Top 8 Reasons to Enter a Pageant

Many young women periodically receive letters from State pageants in the mail to sign up and be a part of their competitions. This past summer (2010), when I got one that said Miss New York USA Pageant, I decided I should try for it. I emailed them my info and a picture of myself and they got back to me saying I was in. They sent a package in the mail with all of the requirements and next steps. This, however, was my last step; I made the choice to not go forward with the pageant because of my measurements of all it was not on top of all it required. Yet, the experience I had in reading and researching to prepare if I did go on in it reinforced all that pageants are:

• Rewards/scholarship - Depending on the pageant, one of the main perks will be the great "swag" you'll receive if you place and the beneficial scholarships for college. Of course, for the pageant I was entering, the scholarship was for a college I'd never heard of in a town I'd never known existed. Yeah.

• Chance to brush up skills, such as interview - Face it, you'll always need a good interview. Whether for a job, some other type of proposal or if you're a celebrity, interview skills must be learned. Look at yourself in the mirror, they say, watch your posture and the way you form your words with your mouth. Practice smiling, breathing and speaking in the mirror. Awkward much?! Well, it helps.

• Showcase talents - A daunting task it may be to decide which talent you want to showcase this time. A mediocre dance or a ribbon twirl? Maybe a poem recitation? Either way, a chance to dig deep, practice with passion and perform with power are what this brings. Being judged? Oh, that's just the tip of the iceberg when you realize you've gotten yourself onstage in front of hundreds to thousands to millions of strangers and forgotten all of the words and notes of The Star Spangled Banner! But hey, at least your outfit's kinda cute, right? Exactly! Who'll notice your voice?

• Opportunity - to grow. to do. to pursue. You never know who will win but you know that you can aim for it. Doors open when you try and if you fail, you will learn to still be happy and not give up. You've worked too hard to not try to see the bright side, the silver lining. It is still rewarding!!!

• Contacts/relationship gain - So, you know you have to search for sponsors right? Well, all of those people you've met over the years will come in handy and now, you get to meet even more. It may seem weird and unnatural but the pageant handbook assures, people love to support pageants.

• Resume - Believe it or not, sometimes, listing pageantry is one way to get a good job, especially if you have done it more than once and received awards and placed each time.

• Wardrobe - All the pretty outfits. Ornate gowns, tailored suits, sweet costumes. Even though someone has to pay for it all, getting dolled up is fancy business. Who doesn't want a part?

• Pageant weekend - You travel to the hotel, practice and rehearse, eat, sleep and go on stage. There are lights, cameras and action. The knowledge that you will be on television, on YouTube or just in someone's photo book. The heels. The judges. The mic. The stairs. Your crazy but gorgeous roommate who talked all night. I hear nerves and great wonder. A once in a lifetime experience.

Top 8 Reasons to Stay Out Of Nightclubs

For a long while, my personal ideas, knowledge and interests as well as accounts and warnings from others and the news kept me out of nightclubs. Still, a day came when I ended up going to one for a little while. Never again. It was like everything I dislike times ten! Here's what I mean:

• Drunk people are not my idea of fun. They act silly and careless. They share their drinks. They grab at strangers because, on top of all of the other issues they have, they've now also lost their better judgment. Drinks themselves, even if no one has drank any, equal disgusting.

• Nightclubs are dark, as if night isn't dark enough alone, now you can't even see the stranger who is grabbing at you!
  
  
• What light there is will probably be strobe lights. Is that dancing I see? Nope, the lights have just caused someone else a seizure.
  
  
• There is enough bass and volume that, not only will you need to scream directly into a person's ear to be heard but may easily be knocked across to the other side of the room before you can.

• You cannot get in without wacky, tacky stamps or passes. Wait on a line in the rain? Be asked your name and to see your ID ten times? Have a sticker wrapped around you that closely resembles a hospital wristband? Then, be stamped with some neon star that somehow can only be seen under a weird light? NO, thank you.

• Bad/false advertisement - So, they said they have a dress code and put a nice picture on the flier? Well, then why are there so many poorly-dressed, poorly-scented people in a venue that looks nothing like the pictures? Another question, why are so many fliers even tackier than the stamps, with trashy-looking "models?" BAD and FALSE advertisement.

• Crowded - Okay, so maybe the venue wasn't all that bad (okay yeah, it was) but with such magnanimous amounts of people, some on stilts, the crowds make it a big issue. There is no crowd control. At home, I have my own room; at clubs, I stand in a corner with 3 big dudes?

• Security is not so great. While they do ask for your name and ID several times and just may have a medal detector,...even they look like nighttime. With black uniforms, how do you know who security is? Maybe the guy who just asked for your ID was actually trying for identity theft. And, don't let there be coat-check. You'll be walking in that rain coat-less afterward.

• Music/dancing - Class....less!

Ooops, did I put nine reasons o_0 My bad...but now, I'm sure you get my drift!