From the spotlight of pageantry to the wonders of motherhood.
Between the ages of 12 and 25 all I’ve known, or knew, were pageants-the travel, gowns, competitions and experiences that came along with my years as a competitor, reigning royalty and staff member. For a long time I thought I would spend my 20’s traveling the country, going from state-to-state, working pageants, meeting contestants, living out of my suitcase and reuniting with my pageant sisters I’ve met from all over the country. Little did I know, God had a much bigger plan for me.
An End of a Chapter
In August 2014, when I finished the summer of pageant travels and came back home to my parents’ house in Houston, TX, I thought I was just ending another year of pageants and that I’d pick it right back up in March of the following year with open call season. I had no idea that I’d be closing a chapter of my life and that my month of soul-searching, literally sitting on the couch asking myself what now and trying so many different entrepreneur opportunities and not having any luck, would lead me to the decision to move to Dallas, TX. It was honestly an impulse move.
Goodbye Houston, Hello Dallas
I thought I would look back at my decision and instantly regret that I packed up so quickly and had no idea what to expect once I settled in Dallas, but I didn’t. I was so excited that for the first time in my life, I was on my own!
In September, I started my first direct marketing job, quickly realized that it was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and laid eyes on the love my life (but we’ll get to that story later). While I worked full-time pretending I was okay with people saying “no” to me while on the job and just being rude because, honestly, who wants to be sold to, I continued to work part-time as the assistant to the CEO of The Pageant Planet (TPP), an online coaching website for pageant girls. Even though I had said goodbye to traveling in the pageant world, I still couldn’t let go of that world completely.
Taking a Leap of Faith
I thought my days of pageantry would continue with my work at TPP, but in December, I made the decision to finally let go of 12 years of gowns, glitter, spotlights, stereotypes and everything that involved pageants (and finally quit the direct marketing job I hated going to) only to end up asking myself again, “what now?”
With the support of my parents and a man, who would eventually turn out to be my greatest cheerleader, supporter and love of my life (like I said, we’ll get to this story in a later post), I turned to my passion of being around kids and pursued my teaching career.
I spent the next year and a half working with kids, seeing them set goals for themselves and achieving those goals and realized it was exactly what I was doing in the pageant world-minus the gowns and heels, that would just look silly on my male students.
This was it! I finally found what I was missing! My life was complete- or was it?
Every time I thought I knew what God’s plans were for me, He surprised me with even bigger plans that I could have ever imagined! Although there have been times when I’ve missed my pageant days, I wouldn’t change anything that’s happened since then.
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Tory proposed in May 2016 and a couple months later we found out we were expecting! Was it going to be tiaras or footballs? Would I be returning to pageant world, only this time as a mother, or would I be experiencing what life as a little league and football mom would be like?
In November 2016, I married my best friend and we said “Hello” to the idea of weekend little league and football games and I said “Goodbye” to the pageant world- at least for now anyway- who knows maybe one day we’ll have a little pageant queen on our hands. Until then, this mommy-to-be is anxiously waiting for March 10, 2017 and the arrival of Baby Bryan.