictures below - blurry ones and all)

I also had the HUGE honor of receiving a very humbling letter in the mail recently from the Ohio State Senate. They were basically honoring me for being an outstanding citizen of the state of Ohio and thanking me for carrying myself in such a way that I am being a role model and setting an example for others. It was a moment that left me speechless, and I am so blessed and grateful to have received such a letter. I will treasure it forever!

This month has definitely flown by, and I know before long, February will be gone too! My opera production that I am involved with here on campus is going into full swing here soon with full run throughs of the show, and my birthday is also this month, as well as countless assignments that are due. So, basically, this will be my last post for awhile until the opera concludes towards the end of February. But I wanted to re-hash the past month and update my life a little bit on this blog. Thanks for taking the time to check in, and if you want to follow my happenings on a more consistent, daily basis, check out my facebook and twitter. God bless you all, and take care!