Day five of Miss Indiana was absolutely, hands down the best part of the week. On Thursday the 31 contestants competing in the 2011 Miss Indiana Pageant visiting Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, the only Children's Miracle Network hospital in Indiana. The Children's Miracle Network is the national platform of the Miss America Organization.
I had really been looking forward to Miss Indiana week, and I was so excited to be competing in the Miss division for the first time, but the visit to Riley Hospital was equally important to me as competing in the actual pageant. I am a Riley kid, which means I was treated at Riley Hospital when I was a young child. Riley has always been in my heart and the chance to visit the hospital as a titleholder and maybe use my crown to make a fews kids smile was a big part of my week.
I bought a special dress to wear to Riley. It was a red and white dress with a big flower garden print, and I got a special pair of red heels that were my ruby slippers. I really wanted a dress that the kids would love, and the ruby slippers were an idea that I got from a state titleholder in another state. I wanted to be approachable and I wanted the kids to be able to connect with me. I wanted them to see that dreams really do come true.
The visit to Riley was incredible and I met a lot of amazing Riley kids. One of the Riley kids I met was a four-year-old named Faith who was the best part of my week. Faith has been spending a lot of time at Riley lately, and she has had dozens of surgeries in just three months. Faith has a heart condition that her doctors are fighting to cure, so remember that your contributions to the Riley Foundation make a big difference in the life of a child.
While I was talking to Faith she was holding my hand and playing with one of my rings. Earlier in the week a was given a pink rhinestone crown ring. I loved this ring - it was adorable. Faith kept playing with my ring, so I gave it to her. Her mom hugged me and was tearing up.
It is my job as a titleholder and a role model to make kids and others happy. If that means I leave without, then it means I did my job right.
So even though Faith was with me when I took the stage at the Thursday night preliminary competition at the 2011 Miss Indiana Pageant, she was on my mind and in my heart when I performed my talent. I sang Kate Voegele's arrangement of Hallelujah and I had been practicing for months. Singing Kate Voegele was a big step for me - it was really a departure from the music I had performed as a teen titleholder. Hallelujah is a song that moves me personally and I think it really let the judges see a not only my ability to sing, but a dimension of my personality.
During the Thursday night prelim I also got to compete in on-stage question. I got a question about my platform so I had a chance to talk about Happy Kids and Safe Schools. You can read more about Happy Kids and Safe Schools and recent developments to prevent bullying in schools on my blog.
Miss Indiana week was an adventure, so keep reading about my journey as I post my memories from the 2011 Miss Indiana Pageant!
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