Wednesday, February 04, 2009

all i needed to know i learned in the miss SoDak pageant


i find myself thinking quite often about a question tangobaby asked me when she interviewed me last month.  she asked, "As a former almost beauty queen from SD, what in your childhood prepared you for your life abroad and your years of travel?" and i gave a rather serious answer about growing up knowing there was an outside world. i think i answered seriously because it was where i was at the moment--the mood i was in. i had a need to take the question seriously. i think part of me is also vaguely embarassed by my whole pageant phase, because it feels so distant from who and where i am now, and so i wanted to put on a serious face about it. but of late, i've been thinking about it again in a slightly more lighthearted way.

things i learned from my pageant experience:
  1. how to tame my unruly eyebrows.
  2. judicious application of eyelashes is always a good thing.
  3. a bit of powder and strategically-placed duct tape can be just as effective as plastic surgery (but not that much less painful).
  4. i am motivated to exercise by the threat of public humiliation in a swimsuit.
  5. the art of walking gracefully in high heels.
  6. no matter how smart you are, no one will realize it if your bleached blonde bangs are hairsprayed eight inches into the air (it was the early 90s) and you're wearing a spangled evening gown.
  7. it's who you know, not who you are.
  8. the best person doesn't necessarily win.
  9. if your dad is a moderately famous democrat in a republican state, you were never going to be miss SD.
now, i realize that not all of these prepared me for my life and travels abroad, but they definitely formed me as a person and the knowledge of 5-8 have served me well. i still use #1 on nearly a daily basis and as for #2, eyelashes are totally back. not much duct tape goes into my dressing these days, but i have it to fall back on, should the need...er...ahem...arise.

thank you, tangobaby, for the interview that keeps on giving. :-)

5 comments:

nicole said...

Tangobaby certainly is a gifted interviewer:) While I really enjoyed your first answer, I must say I enjoy your current lighter view. Good Lessons- I understand how #1 can have more of a profound effect on daily life than one would initially think.

I also have been meaning to tell you that I think having freckles on one side of your face is AWESOME:D

tangobaby said...

First off, I have to say that not having read your other five posts for February (yes, I suck, I admit it) that I can tell this one is my favorite (I don't know ANYTHING about Albania--yet.)

***

Now that the confessional has taken place, I must beg you to PLEASE PLEASE send me photos of you in the Pageant Phase. I have to see your BANGS. All I can picture is that you looked like Tina Sparkle from Strictly Ballroom.

I also want to hear more about the duct tape and your theories on eyebrows, because I am a staunch supporter of eyebrow grooming.

ps. I think Items 7-9 also apply to the Academy Awards.

pss. I did not know that your dad was moderately famous.

psss. Hi Moonshark! xoxo

Magpie said...

This was completely fascinating. I'd never have guessed such a past!

Jaime said...

This was great...I could use a little uhhhh guidance in the eyebrow grooming dept. Mine are very light and hard to see, but unruly they definitely are!
I don't like pain...this is my problem.

:)

Lynne said...

Duct tape? Where do you put it? can you get flesh coloured duct tape (or as it is known in South Africa...printed on the lables...duck tape). Would you need a parental guidance rating if you explained what you do with it?

Obviously, I was never in a pageant.