Recently, I asked some of my friends and followers if they had any questions for me; whether it was about winning this title of Miss Teenage Canada 2020, life, advice, anything really and I got some questions and so here are the answers! I answered ones that weren’t pageant related on my instagram @missteenagecnd2020, and it’s under the Q+A highlight, so check that out! Let’s get rolling with the questions!
Q: How many pageants have you competed in? Miss Teenage Canada was actually my first one! I hope to do one more this year during my reign, and potentially one after I turn 18!
Q:Did you experience racism during pageant week? I think with this question it comes from the stereotype of pageantry being white-dominated. This was my first ever pageant so going into pageant week, I didn’t think I really had a chance because I myself as a woman of colour, thought a white girl would win. Looking back at it, it was such a bad mentality to go into such a fun week with, because it was always in the back of my mind and weighing me down. The week itself was so fun and I’ve made friends for life and a literal support system just from my pageant sisters. The stereotype that only white skinny girls win pageants, needs to be broken, and I hope that with more women of colour winning titles, like Nova Stevens, the new Miss Universe Canada 2020, it shows younger girls who don’t have fair skin and blonde hair that they can do the same and reach their dreams just the same, as long as they are passionate enough and work hard enough to earn it. If you are reading this and want to take a shot at pageantry, take this as your sign to try it! You never know what could happen!
Q: What’s your favourite pageant memory? There’s two favourite ones that I can’t pick, either the final day for rehearsal in the morning, I was hyping up my girls on stage and telling them to smile and that we would put vaseline on their teeths to keep their smiles up, and Sam is just beside me laughing at me and it was just such a fun time. Another favourite is the last night before the big show, a lot of us girls were allowed to go into one hotel room and had a heart-to-heart and a mini karaoke session, and it really strengthened our bond as pageant sisters.
Q:What is something you learned about pageants that you didn’t know before competing? This is a really fun question because this was my first ever pageant, and I wasn’t really following pageants before, maybe Miss Universe, but rarely any Canadian pageants. Something I learned isn’t necessarily about pageants itself, but the support group you build. For a week, you are surrounded by girls from all over the place, and they bring different personalities to the table and you get to know so many people all at once. I didn’t think that I would still be in touch with any of the girls from nationals after the pageant ended, whether I won or not, but I am actually still in touch with a lot of the girls, and I honestly appreciate them so much.
Another thing I didn’t know at all, is that pageant week is tiring. Waking up decently early around 8am and sleeping around 12pm-1am, and this is apparently on the better side of pageant week. Following up on that, is that you may get a brief schedule of what you are doing that day, but nothing is set, so don’t expect to start anything on time!
Q:What are you most excited about with your reign? The first thing I’m most excited about is sharing my platform to a wider range of audience, because my platform is really really important to me and I hope it can positively impact people, and it can be even one person, but I hope I helped them find themselves. I’m also really excited that I get to be currently working with the Mississauga Humane Society, as I’ve always supported what they do from afar, but now I get to actually help them! A close second is that I’m really really REALLY excited about is that I get to meet the girls at the Ontario provincials (hopefully) and at nationals (hopefully)!
Q: What was the most difficult part of the pageant for you? I think the most difficult part of the pageant was honestly the prep behind it leading up to the week, as it was super stressful to finalize everything, but it taught me how to keep on top of things and reach out to a lot of people for help to do events, sponsorships and more!
Q: What is the healthiest way for kids to deal with inadequate feelings they get from social media? I think this is a great question, because it links to my platform! There is not a right way to deal with these types of feelings, as every person is different in how they deal with their emotions. I personally like to take a break from social media to get back to reality for a few hours and possibly days. I think it’s really important to realize when these types of feelings are about to take over, and how to stop them. Another way is to set boundaries and not depend so much on social media for your happiness or as a way to get adequate feelings.