\Hi everyone! In less than 3 weeks I will be starting my newest adventure: living in New York City! As much as I will miss everyone in the 757 (and my Richmond friends close by!), I am beyond ready to kick-start this new chapter. Coming to the decision to move was both hard and easy...I'll try to explain what that means in this first post.
Let's start in May 2010. I graduated from Christopher Newport University with a degree in Psychology...right, not a whole lot you can do with that degree outside of managing Starbucks or going grad school. Neither seemed to call to me. What HAS always called to me is making a living with my vocal chops. I've been singing in musicals and taking voice lessons since elementary school, but I didn't think singing professionally was a viable option until I was hired at Busch Gardens theme park in 2009. Now, obviously, singing "I'm a Barbie Girl" (see video) didn't qualify as my dream debut, but Busch Gardens afforded me the opportunity to realize that I can, in fact, bring home the bacon with my voice. And as my dad and close friends will tell you, I really, really love bacon.
Okay, so maybe we actually started in 2009. Back to graduation in May 2010. Along with my dream to sing professionally was another dream: to be Miss Virginia. Yes, as in the beauty pageant (AHEM..scholarship program!). Since I wasn't interested in managing Starbucks or going straight to grad school, I had to decide if I wanted to stay in Virginia and pursue Miss Virginia OR move to New York and pursue Broadway. I decided to spend one year in Virginia building my musical theatre resume and getting waitressing experience for when the time came for me to make the move to NYC. Meanwhile, I prepared to compete in Miss Virginia 2011. To make the long story of this past year short, I'll use some videos and pictures (I love pictures!) to bring you up to speed...
August 2010, I got my first waitressing job at Cheeseburger in Paradise: October 2010, I was cast in my first professional theatre production:
December 2010, I had a minor life crisis including a break up that made me question if I wanted to stay in Virginia after all. You'll learn that I pretty much have no luck in the relationship department. I'm okay with that for now, though. None-the-less, December was a trying time. Solution? Dog sledding. My parents know that I thrive off of challenging adventures and situations that force me to see new perspectives. This time, an Outward Bound dog sledding course seemed to fit the bill. As a Christmas present, they sent me to Ely, Minnesota in January 2011 to spend a week in below zero conditions. Sleeping on frozen lakes with 9 people I had never met and 17 dogs definitely slapped me back into reality. I mean, I had to manually saw down trees for warmth...it was hard NOT to realize how trivial some of my life "problems" were.
Three more musicals, two pseudo-relationships, and one fake Facebook relationship later (to my Facebook friends: NO Ricky Bourke is not actually my boyfriend and our "open relationship" is just an inside joke from the dog sledding trip...), I competed in Miss Virginia 2011. I won my local (Miss Greater Hampton Roads) in late January, then got 3rd runner up at Miss Virginia in June:
I know most people don't understand the Miss Virginia thing. As much as I try to explain it, most people probably STILL won't understand it. But here we go: This is NOT about having a shiny crown on my head. I am 23 years old. That would be ridiculous to simply want a princess tiara made of rhinestones. On the contrary, Miss Virginia is a full time job based in Roanoke, VA that includes a school tour during which she speaks to 25,000+ students about her platform (mine is diversity awareness), numerous other public speaking gigs, and dozens of parades, fundraisers, and random appearances. To me, this was a dream job. I am a diversity educator and have already spoken in dozens of schools regarding my platform, I absolutely love making other people happy, and I feel completely comfortable speaking with anyone of any age, race, or background. Essentially, those are the fundamentals of being an effective Miss Virginia. Of course, the pageant part is the kicker. Different judges, different night; it's truly anyone's game. I was disappointed, of course, but I never put all my eggs in one basket or define myself by pageantry, so life goes on.
The decision about moving to New York was difficult in that I have one more year of elegibility for Miss Virginia, so I wasn't sure if I was ready to leave the state and give up that dream. I realize that as much as I want the job of Miss Virginia, however, I am not happy waiting tables in Virginia Beach and simply dreaming of doing bigger and better things. I actually have to go out and DO bigger and better things. In that sense, the decision to move to New York was easy. I am at peace and ready to start my life in the City...and hey! There's always Miss New York ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment