- Everything that could go wrong, was going wrong.
- Everyone else in the sisterhood,
they were very friendly, I had a great time.
This one person happens to be my horror story.
(lighthearted music)
- I was Miss Roanoke Valley 2013.
And top 10 finalists at Miss Virginia.
And before that, I was Miss Virginia Dogwood.
I was Miss India DC, first runner up.
- I competed for the 2012 title of Miss New York, USA,
in my first and only pageant.
- I started the pageant game really late.
I started in my early 20s,
so I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into.
Most of the girls that I was competing with
had been doing this since they were five years old.
I also didn't have as much training
because I'd never taken like a pageant seminar.
So when you win a local,
the next step is to go to state.
So, we were competing for the title of Miss Virginia.
It's essentially one long week of competitions.
And the idea is that all of
the finalists come to the same hotel.
They all stay on the same floor,
they room together with another contestant.
And you have all sorts of activities from dance rehearsal,
preparing for your talent, your swimsuit.
You also have public events during that week
that just have to be a part of.
So, one of them is the picnic.
When I think picnic,
everybody was talking about how casual it is.
So, I thought, okay, flip flops and a cute dress.
My pageant director had told me
I should be wearing a dress at all times
for pretty much every event, and to dress nicely.
I had this whole outfit planned out.
It was a beautiful cocktail dress.
When I talked to my roommate, I just wanted to fit in,
because this is my first year at states,
I didn't really know what to expect,
and I didn't wanna come across as pretentious.
So, I ask her, and she said,
"Oh, no, it's totally low key.
"It's really casual, don't worry about it.
"It's not that big of a deal."
So, I felt like my dress was a little too fancy.
And I thought to myself,
I don't wanna show up there and be the only one dressed up.
So, I'd rather dress down.
So, I picked the most casual dress I had.
A strapless cotton dress.
Something from Wet Seal, so you can kind of imagine.
It wasn't inappropriate.
But it was just super, super casual.
With open-toed sandals that were flat
and very little makeup.
It's probably about an hour before we have to go.
We're both getting ready in the room,
but there's only one bathroom.
So, she ends up needing it, which was not a big deal.
But she kind of takes all of the time in the bathroom.
So, at that point, I'm just getting ready
in the room as fast as I can,
and changing into that casual dress.
She comes out of the bathroom.
She wore this like long white dress that was like flowing.
It had a little bit of like a train.
And she had like feathers or something in her hair.
She had makeup completely done,
like it was something
a professional makeup artist would've done.
She was flawless, and she had beautiful heels on,
and just white and gold.
And I'm thinking to myself, wow.
I thought you said it was casual.
We pretty much got like a five minute warning at the door.
So, we really don't have any time, we have to leave.
So, I show up on the bus thinking, maybe it's just her.
That's her definition of casual.
Nope, all of the contestants were looking like that.
Hair perfectly done, makeup to the max,
five inch high heels, like gorgeous dresses.
And I'm sitting there with open-toed sandals
and a short strapless dress.
And what I didn't realize is that you also
get photographed at all of these events,
and these photos become public.
The judges may or may not be looking at these photos.
It does somewhat contribute to your final score.
Everybody else looked like they just walked out of prom,
and I look like I should've just
gone to some backyard barbecue.
The other contestants just looked me and were like,
Oh, great, you look great.
But it was kind of like, the sad puppy look, right?
You know, it's when you say it with a big smile,
but you really just feel bad for that person.
But I spoke with my director
because she was quite pissed
when she was the photos come out.
She said, "You didn't wear the approved outfit."
And I said, "Well, my roommate told me it was casual.
"And I wanted to fit in with everybody."
My pageant director was like,
you're not here to make friends.
You're here to win.
And she was probably just trying to set you up.
But don't worry, the second year,
I didn't make that mistake.
- So, when I competed for the Miss New York title,
there were a lot of girls competing that year,
and we were the Suny Purchase Theater.
We were all staying with roommates
that were assigned to us in a hotel nearby,
and there was a shuttle bus
that would take us back and forth.
With all of the girls competing,
we were told that there were not enough mirrors
in the dressing rooms for each of us,
and it was a first come, first serve basis.
And I'm thinking to myself, well, I'm Type A.
I'm gonna get up early.
And I'm gonna do all the things
I need to do to get my mirror, and I did.
My roommate and I hopped on the shuttle bus that morning,
we grabbed our breakfast, all of our things,
took it with us, went to the dressing room,
got our private mirrors, did our thing,
ate our breakfast, and we were pleased.
Until I went to the restroom and then I came back,
and someone else was at my mirror.
And I'm thinking to myself,
first come, first serve basis.
This one is mine.
But very nicely, I walk up, I say to her,
"Hey, what's going on?"
And she looks at me and goes,
"Well, what's going on with you?"
And I'm like, I got here early.
I set out all of my stuff, what is this girl doing?
I look at her and I go,
"I think that there's been a miscommunication.
"You know, this is my mirror."
I'm trying to be all nice.
And then, she goes, "Oh, yeah?"
Gets up in my face and she's like,
"Well, then where's your stuff?"
So, I look over, and all of my stuff
that I had set out is missing.
And I'm looking around,
and the girls are staring at us in the room.
And I'm like, I think she stole my stuff.
So, she's up in my face.
And I look at her and I go, "Well, where is my stuff?
"Did you move it?"
And that's when she lost it.
Got in my face, tried to pull my hair.
So, all of the girls come rushing over,
and they break us up.
And I'm thinking to myself,
what the heck is happening right now?
And where are my things?
As it turns out, she had taken them,
put them in the corner, and put a jacket over them.
One of the other girls found it, they reported her.
They all stood up for me, including my roommate,
who had gone with me
and vouched for me that we got there early.
She ended up getting kicked out of our dressing room.
But that did not keep her from shadowing me
for the rest of my experience.
So, when I'm in line waiting to interview,
there she is, walking by, giving me the evil eye.
Being like, "Good luck."
We're in the wings and we're waiting to go onstage,
I have my gown on that has a train.
And I go to walk and like--
(record scratches)
I'm like, oh, I'm stuck.
Yeah, I'm stuck under her shoe.
So, I'm like, okay, great, go ahead.
Step on my dress, you're really cool.
She wasn't my favorite person, clearly.
But the rest of the girls were so great,
and they stood up for me.
So, that's all that matters.
- When I was competing for Miss Roanoke Valley 2013,
one of the competitions is the talent competition.
And mine is dance.
And I introduced Bollywood dance
to the Miss Virginia state.
I was wearing the same outfit
I'd worn at states the previous year.
So, it's something that, you know,
I've worn multiple times, I've competed in.
Essentially, it was a very short bra-like top.
And there was a beautiful skirt,
then you had a sash, also known as bataan,
that kind of was pinned to my top,
and then kind of crossed over my waist,
and then there was a beautiful belt
that kind of kept it in place.
And the reason why the belt was so important was
because otherwise you have this long sash
kind of following you everywhere
and it can get caught in your hands while you're twirling
or if you're doing really fast motions with your arms.
It was probably like the fifth time
I'd worn it at competition.
My name gets announced, and I walk onstage,
and I'm in my position and everything's great.
I feel great, I'm calm.
I know exactly all the steps in 90 second routine
that I self-choreographed.
Half way through the dance,
I was twirling and moving my hands,
and I feel this snap.
My belt literally broke and just fell on the ground.
And my sash had just completely come undone.
Here I am, with everybody staring at me,
the judges right in front of me.
In my head, I'm thinking,
oh, my God, I've already lost this.
What am I gonna do?
I can't keep going.
I'm like, no, no, no, I gotta keep going.
So, I'm having this like weird
internal fight amongst myself.
In 90 seconds, mind you, while the song is still playing.
I knew that if I stopped,
there was no way I was gonna get
a good mark on my talent competition.
So, I turn around really fast.
I continue my steps, I just keep going,
and hope for the best.
My heart is racing way faster than normal.
I was definitely challenged when my belt broke
because it was kind of lying in the middle of the stage,
which is where I was performing,
and I was moving very fast,
and I was worried I was gonna trip on it.
And then, it didn't help
when I was raising my hands and twirling
that the scarf was kind of catching on to my arms
and it was getting stuck.
So, you couldn't quite see my arms.
The song ends, I literally just run off stage.
I get behind the curtain,
as the other contestant follows
through to perform her talent.
I'm just bawling.
And I'm like, great, well, there goes that.
Definitely not winning this one.
I was very, very shocked when the results came through,
and the judges ended up having me crowned
as the next Miss Roanoke Valley.
There was so many emotions that were going through my brain
because I genuinely thought I had lost my chance.
The best feedback I got was that I continue to dance,
and I think maybe that made a difference.
(lighthearted music)