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May 23, 2016 by Junkies Leave a Comment

Weekend Wrap Up May 22, 2016

Hello once again Junkie Nation! Time for another Wrap-Up of this weekend’s state pageant competitions!

But first – Big Junkie Congratulations to…

Miss Rhode Island 2016, Shruti Nagarajan!!!

For the 3rd year in a row, Rhode Island has crowned a student from Brown University… Shruti has her Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Education and graduated in 2014. Though she’s lived in Rhode Island for the past 6 years, Shruti was born and raised on the island of Guam! She performed a Bollywood Fusion routine for her talent – and here’s a fun fact… Based on a post from her own Miss Providence County Facebook page, Shruti loves snakes…

From Shruti’s Facebook page – Fun fact about me: I love snakes! I think they are fascinating and beautiful creatures. I was just trying to channel my inner Britney Spears. Meeting this little guy definitely made my trip to Miami a few years ago. #MissProvidenceCounty #TBT #Python

Gotta say – I’m a little more like the girl on the left – but more power to you Shruti! 🙂

Big Junkie Congrats also go out to the remainder of the Top 5 at Miss Rhode Island including:

Shruti Nagarajan = Winner (Community Service Award)
Katrina Horan = 1st Runer Up (Talent Winner)
Raquel Perez = 2nd Runner Up
Nicolette Peloquin = 3rd Runner Up
Victoria Curatas = 4th Runner Up (Miss Congeniality Tie)

Good News for Junkies is that we had Shruti in our Top 5 list! We also picked Nicolette Peloquin – making us 2 for 5 on our Miss Rhode Island picks – (and seriously, Katrina, Victoria and Raquel, you have NO IDEA how many times we had each of you on the list! Should’ve kept you on the list! AHHH!). Thus far, we’re 3/4 when picking state winners (whoooo hoooooo!)

But the year is FAR from over – And some CRAZY state pageants are still ahead! Including Miss Vermont and Miss New York, which both take place THIS WEEK!

Miss Vermont = Finals on Friday (no prelims)
Miss New York = Prelims Friday and Saturday – Finals on Sunday

By the way… If you’ve got some ‘inside scoop’ you’d like to pass on regarding one of YOUR favorite contestants (in any state), feel free to email me! I always love chatting with folks inside the Junkie Nation and it would be my absolute pleasure to hear from you! You can reach me at ThePageantJunkies@gmail.com 🙂

Otherwise – it’s back to ‘cracking the whip’ on our Junkie research team to determine our Top 5 lists for New York and Vermont!

PS – Now, would be a great time to join Pageant Junkies Premium! WHY? We have 48 pageants over the next 7 weeks! Don’t wait any longer!!! Sign up here and you’ll see our predictions starting this week (cancel whenever you wish!)!

Until Next Time –

#BigJunkieLove

Carrie Lakey

Curious to learn how we choose our Top 5 ladies for each state?
Well… It has to do with you Pageant Brand… Check out this free training to learn more…

Carrie Lakey is kind of obsessed with Miss America…
So are 15,000 of her closest friends.

As an avid fan of the Miss America Organization, Carrie began
publicly predicting pageant winners over 10 years ago.
Now, she’s galvanizing an online movement of fans
known as “Pageant Junkies”.
Learn more about the Junkie Nation
by clicking here.

May 20, 2016 by Junkies Leave a Comment

Junkies Predict Miss Rhode Island 2016

Alexandra Curtis is a name you should get familiar with…

Not because she was a fabulous representative as Miss Rhode Island 2016 (even though she was…), but because Alexandra – is going places.

Take one peek at Allie’s social media and you’ll instantly see that she is driven, accomplished, and a networking fool (and that’s a good thing!)!

photo found at forevertwentysomethings.com

Allie’s platform is titled, “Leading Ladies: Equipping Young Women with the Skills to Lead”. She is passionate about politics and motivating more women to enter the political arena. She was elected Student Body President at Syracuse University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude… And then decided to continue her education at Brown University (getting her Masters in Public Affairs) while maintaining her duties as Miss Rhode Island.

I suspect one day in the future, we’ll see Allie’s name on the ballot running for office… Until then, you can find her running another fellow Miss America contestant’s political campaign! Yes – Allie has agreed to work with Miss Vermont 2010 Caroline Bright, on her current campaign for State Senate in Vermont!

201505556bb2dc5e301 — Photo credits: Daniel Gagnon

Junkies loved getting to know Allie a little bit better during her recent podcast… And it’s no joke that there are incredible opportunities ahead of her! Mainly because Allie has decided to pursue the things that scare her (catch her podcast at this link)… We know that kind of courage ALWAYS gets rewarded – And we can’t wait to see how Allie “takes on the world” in the future!

Good Luck Allie! Junkies hope we get the chance to vote for you one day in the future!

And now, who has the best chance at being named Miss Rhode Island 2016?

We’ve made our Top 5 predictions list for Miss Rhode Island – and you can check it out when you become a Premium Junkie… Find out more at this link.

GOOD LUCK LADIES – And Remember – If we say you’re name, we hope you prove us right! And if we don’t say your name, WE HOPE YOU PROVE US WRONG!!!

#BigJunkieLove

Carrie Lakey

May 19, 2016 by Junkies Leave a Comment

Are You Holding Back?

Do you consider yourself a “risk taker?”

Ask any Miss America winner if she had to take a risk at some point on her journey to winning the national title, and I’m guessing you’ll get plenty of “yes” votes!

article-2422531-1BDBA82C000005DC-946_634x849 — Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Interestingly enough, sometimes the biggest risk any contestant takes isn’t necessarily in regards to their talent, wardrobe, or platform – No, it’s usually a bit bigger than that…

Usually, the biggest risk comes when you confront the person you think you “should be” in order to win the title, verses the person you currently “are” – and then requiring that you make a choice between the two.

Therein lies the real risk. Being willing to just be yourself.

Michael Ein - The Press of Atlantic City — Michael Ein – The Press of Atlantic City

WHAT DO PEOPLE SEE?

If you’re like me, you guard yourself on a pretty regular basis. You ‘manage’ how people see you and what they think about you… never letting them see too much of the stuff you’re not sure they’re going to like.

And you justify it because after all, you’re not lying. You’re not purposefully misleading people by being a “fake version” of yourself… You’re not intentionally trying to be someone you’re not… No… Instead – you’re only making efforts to hold certain parts of you back.

The funny thing is, people can tell when you hold back from them.

You might be able to impress a group of people for a short period of time – and you might be able to maintain your image long enough for a group of judges to think they know you. But the truth is, when the judges come in contact with a genuine, open spirit – Everything else looks like a façade.

SO – ARE YOU HOLDING BACK?

You’re “holding back” whenever there’s something you hope people DON’T discover about you.

Maybe you’re not sure how someone’s going to respond to one of your quirks or flaws, so you keep that part of your personality away from them. Or, you think you’re “not enough” because you don’t have it all together. To compensate, you do your best to showcase the GOOD STUFF about yourself (the stuff you happen to really like), hoping people don’t pry further to discover where you fall short.

Trust me, we’ve all been guilty of “holding back” at one time or another… But, here’s the deal. People can tell when you hold back from them. And even if one contestant, ONE WOMAN dares to be open and vulnerable during her private interview, nobody else will be able to hold a candle to her when she leaves the room.

The trick is…

BE THE ONE.

YOU be the one who is open – who isn’t afraid to let the judges see who you really are – warts and all (lol)! If you’re the ONE PERSON who’s comfortable with herself, ready to admit you don’t have all the answers but that you’re working towards improvement, it’s going to be awfully hard to deny you the crown.

The rest of the group will be busy trying to impress the judges with their knowledge on foreign policy, or pop-culture, or even obscure statistics about their platforms. Those girls will be subliminally telling the judges, “Look at this part of me! Aren’t I smart? Aren’t I witty? Can you believe how impressive I am?”

And that kind of white-washed propaganda will be super easy to spot when a genuine soul comes around.

THEREFORE – THE ANSWER IS…

Be Genuine. Be Authentic. Just Be You.

Trouble is, it’s not always easy being genuine. People might not approve of your choices. They may not understand your beliefs. Worse yet, they might disagree and think your opinion is flat out wrong.

And that’s the risk.

Now – this isn’t a ‘cart-blanch’ card for saying ANYTHING you want, ANY WAY you want, in your interview. You still need to make sure you’re being true to yourself while answering questions in a respectful and diplomatic way.

But guess what – Being true to you and being diplomatic aren’t mutually exclusive. They CAN co-exist! And the contestant who discovers the balance (usually through a great deal of practice), is the one who shines above the rest – guaranteed! 🙂

IN SUMMARY

Do know that it’s entirely possible that you don’t hold back – that you really go for it, and that you show the judges exactly who you are… Only to find out, they don’t approve. I’m afraid this formula isn’t a free ticket to the crown – or to finishing in the top 5.

But I would ask you… Which is worse?

Showing all of who you are with grace and tact, then being rejected by 5/7 total strangers… Or showing 70% of who you are, and risk the chance that someone else showed 100% of themselves, thus earning the judge’s favor in the end?

Seems to me the real risk is not being willing to be yourself.

Warts and all…

#BigJunkieLove

Carrie Lakey

If you’d like to read more #ThursdayBlogDay posts like this one, just click here…

Carrie Lakey is kind of obsessed with Miss America…
So are 15,000 of her closest friends.

As an avid fan of the Miss America Organization, Carrie began
publicly predicting pageant winners over 10 years ago.
Now, she’s galvanizing an online movement of fans
known as “Pageant Junkies”.
Learn more about the Junkie Nation
by clicking here.

May 17, 2016 by Junkies Leave a Comment

#128: Alexandra Curtis, Miss Rhode Island 2015

“You’ve got to do the things that scare you.” Alexandra Curtis, Miss Rhode Island 2015, would know… From becoming Student Body President at Syracuse, to getting her Masters in Public Affairs from Brown, to running a political campaign for a former state titleholder, Alexandra is quickly becoming an expert in self-growth and conquering her fears one by one…

[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4374289/height/360/width/480/theme/standard/autoplay/no/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/” height=”360″ width=”480″]

If you’d like to hear more Pageant Junkies Podcasts, just click here…

Carrie Lakey is kind of obsessed with Miss America…
So are 15,000 of her closest friends.

May 15, 2016 by Junkies 2 Comments

Weekend Wrap Up – May 15, 2016

Hey Junkies – Welcome Back!!!

I’m afraid we fell off the wagon last weekend – Between Mother’s Day, a dead cell phone and a busy family schedule, I completely forgot to write a post acknowledging the winner of Miss Nevada from last weekend… My Bad… My apologies… Here’s what you missed…

CONGRATULATIONS BAILEY GUMM!!!

Bailey entered the Miss Nevada pageant in one of the most difficult positions – a two-time first runner up who was hoping to win it all this year, and she did! Now, one of the benefits of offering today’s wrap-up post a week later, is that we found the Top 5 announcement and Bailey’s crowning moment on video! Check it out!

In addition to being a two-time first runner up, Bailey also served as Miss Nevada’s Outstanding Teen 2011 – and is related to the late Judy Garland (who was born Frances Gumm). Congrats again Bailey – Junkies look forward to watching you during your year as Miss Nevada!

Regarding our results, Junkies certainly redeemed ourselves (thank heavens!)… We were 4/5 in Nevada (whooooo hooooooo!), after only going 1/5 most recently in New Hampshire. Junkies accurately chose Bailey Gumm, 1st RU Briana Neben, 2nd RU Shelly Salbedo and 3rd RU Paige Melanson (however, we missed 4th RU Jenna Holridge).

That means we’re now 2 for 3 in picking state winners and 7/12 in picking ladies who finish in the Top 5 (or Top 2 – as was the case for Miss Maine).

And, as you can see above, there’s another state contest happening this weekend – It’s Miss Rhode Island week – and Junkies can’t wait to see who takes the title in the Ocean State! If you’d like to see who we think has the best chance at being named Miss Rhode Island, just click here to join Pageant Junkies Premium. 🙂

And remember – As we always say – When it comes to our top 5 lists, if we say your name, we hope you prove us right! But if we don’t say your name, WE HOPE YOU PROVE US WRONG! ? GOOD LUCK LADIES!!!

#BigJunkieLove

Carrie Lakey

Curious to learn how we choose our Top 5 ladies for each state? Well… It has to do with you Pageant Brand… Check out this free training to learn more…

Carrie Lakey is kind of obsessed with Miss America…
So are 15,000 of her closest friends.