Send a Little Love to Room 34

Imagine being five years old, and you are told your teacher is competing at Miss Oklahoma. She will wear a princess dress, she will sing, and she could become Miss America some day. I’m not sure if anyone can fathom what that might mean to a child, but I know of twenty sweet faces who want to see this unbelievable event with their own eyes.

Teach For America places corps members in schools which are located in low socio-economic areas. My students must apply and meet the criteria for Head Start in order to attend, making it little more than a dream to lavishly spend money for their families to attend Miss Oklahoma. At $10 a ticket, their brothers and sisters want to go as well – but around $50 a family, it’s a great expense.

I will be selling Scentsy to fundraise for my students and their families to attend Miss Oklahoma in June! Not only will they be experiencing the arts, but they are exposed to what could happen if they work hard and grow their brains. In 1993, Miss Oklahoma came to the Shawnee Public Library to speak and perform her talent. As a four-year-old, I cannot recall her message, but for the first time ever I thought the flute was kind of cool.

As I left with an autographed photo in hand, we saw Miss Oklahoma’s official car and of course I had to take a picture with it! Donning my best dance pose in curls and polka dots, I beamed next to her bright red car. Little did I know that I could some day be competing to wear her crown.

I know that if I can be affected in such a way, my students can and will benefit from the opportunity to see not just one Miss Oklahoma – but Miss Oklahoma from the past forty years, and a brand new Miss Oklahoma crowned. Please help me raise funds for my students to see Miss Oklahoma by ordering Scentsy from the link below. Twenty-five percent of the profits have been generously donated to me by David of DC Cake Appeal! Thank you David, and thank you to everyone for your orders!!

MISS OKLAHOMA SCENTSY FUNDRAISER

The Princess of Room 34

In October, we had a mere 13 students, since our roster had not been filled. Now that our class sits at a full 20, I was excited to share Miss Green Country with the kids! We have created big goals for our lives (them and myself alike!), and I wanted to bring my passion back to the classroom.

My students know that I am a “princess” and that I want to become the “queen” of Oklahoma. Keep in mind, my kids are three-five and explaining the Miss Oklahoma system can often be tricky to an adult, let alone a Pre-K student! We had a great conversation about what it takes to become Miss Oklahoma – helping others, using kind words, working hard, and getting smart! Miss Oklahoma has to “grow her brain” too! Each of my kids tried on the crown and I cannot wait for them to watch me compete in June – it is our last week of school! While I am SO disappointed to miss their last days of Pre-K, I know they understand and will continue to strive for their dreams as well!

 

 

Little Miss Fall Festival

Friday night was the Little Miss Fall Festival pageant! I was honored to be asked to judge 13 Kindergarten and 1st grade girls vying for the title. What do I know about 5-7 year olds? Well…a surprising amount! I taught 1st grade this summer in Phoenix (and absolutely LOVED it!), and now teach Pre-K in Tulsa. Little ones are so fun because every day is a new day – new personalities, new interests, and new, unbelievably funny words and sayings. Miss Riverwalk’s former director, Nicole, also asked another TFA friend and YWCA employee to judge – what a small world!

Kevin met me in Coweta, which is about a 35 minute drive from my apartment, where the skies were a hazy shade of grey and a Fall chill was beginning to set in the air. Initially, the pageant was intended to be held outside, but after a wild downpour, was moved to a local church. It was so cold that I can’t imagine keeping the girls outside in their beautiful dresses – would have been tough!! On the way to the church, Damaris and I huddled under an umbrella, but still wound up soaking wet. What seemed like the entire town was waiting outside the church because it was still locked – priceless! Haha, we looked faaaabulous..

 

Damaris was the emcee and it was wonderful to catch up with the newly crowned Miss Oklahoma State Fair. After making our way into the church and drying off, the pageant was on! Each contestant first competed in modeling – wearing their gowns. They were SO adorable! After each was finished, they took a seat on the stage behind the other contestants. Once modeling was complete, we moved to talent.

Honestly, some of their talents were better than mine! The winner was a gymnast, another precious angel sang a country song with more attitude and personality than I have ever seen before, and there was even a magic show! There were several singers, a few dancers, and also a guitarist. The last portion was interview – where Damaris asked the girls a few questions about their interests or hobbies. One ate a whole pound of fudge before her mother caught her!

During awards, I was so pleased to see each girl receive something for her hard work and bravery to even just get on the stage. The winner was the cute gymnast in a fun, pink gown! I had so much fun and would love to do it again. After the pageant, I chatted with several girls – those who won and those who did not place, telling them what I loved about their performances. It’s hard to not win at any age, particularly when you may be too young to see the big picture. These girls ALL have a shot at Miss Oklahoma someday – and I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if Miss Oklahoma 2023 was on that stage Friday night!

The Villages: Grand Opening

Last week, Mi’Shell and I (plus pageant chaperone/body-guard/director, Kevin) attended the Grand Opening of a new assisted living center in Tulsa – The Villages. Since I was in school until 4, I wasn’t able to make it until 4:30 and looked like a total train wreck. Guess that’s what happens when you teach for 8 hours before an appearance? We had a great time greeting and chatting with those visiting the new facilities near the Southern Hills area though!

I was also able to speak to a few residents – absolutely fascinating! It’s amazing to see what people can do in 70-80 years on earth. I loved hearing about their lives, families, and how much they really loved The Villages. With family in assisted living centers, I have seen what a positive or negative atmosphere can do to a person, and it was refreshing to hear about the joy being brought to residents. The assisted living center was so fabulous – a theatre room, craft room, two salons, a sweet shoppe, multiple dining areas, cafe’s and even a sports bar! Mi’Shell and I also met the staff and founder, along with seeing one of my Miss O red coats. Hopefully we will be able to go back and visit more residents once everyone is settled!

Miss Green Country 2012

I hate spoiler alerts….but I suppose after the site title and address change you probably already know that Miss Sooner State 2011 is now Miss Green Country 2012! I’ll try to recap as best as possible…

The day was fantastic! In the morning we rehearsed and later in the afternoon we had interview and talent rehearsal. Before you knew it the pageant was about to begin! On-stage competition went well – except for the moment I realized my swimsuit was not fully glued down! Fortunately, the glue helps but isn’t 100% necessary… When we found ourselves back on-stage after competition, the teen awards were announced first and then the miss. Congratulations to my new teen – Mi’Shell Garrett! She will be a fabulous Miss Green Country’s OT! Kevin Chumley, Miss Green Country director, was also serving as emcee. Let me preface this with – the award music was very loud from on-stage!!

Kevin named Miss Congeniality and then a tie for talent – between ME and Mariah Jacobs! I was so floored that I said “TALENT? ARE YOU SURE?!” Since the music was so loud I was convinced that there was no possible way that I had tied for a talent award. As my friend Josh said, they could have given me the talent award instead of winning and I would have been equally as excited. Talent is my weakness and I have struggled with it for years, so by winning a talent award it has given me great hope that if I practice enough I could achieve my goals at Miss Oklahoma this year!

Kevin then announced Mariah Jacobs as the swimsuit winner, Jessica Rhodes as 2nd runner-up, Mariah Jacobs as 1st runner-up and then contestant #3 Britan Mills as Miss Green Country!!!! I think I was still so surprised by a talent award that I didn’t even realize winning was an option! My jaw fell open and in the video I actually said…”SHUT UP!” Where did that even come from? I hugged Brittany as she placed the crown on my head – for the second time in my life!

When I won Miss Oklahoma City two years ago, Brittany crowned me as well! Ironically, I was #3 at that pageant too! Looks like it may be my lucky number? Brittany was glad to see that I had a lot of hairspray on (fun fact of the day: hairspray protects against lice – the life of a teacher!). It was wonderful to have my whole family at the pageant – mom, dad and Kurstyn, plus Kimberly’s mom – otherwise known as PH! They were all equally as excited as I was!!!

At Miss Edmond Libertyfest and Miss Green Country, several people have encouraged me by telling me how much I have improved in the past year. I have been amazed at how many have been so supportive and uplifting! I need constant positivity in my life and am very thankful for those who cheer me on!!

When I was Miss Oklahoma City, Jennifer Hancock was Miss Green Country. Jennifer and I became very close at Miss Oklahoma since she was right after me in the line-up. She constantly spoke of what a wonderful experience she had as Miss Green Country and how much she loved everyone she worked with. Obviously, this made ME want to become Miss Green Country! Last year I competed in the pageant as well, the day after I had been hospitalized with kidney stones (and in turn, on some other planet due to medications). It’s amazing how life can work out so well. I was not meant to be Miss Green Country last year – I was meant to meet and befriend Selby as Miss Sooner State!

Now is the ideal time for me to serve as Miss Green Country. Kevin and Eddie are just down the street from my home and my school in Tulsa. I can’t wait to get started in my new home, with my new job and as my new title, Miss Green Country 2012!