The end of April is officially “nitty gritty time” for many pageant contestants.

It’s where the rubber meets the road – it’s where you’ve either got your crap together or you don’t – it’s where all of the hard work and preparation you’ve put in for the past 6-8-10 months is about to get recognized (or exposed!)…

That’s because, unless you live in Maine or New Hampshire (and your state pageant takes place in April) – YOUR STATE PAGEANT WILL BE HERE BEFORE YOU KNOW IT!!!

That’s why we decided to focus this week’s blog on the wisdom of previous state titleholders! We’ve selected 3 ladies who offered some great advice during their time on the Pageant Junkies Podcast – and “summarized” their tips in writing below. 🙂

OH – If you’re fairly new here and you’ve never heard of the Pageant Junkies Podcast, we’ve got 125 podcasts from awesome people within the Miss America program at this link, or you can also go to iTunes and search Pageant Junkies Podcast to find the same list. 🙂

And now – in completely random order – Here’s three of our favorite tips, offered by state winners, as heard on the Pageant Junkies Podcast!

Tip #1: GET TO KNOW YOUR JUDGES

As Miss Tennessee 2014, Hayley Lewis admitted she was “a little star struck” at the fact that when she walked in the door, several celebrities were going to be sitting in front of her! 🙂 And let’s face it – We all know how super-easy it is to be thinking something in your head (“OH MY GOSH! That’s Shawn Johnson! She’s RIGHT THERE!) – even though you’re supposed to be paying attention to the question being asked (or the answer you’re giving!).

Therefore, in order to make sure she didn’t lose her concentration during her interview, Hayley said she cut out pictures of each of the judges and taped them to her bathroom mirror. That way, she could look at them over and over, say good morning, ask them about their day, and generally feel comfortable around people she considered to be celebrities.

Even if your state judges aren’t necessarily considered, “celebrities” – it’s good to make sure you feel comfortable around them! Now, cutting out some floating heads and taping those pics to your bathroom mirror might not be your strategy – But you DO need to find a way to help you relax before walking into your interview. The more comfortable you are, the more relaxed you will feel, and the better your interview will likely be.

To hear Hayley’s entire podcast, just click here… 

Tip #2: GET YOURSELF A STAGE

Yes, it’s wonderful to practice walking in your swimsuit across the hardwood floor in your parent’s great room. And there’s no problem walking in your evening gown with your 5 inch heels until you know you’re “gliding” like Miss Congeniality says you should (lol!).  But do you know what’s even better?  Doing it all – ON A REAL STAGE!

Miss Kentucky 2012, Jessica Casebolt said during her podcast, that practicing her competition elements on a stage, made a HUGE difference for her! And it’s not that hard! She and her family found a local auditorium and practiced as if it were the Miss Kentucky stage. 🙂 She took several trips across the stage in her gown, her swimsuit, practiced her on-stage question, and even performed her talent.

Taking the time to perform all of her competition elements on an actual stage, made a big difference. It allowed others to help her to recognize her best poses, it helped her walk at the correct pace in each phase of competition, and Jessica says it made her super confident when she walked on the Miss Kentucky stage a few weeks later. 🙂

That simple practice worked out pretty darn well for her – Jessica went from finishing in the Top 10 her first year, to winning it all her second year!

You can catch Jessica’s entire podcast right here…

Tip #3: GET WITH A FRIEND AND ACT LIKE A 3 YEAR OLD

Ashton Yarbrough, Miss Arkansas Outstanding Teen 2014, offered this simple, yet extremely effective tip during her podcast last year. Ashton said prior to winning the Miss AR OT title, the majority of her interview prep time was spent with her mom, in the car, listening to current events and answering questions. Her mom would ask what she thought of a news story they just heard, Ashton would give an answer, and her mom would ask, “Why?”

The whole process would repeat itself over and over with Ashton answering, and her mom saying “Why?” until Ashton figured out where her opinions were truly coming from. That process pushed Ashton to learn more about herself and whether or not she was repeating something she’d heard someone else say, or if she really and truly believed the things that came out of her mouth. 🙂

This kind of prep is AMAZING for young women in pageantry  – Because unfortunately, it’s really not enough just to “state your opinion…” You also need to know why you believe it!

Why??? (HaHa – Sorry – Couldn’t help it!) … Because that’s how you demonstrate that you are a smart, well-education, well-read pageant contestant, who can think for herself – as opposed to one who just spits out talking points for an interview.

Trust me – when someone asks you “why” over and over again, they may begin to irritate you like a 3 year old, but they’re giving you the best pageant prep you could possibly gain. You’ll become more articulate and more thoughtful with your answers – which is exactly what scores big in most interview circles.

You can catch Ashton’s full podcast here…

And there you have it!  Our Top Pageant Tips from the Pageant Junkies Podcast – just in time for the month of May to begin! For all of you who are about to walk into your state pageant, sometimes it’s the “little extras” that make a big difference when your pageant week arrives! Find out what those “nitty gritty” details are – and make the most of you time between now and your big event 🙂

#BigJunkieLove

Carrie Lakey

If you’d like to see 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.

Every year, about this time, I begin to wonder if I’ve fallen off the deep end.

Truth is, I don’t actually FALL off the deep end until about June 20th or so… But by that point, I’ve already been drifting in the deep end of the crazy-pool for a few weeks and it doesn’t even matter. I don’t get much sleep, my husband leaves the house, the dog is sporadically fed, and my personal hygiene routine becomes questionable.

“My name is Carrie Lakey…  And I’m a Junkie…  A Pageant Junkie”

What’s the plight of my ruin…?

It’s called – State Pageant Season.

In case you’re new to Pageant Junkies, here’s a little background for you…

Once upon a time many, many stilettos ago, I was on social media, desperately trying to find more information about who had already won their state title and would be heading to Miss America. Honestly, I was pretty frustrated – simply because the information was out there, but I was surprised at how L O N G it took for the information to be posted to social media! Sometimes the state winner wasn’t even announced until a day or two later!

Fast forward a few years, and boy howdy – times have certainly changed! Now, the information is available within seconds of the winner’s name being announced (as it should be)! In addition, you can pretty much learn anything you want to learn about a given contestant, thanks to social media. That’s when it hit me…

Could I predict who might win each state title,
simply by researching all of the contestants online???

Soon after, I began posting my predictions, and more and more people became members of the “Junkie Nation” by following along to see how well I did. Truth is, we did pretty good – with 82-87% accuracy in 2013 and 2014, and the Pageant Junkies became known for our “Here’s Who to Watch List”.

Then, with thousands of hours of research and a lot of glitter behind us, I challenged myself to ONLY LIST 5 NAMES for each state title in 2015.

Frankly, it’s a little crazy trying to pick only 5 names when so many incredibly talented, beautiful, accomplished young women enter state pageants each year (there were actually 1400 young women who competed at the state level in 2015)… But, I’d say we did alright! Seventy-Five percent of the time, the woman who went on to win her state title, was on our Top 5 list (which was kinda surprising, even for us!)

So – This year, we’re doing the Top 5 list again – But with one significant change.

This year, our predictions are only available though Pageant Junkies Newsletter…

In the meantime, if you want to know HOW we go about predicting potential state winners, we have a couple of resources for you!

First – Video Number One – Recorded about this time last year…

For all the rest of you Junkies who already know how this works – Here’s the full list of state pageants coming up over the next several weeks!  We kick off in April, have a few more in May, and officially go kooky-wacko in June with 38 state titles awarded, before finishing up in July. 🙂

And there you have it! Once again, if you’d like to see our predictions, just sign up asap! Our Miss Maine predictions will officially be released on April 22nd!

Oh – And don’t forget my favorite phrase when it comes to state prediction season…

“If we say your name, we hope you prove us right!

And if we don’t say your name,
WE HOPE YOU PROVE US WRONG!!!”

Cue the Bert Parks – and let’s ALL sing along…

“There she is… Miss America…”

GOOD LUCK LADIES!!!

#BigJunkieLove

Carrie Lakey

Not gonna lie… I’m pretty excited about today’s post featuring the lovely Mickey Deputy…

Mickey Deputy is an 18 year old pageant contestant who was born with down syndrome and a heart defect… She was also diagnosed with Leukemia at the age of 7, and battled spinal taps, blood transfusions, and bone marrow aspirations before beating it. And, in case you can’t tell – Mickey also happens to LOVE pageantry!

Mickey entered and won her state “Miss Amazing” title (the Miss Amazing system is a pageant for ladies with disabilities) and then went on to finish as the 1st RU at the National Miss Amazing Pageant!  Now, Mickey has competed in a couple of locals in her home state of Indiana, with the hopes of one day making it to the Miss America stage.

If you’ve missed the videos, here’s a couple of them… It’s absolutely worth it to take a moment and watch the PopSugar video here… or this one from USA Today, at this link…

The reason why we’re posting about Mickey today, is because I believe she offers a few lessons that all of us can apply to our own lives… In fact, whether you’re in pageants or not, Mickey’s life is pretty darn inspirational for each and every one of us…

ARE YOU TRYING TO HIDE SOMETHING?

When you watch the videos above, you’ll see that Mickey is the perfect example of someone who is “fully herself” on stage.  She’s not trying to hide behind her “imperfections” – She’s not trying to “act” like a pageant contestant – She’s just being herself.

Mickey seems to be the kind of contestant we all aspire to become… Someone who doesn’t worry about what other ladies are doing… Someone who isn’t trying to be like the current titleholder… Someone who just is who she is, and walks on stage fully grounded in her own abilities. To that point, I’ve read additional interviews online where Mickey says that she’s NEVER nervous when she’s competing.

Why would she be? There’s nothing for her to be nervous about – because she’s not trying to BE anything! Mickey is Mickey. Nobody else could ever be Mickey! She’s not wasting her time worrying about what other people do – She’s only trying be the very best that she can be. Take a lesson from Miss Mickey – Be You and you’ll feel super comfortable when you walk out on any stage in life. 🙂

DO YOU CHANGE THE ATMOSPHERE FOR THE BETTER?

In the video above, one of the quotes is how “Mickey changes the atmosphere”… when she competes. The truth is, all pageant contestants have the ability to “change the atmosphere” – but not everyone changes the atmosphere in a positive way. Some contestants make power-plays, or feel like they need to cut others down, or even avoid the most basic conversations with ladies who are considered the “front-runners”.

When someone like Mickey takes the stage, we’re all reminded that we’re not competing against each other. We’re simply trying to compete with ourselves. How can I be better at my talent? How can I improve my fitness? What’s something I can do that will make my interview more memorable?

The next time you find yourself competing in a pageant, ask yourself if you’re contributing to the atmosphere in a negative way, or a positive way… AND – I’d encourage you to really challenge yourself to answer that question as objectively as possible!

Wherever you go, people should not see you as a competitor. They should see you as someone who’s only trying to improve herself. One way to do that – is for other contestants to see that you’re excited about everyone’s success/personal improvement – not just your own.

ARE YOU PURSUING YOUR DREAMS?

One of the hardest things to do in life is to go after something you really, really want. Why? Because if it doesn’t work out – Well – that could crush you, right? I mean, this is your DREAM! And sometimes, it’s a whole lot easier to “think about” or even “dream about” your dream, than it is to “totally go for” your dream – and fail.

The truth is, if you don’t pursue your dreams, you’ll spend a lot of time wishing you had. And it doesn’t matter if they’re big dreams like Mickey’s dream of becoming Miss America, or if they’re small dreams, like trying something new. Either way – if you don’t pursue your dreams, you’ll look back and always wonder, “what if I would have…”

If you like pageants because of one reason or another (the scholarships, performing on stage, meeting new people), but your dream isn’t to become a state or national titleholder – THAT’S COMPLETELY FINE! Discover what IS your dream, add it to your bucket list, and get moving in that direction. 🙂 Not everyone who enters a pageant has a dream to win the whole darn thing! However, you DO need to pursue your dreams – regardless of who you are, and regardless of how you may feel about your chances of ever reaching them. Pursue them. Period.

And there you have it! Three lessons learned from Miss Mickey’s pageant journey, that can apply to each and every one of us today. 🙂 Keep these three things in mind when you compete in your next pageant – and keep an eye out for Mickey Deputy! I have a feeling, she’s going to be someone worth watching in the years to come 🙂 #TeamMickey #MissAmazing

#BigJunkieLove

Carrie Lakey

If you’d like to see 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.

Junkie Disclaimer:  For the record, all photos used in this post were selected because of the ‘dramatic nature’ in which the person in the photo was captured. These photos were not chosen because any of the women in the photos are considered by anyone within Pageant Junkies, to be ‘dramatic’.  If you don’t believe us, well then…  

Today’s post is written precisely for people like you – Enjoy!

Ugh. If there’s anything I hate about pageantry – it’s drama.

People who are cray-cray tend to do insane and obnoxious things. They twist people’s words, they make rude comments and snide remarks, they blow things way out of proportion, and they rarely give anyone the benefit of the doubt.

And although I hate to say it – I’m afraid pageantry isn’t the only place where drama exists…

Yes – You’re going to run into drama in numerous places in your life for years and years to come… Areas like in your office, with your neighbors, roommates or colleagues, among future family members, even clients and friends… The drama always exists and is always waiting for those who wish to embrace it.

Therefore, recognizing it and understanding “the drama battle” early in your life, will allow you to steer clear of excessive craziness, and help you keep your sanity in a world of drama-filled wackos.

For the record, I do have a few credentials when it comes to offering a some tips in a drama discussion…

Besides handling the occasional rude and insensitive comments I receive from followers, I competed in pageants for 3.5 years, I was in a sorority for 4 years, and I managed hundreds of people over a 15 year career in corporate America, which extended to 5 different cities. You think you’ve got drama? Ask me about the time somebody took over my radio station in the middle of the night…

But I digress…

Here’s 3 things you need to know when dealing with drama…

Don’t Get Sucked In…

Pageant folks are often really good at getting people’s attention. After all, that’s how you stand out on stage! But when handling drama from fellow pageant contestants or other pageant people, you need to spot the warning signs of getting “sucked in” before it’s too late…

If you’re constantly getting texts over and over – Or if you’re getting texts in the middle of the night… Or phone calls at all hours of the day… Or if someone always wants to pull you aside to “tell you something”… That’s drama. And I hate to say it, but if you’re the person who’s constantly respond to their texts, calls and need for private meetings, then you’re contributing to the problem.

Don’t get me wrong – There are moments in life when someone needs you immediately. But for all the remaining situations, the best thing to do is draw boundaries. Don’t answer texts from people at all hours. Don’t answer the phone, simply because it rings. You don’t always have to be the person who “fixes” someone else’s problems… In fact, the more you try to fix someone else’s problems, the more you stifle their chances to grow and mature – Which means, you’re pretty much perpetuating the cycle. You have been SUCKED IN!!!

If you find yourself getting sucked in, draw boundaries. Doesn’t matter who it is… Find a way to kindly say “no” – Or, find ways to communicate words of encouragement to the drama-filled person… Things like, “I know you’re going to figure this out… You can do it!  I believe in you!” When you do, you’ll discover how refreshing it is to jump off the crazy-train and live your life in peace.

Don’t Believe Everything You Hear

Lots of pageant people like to talk. And offer opinions. And name drop. And extend valuable pieces of information about what someone else is saying or doing. And the truth is – there are two sides to every story.

If you hear something unflattering about another person in pageant circles, take it with a grain of salt and keep it to yourself. Not everything you hear is true. And therefore, not everything you hear deserves to be repeated.

It can be hard – but the most mature pageant contestants are the ones who learn the difference between someone who’s stirring up trouble and someone who’s got a genuine beef. If you believe everything you hear, you’re setting yourself up for a prejudiced pageant week. One where you have already passed judgment on someone – Not because of personal experience, but because of something you heard.

Honestly, it’s pretty silly to make up your mind about someone before you’ve had the chance to interact directly with that person yourself. Pageant week is full of incredible experiences that you’ll never forget! Don’t limit the amount of experiences you have – simply because you believed something about someone else that may or may not be true. Thats not cool – and you’ll regret it.

DEAR LORD… Don’t Worry About It

More often than not, what I hear from pageant contestants is how THEY’RE the ones being talked about… Someone else has started the drama and they don’t know what to do or how to react…

     “They all think that I’m __________ because of what she told them!” – or – “Everyone says that I __________, but it’s not true!”

Let’s get one thing straight.

Even if “everyone says” that you’re sacrificing puppies in the middle of the night and drinking their blood – it doesn’t make it true. Right? And if something isn’t true, that means it’s false. And guess what? If someone says something false about you – it’s a great chance for you to shake it off… Welcome to the real world – We’re glad you’re here. 🙂

However, if someone says something about you that challenges you, then it’s time to evaluate why such a thing would be said? For example, if people say you’re “ungrateful”… Could it be because you don’t bother to thank sponsors and volunteers?  If people say you’re “unfriendly”… Could it be because you’re cold and uninterested in making small talk with people who (in your mind) don’t matter?

Nobody’s perfect – but in my experience, most of us have an area or two in which we can improve. If someone says something about you that’s blatantly untrue, then have a chuckle about it and let it go. But if someone says something that gets under your skin, chances are, there may be an element of truth there. At that point, the best thing to do is to calmly assess the root of the comment, figure out how you can improve in that area, and do your best to make a better impression in the future.

And there you go… I’m not saying you can totally eliminate the every-day absurdity of pageant-drama, but by following these 3 guidelines, you can certainly learn how to deal with drama, with the hopes of minimizing it as much as possible.

And if you ever find yourself in charge of a radio station that gets commandeered in the middle of the night, you’ll know exactly who to call…  I’m your girl. 🙂

#BigJunkieLove

Carrie Lakey

For 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.

Hey Junkies!  Happy Thursday!

So – For a few weeks now, I’ve been telling you about things you can be doing right now that will prepare you to be an amazing pageant contestant by the time your state title rolls around. If you haven’t picked up on the hints I’ve been dropping – the central theme is pretty much the same…

It’s what you do OFF-STAGE that prepares you for a stellar performance ON-STAGE. 

If you think about it, if the judges only took into consideration your on-stage performance, they’d be evaluating you based on your Swimsuit presentation, your Gown presentation, your 1.5 minute Talent routine, and your 30 second on-stage question.

What is that?  Like – 4 minutes??? LOL!

That’s what I mean when I say – You’ve got to do the Off-Stage preparation if you expect to succeed On-Stage.

The truth is, everything you do Off-Stage prepares you for those 4 minutes. And if you prepare in the right areas, you can make sure you score as high as possible during those 4 minutes on-stage… Here’s a few tips 🙂

YOUR INTERVIEW

During the Pageant Junkies Podcast, I love to ask former titleholders who’ve now served as a judge, what they wish they would’ve known when competing. The answer is always the same…

As a judge, when a contestant does well in interview, you’re actually LOOKING for her on-stage. You’re PULLING for her! You want her to do well in the other areas of the competition! Couple that with the fact that Interview is the “longest area” of competition (10 full minutes) and you can see why acing your interview is a big, big deal!

Most ladies prepare for their interview by trying to think of every possible question the judges could ask them… Which honestly, is kind of a waste of time. Yes, you need to be prepared for any question, but the reason why it’s a waste of time to think of every question on the planet is because – YOU DON’T NEED a specific answer for every question! Rather, you simply need to know what your core values are and how those values relate to different categories of questions (political questions, social justice questions, entertainment questions, personal questions, goal-oriented questions, etc.).

The best way to prepare for your interview, is to know what you believe. The best way for you to know what you believe, is to challenge yourself… Either by having discussions with people who disagree with you – or by simply asking yourself WHY over and over again. Then, you’ll know exactly where you stand. 🙂

YOUR PLATFORM

Platforms Matter. Yes, your state may have a strong list of elementary schools who enjoy having “Miss State” come through every year. But your job, isn’t to rely on your state to book you after you’ve won. Your job, is to book yourself BEFORE you win.

The best way to book yourself is to connect with audiences who are either supportive of, or open to hearing about, your platform. Then, you’ll get experience speaking in front of others, interacting with lots of different types of people, and learning how to handle yourself in public situations. That experience is INVALUABLE and will pay dividends long after your pageant days are over – but honestly, it’s great preparation for having a confident interview, and being fully prepared to do the job of Miss “Fill in the Blank.”

YOUR FUNDRAISING

I feel like fundraising has a tendency to get a bad wrap within pageantry. Some ladies tend to look at it like, “Ugh… Gotta figure out how to raise some more money…”

The truth is, the better you are at fundraising, the more excitement and passion you’ll have for this organization. When you see the difference your fundraising dollars can make, you’ll change the way you see yourself, and any fundraising requirements you have.

Lacey Sanchez, Miss Louisiana 2014 put it best in her podcast (which you can listen to right here)… Paraphrasing…She said, “I can’t control the outcome of my state pageant.  But I CAN control how many children benefit from the dollars I raise for CMN hospitals…” And because Lacey saw the impact that her fundraising efforts made for these children, she never thought of fundraising as a burden or a chore.

If you want to show the judges that you are truly an advocate for CMN – Then you need to show that your interest in CMN, runs beyond the minimum amount required. Otherwise, I’m sorry, but – it’s going to be hard to believe you.

YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA

You’d be surprised how many ladies have not yet “got the memo” about how important social media is to pageantry. SOCIAL MEDIA IS EVERYTHING. Your social media account should attract new contestants to the program, it should show how active you are in the community, it should show the benefit of participating in pageants, and much, much, more.

If you care about the future of this program – If you want other young ladies to experience the same benefits and rewards that this program offers (scholarships, personal growth, public speaking skills, poise and confidence), then it’s your job to communicate it to them. The best way to do that – WITHOUT QUESTION – is through social media.

When you harness the power of social media, you attract people to you. When you harness the power of social media, you prove that pageant contestants are more than parade-wavers. And because of the continuing explosive growth of social media, when you harness the power of social media, you actually have the ability to impact a greater number of people than any of your predecessors. That’s why, it’s a pretty big freaking deal.

WHAT AM I SAYING???

Here’s what I’m saying… You can work out at the gym all you want… You can search high and low for the perfect dress, the perfect shoes, the perfect accessories… You can be the most talented contestant in your state pageant… But all of that – is 4 minutes max.

And if you have nothing to say in your 10 minute interview, you may finish well, but you’ll rarely win.

Everything you do Off-Stage prepares you for your 10 minute interview, and allows you to be fully confident during your 4 minutes On-Stage.

And believe it or not, that’s the difference between ladies who do well, and ladies who wonder what else could I have done.

Until Next Week!

#BigJunkieLove

Carrie Lakey

To see 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.