The life of a pageant winner can be an exciting, life-changing one! You find yourself judging or emceeing events, helping raise funds for your favorite charity, attending community events as a guest or hostess, and making LIFELONG friends at Nationals. You will find yourself on-the-go, on a plane, in a car, grabbing a pair of heels, a pair of rhinestone earrings and the same blue dress again as you jet out the door. I found myself singing the National Anthem twice, stepping in for a missing emcee once, modeling bridal gowns, filming a commercial, handing out countless awards & even was someone's celeb prom date alongside my daughter, Miss Collegiate Virginia, at the Tim Tebow national "Night 2 Shine" event! I also met some of the stars from a BRAVO reality show who were also competing in the pageant and people from every state!
So why compete?? Especially married and in your mid 40's? Or with kids? Or a million other "but you're...(just married, have toddlers, have a full time job, you're a homemaker, have no experience, have too many crowns, aren't a size 2, not rich enough, not pretty enough...there's a MILLION preconceptions about what a pageant queen is) ....scenarios I was asked. After 7 years competing before I became Mrs. Virginia I challenged a lot of people's ideas of what a queen really IS and hopefully gave inspiration to others they can do it too. I am asked "why?" all the time, most people don't even know there are pageants for married women. I can answer that honestly: " It is a year you will never forget, that brings opportunities you can't get otherwise." It developed me as a person. I made strong friendships not only with my daughter but sisters across Virginia and the entire United States, many who I speak with daily even now.
Here are some photos ...some silly, some serious, but all a "day in the life". Some days I had "pageant perfect" hair and makeup, others I was horribly sick (I suffer daily from lupus & am a 13yr breast cancer survivor) and was lucky to be there at all, but EVERY day I worked to make the most of the crown on my head to help someone else. As Mrs. Virginia United States 2014 I made nearly 90 appearances during my reign which has now come to a close. I hope I expanded people's idea of what being a "beauty queen" is all about. I am an average woman whose dream came true with extraordinary drive. Watch the slides and see for yourself if this isn't a journey you might just enjoy embarking upon~ Sincerely, Autumn-Skye Boothe
So why compete?? Especially married and in your mid 40's? Or with kids? Or a million other "but you're...(just married, have toddlers, have a full time job, you're a homemaker, have no experience, have too many crowns, aren't a size 2, not rich enough, not pretty enough...there's a MILLION preconceptions about what a pageant queen is) ....scenarios I was asked. After 7 years competing before I became Mrs. Virginia I challenged a lot of people's ideas of what a queen really IS and hopefully gave inspiration to others they can do it too. I am asked "why?" all the time, most people don't even know there are pageants for married women. I can answer that honestly: " It is a year you will never forget, that brings opportunities you can't get otherwise." It developed me as a person. I made strong friendships not only with my daughter but sisters across Virginia and the entire United States, many who I speak with daily even now.
Here are some photos ...some silly, some serious, but all a "day in the life". Some days I had "pageant perfect" hair and makeup, others I was horribly sick (I suffer daily from lupus & am a 13yr breast cancer survivor) and was lucky to be there at all, but EVERY day I worked to make the most of the crown on my head to help someone else. As Mrs. Virginia United States 2014 I made nearly 90 appearances during my reign which has now come to a close. I hope I expanded people's idea of what being a "beauty queen" is all about. I am an average woman whose dream came true with extraordinary drive. Watch the slides and see for yourself if this isn't a journey you might just enjoy embarking upon~ Sincerely, Autumn-Skye Boothe