So I "Lost" a Local...

A year ago all I knew about Miss America was the name. I had no idea what all went on behind the seasons. Then one random day in February, I decided to sign up for Miss SDSU/Miss Brookings pageant, not even knowing at the time that it was affiliated with Miss America or even Miss South Dakota. By some stroke of God, I won and went on to compete at Miss South Dakota.

Two weekends ago, I competed for Miss State Fair. Only my second local. I was so nervous. I had won my first title by pure beginners luck and I was afraid to lose a local. But I did. I "lost." I won the interview and a very honorable award (the Kind Heart Award), but I was not given a title, nor was I even a runner up. It hit me like a hurricane. I had no idea what I had done wrong. Then I looked at the video that my boyfriend had recorded to send to my family because they weren't able to make it. Simply by losing, I was able to see myself for what the judges saw. I was able to truly look at my flaws and see how much progress I have made from the beginning, but also how far I still have to go. And who knows, I may lose again, and again, and again. And each time will be a learning experience for me, keeping me grounded. Who would have thought that it would take "losing" for me to see my true self and for once, I am grateful to not have walked away a "winner." I am excited for whatever may lie ahead and for more learning and growing experiences.

Success: Learning to Lose

The fourth point of the crown I am going to talk about is Success. And I believe in order to be a truly successful person, you need to learn how to lose and keep moving forward.

This past Saturday, I learned a very valuable lesson about not only success, but also what to do when you do not accomplish your definition of short term success. I helped out at the South Dakota Special Olympics Summer Games in Brookings. I was able to hand out awards all day long and it was such an amazing experience to see these kids triumph. But it was also so great to be able to see how they handled disappointment. The special olympics to these individuals is something that they look forward to and love to compete in, so when they don't achieve their goal (or their idea of success), it can be very disappointing. There were some amazing kids that looked on the bright side and were happy for their friends or for just the ribbon they got. Although not everyone can handle losing that gracefully. I know throughout my life I have struggled with this as I am naturally a competitive person, like many of these athletes. A handful of them were telling themselves things like "be happy with what you got," or "you're okay," both very useful when trying to smile for pictures after a disappointment. Then they would tell me about their next event and we would talk about how they still had more chances to bring home the gold. They would forget the past and look towards the future.

This experience is definitely going to be one that I will remember for the rest of my life and will help me the week I am out in Hot Springs. As a rookie, I am very nervous, to be completely honest. But I am going to stifle, just a little bit, the competitive Maggie and let the good times roll. After all, I am told that the week in Hot Springs is so fun and I will be able to hang out with fifteen amazing young women with such a variety of interests and experiences. I look forward to getting to know each of them better and learn about their passions. I am going to take the week one day at a time and soak up every second of the experience because at the end of the week, I will know Miss South Dakota, whether it is one of my amazing Miss SD Class of 2015 sisters or by some chance, myself. And how many people can say that they personally know one of the girls on the Miss America stage? Not many! I am also going to take the strategies from the amazing young men and women of the special olympics and look forward. No matter what happens June 20th, I still have a crown that I get to promote chocolate milk with and that is all that is UDDERLY important! (cow pun!;))