How I Got Started...
This year started out just as busy as last year ended. Throughout 2017, I made one goal in my career, and that was to become a professional resident dancer at an entertainment venue. Much to my appreciation and satisfaction (and by the grace of God) it happened!
I maintained a residency throughout the year, first at Copa Nightclub & Lounge from January to April
and then next at The Riviera Live from May to this past January
I have been blessed to accomplish this goal, to become a showgirl at last
To also be a featured dancer in two concerts
And to finally (finally!) work for Zhantra (a company that I have been wanting to be apart of for years but never had the opportunity to audition due to the height requirement they had in place...but because they needed extra help for New Year's Eve due to all the work they get, I was able to get in to finally audition for them, and I got approved! Yayyyy!!!!)
So that was the jest of my year in 2017.
However, for 2018, I had a goal.... to enter into the beauty pageant world... something that I have been wanting to do for a while, but never found the right opportunity to do so because many of the pageants I saw, I already phased out of the age category. Heck, I phased out of the many of the Miss categories before I turned 21 (because I started a family early with my high school sweetheart). We got married, and have one child.
Unfortunately, things didn't work out between us and we ended up getting divorce about a year later. (Go figure! We were together, on and off, for seven years, but only stayed married for one. Ha! Life...) Anywho, to say the least, not many pageants during that time, were looking for a 21 year-old divorced single mother. So I figured I missed the boat.
One lady (Ms. Dawn Reese) did offer me the opportunity to be a titleholder in a pageant system she created (Mrs. North Miami Beach Beauty Tropics) as long as I submitted over an essay on 'Why I Should be Chosen to Represent the Title' and so I did. What the heck right! And she gave it to me. I was now, officially a beauty queen (I think). Although I would have preferred to compete for the crown instead of being appointed, I accepted the appointment. I looked at it as getting a small taste into the beauty pageant world.
I'll be honest, she actually got me a few gigs within the short period that I was with her, so I can't complain. But unfortunately, that didn't last long; she ended up dropping off the face of the earth apparently, and I ended up never hearing from her again. So that was about the jest of my extent as a beauty queen...at least so I thought.
Towards the end of the year in 2017, my girlfriend, Tye (who was a former beauty queen herself, still eligible for the Miss's pageant) knew that I still showed an interest in pageantry... like TRULY getting into the pageantry life. So she sent me over the information for a casting for the Miss Art Deco system, a title that she held back in 2016.
Although I was passed the age to be in the Miss category, they had a Ms. Woman Art Deco title! However, the age cap for that one was 30 (sad face). So I thanked her, but figured that I couldn't do it because of the age cap (I was 32 at the time). Still, she said 'just go'.
So the day of the casting, I put my son in the car (as we were going to go to church right after) and we drove about 45 minutes to the casting location in Doral, FL, where I met with a woman by the name of Fatima. I told her of my interest to join, but also told her that I was 32 and didn't know if I would be able to be considered. By my surprise, she waived the age limit for me and allowed me the opportunity to enter. So there you have it! I was now a contestant in the running to becoming Miss Woman Art Deco!
When it came time for pageant week, I was up against (initially 3 other girls).
However, one dropped out and the other ended up having to compete in the Miss category. So now it was between me and one beautiful leggy, extremely long-haired Spanish fashion model, and here I am 5'4 (in a half) weighing 132 on my best day these days, with voluminous curly hair extensions (because in the entertainment world, that worked best).
But my positivity and energy have always helped me get further than some of the most skilled.
So it was down to the two of us, and I decided that I needed to figure out what is expected of a pageant girl and get tips on how to win a pageant.
The weekend of the pageant, I had an entertainment gig in Key West, so for the entire trip down there, I listened to YouTube channels such as "Win a Pageant" in order to get tips on how to win a pageant!
Right after my Saturday performance, I was back on the road Sunday morning to make it to the venue to compete (still getting some last minute tips on how to win a pageant...thanks Alycia Darby!) and long and behold, I encountered traffic. Traffic was backed up upon exiting Key West and I wasn't going to make it to the venue until about an hour after the call time. Interviews would already be underway by then, so this definitely wasn't good... But I had no choice... I couldn't fly over all the cars on the highway, so I was late, about an hour.
During my time in the car, I decided that I wouldn't have time for my makeup artist to do my makeup before the interview, so I needed to do it in the car and just have her touch me up for the stage portion. Once I got there, I rushed and threw my interview outfit on and scurried downstairs to go wait for my interview.
Long story short, I ended up winning the pageant!
And I got the award, not just for Miss Congeniality (which was voted on by the contestants)
But also for Miss Personality (which was voted on by the judges)!
They liked me! They really liked me!
To think that I almost missed my interview because of that Key West traffic. Everything ended up working out in the end. And that is how my year started... Ms. Woman Art Deco 2018.
Fatima wasted no time in getting us booked out, because that following week, we had a to report for contract signing
And then a few days later for our official crown photoshoot in Doral, FL
And the Homestead Rodeo Parade in Homestead, FL
Additionally, I was requested to be a judge for the Miss Orange Blossom Pageant in Davie, FL
So, to say the least, although my entertainment adventures were coming to a slow down, with The Riviera Live ending the shows after the first week of January (and causing me to be out of a job as a resident dancer in 2018), my beauty pageant adventures were FINALLY just beginning…
I maintained a residency throughout the year, first at Copa Nightclub & Lounge from January to April
and then next at The Riviera Live from May to this past January
I have been blessed to accomplish this goal, to become a showgirl at last
To also be a featured dancer in two concerts
And to finally (finally!) work for Zhantra (a company that I have been wanting to be apart of for years but never had the opportunity to audition due to the height requirement they had in place...but because they needed extra help for New Year's Eve due to all the work they get, I was able to get in to finally audition for them, and I got approved! Yayyyy!!!!)
So that was the jest of my year in 2017.
However, for 2018, I had a goal.... to enter into the beauty pageant world... something that I have been wanting to do for a while, but never found the right opportunity to do so because many of the pageants I saw, I already phased out of the age category. Heck, I phased out of the many of the Miss categories before I turned 21 (because I started a family early with my high school sweetheart). We got married, and have one child.
Unfortunately, things didn't work out between us and we ended up getting divorce about a year later. (Go figure! We were together, on and off, for seven years, but only stayed married for one. Ha! Life...) Anywho, to say the least, not many pageants during that time, were looking for a 21 year-old divorced single mother. So I figured I missed the boat.
One lady (Ms. Dawn Reese) did offer me the opportunity to be a titleholder in a pageant system she created (Mrs. North Miami Beach Beauty Tropics) as long as I submitted over an essay on 'Why I Should be Chosen to Represent the Title' and so I did. What the heck right! And she gave it to me. I was now, officially a beauty queen (I think). Although I would have preferred to compete for the crown instead of being appointed, I accepted the appointment. I looked at it as getting a small taste into the beauty pageant world.
I'll be honest, she actually got me a few gigs within the short period that I was with her, so I can't complain. But unfortunately, that didn't last long; she ended up dropping off the face of the earth apparently, and I ended up never hearing from her again. So that was about the jest of my extent as a beauty queen...at least so I thought.
Towards the end of the year in 2017, my girlfriend, Tye (who was a former beauty queen herself, still eligible for the Miss's pageant) knew that I still showed an interest in pageantry... like TRULY getting into the pageantry life. So she sent me over the information for a casting for the Miss Art Deco system, a title that she held back in 2016.
Although I was passed the age to be in the Miss category, they had a Ms. Woman Art Deco title! However, the age cap for that one was 30 (sad face). So I thanked her, but figured that I couldn't do it because of the age cap (I was 32 at the time). Still, she said 'just go'.
So the day of the casting, I put my son in the car (as we were going to go to church right after) and we drove about 45 minutes to the casting location in Doral, FL, where I met with a woman by the name of Fatima. I told her of my interest to join, but also told her that I was 32 and didn't know if I would be able to be considered. By my surprise, she waived the age limit for me and allowed me the opportunity to enter. So there you have it! I was now a contestant in the running to becoming Miss Woman Art Deco!
When it came time for pageant week, I was up against (initially 3 other girls).
However, one dropped out and the other ended up having to compete in the Miss category. So now it was between me and one beautiful leggy, extremely long-haired Spanish fashion model, and here I am 5'4 (in a half) weighing 132 on my best day these days, with voluminous curly hair extensions (because in the entertainment world, that worked best).
But my positivity and energy have always helped me get further than some of the most skilled.
So it was down to the two of us, and I decided that I needed to figure out what is expected of a pageant girl and get tips on how to win a pageant.
The weekend of the pageant, I had an entertainment gig in Key West, so for the entire trip down there, I listened to YouTube channels such as "Win a Pageant" in order to get tips on how to win a pageant!
Right after my Saturday performance, I was back on the road Sunday morning to make it to the venue to compete (still getting some last minute tips on how to win a pageant...thanks Alycia Darby!) and long and behold, I encountered traffic. Traffic was backed up upon exiting Key West and I wasn't going to make it to the venue until about an hour after the call time. Interviews would already be underway by then, so this definitely wasn't good... But I had no choice... I couldn't fly over all the cars on the highway, so I was late, about an hour.
During my time in the car, I decided that I wouldn't have time for my makeup artist to do my makeup before the interview, so I needed to do it in the car and just have her touch me up for the stage portion. Once I got there, I rushed and threw my interview outfit on and scurried downstairs to go wait for my interview.
Long story short, I ended up winning the pageant!
And I got the award, not just for Miss Congeniality (which was voted on by the contestants)
But also for Miss Personality (which was voted on by the judges)!
They liked me! They really liked me!
To think that I almost missed my interview because of that Key West traffic. Everything ended up working out in the end. And that is how my year started... Ms. Woman Art Deco 2018.
Fatima wasted no time in getting us booked out, because that following week, we had a to report for contract signing
And then a few days later for our official crown photoshoot in Doral, FL
And the Homestead Rodeo Parade in Homestead, FL
Additionally, I was requested to be a judge for the Miss Orange Blossom Pageant in Davie, FL
So, to say the least, although my entertainment adventures were coming to a slow down, with The Riviera Live ending the shows after the first week of January (and causing me to be out of a job as a resident dancer in 2018), my beauty pageant adventures were FINALLY just beginning…
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