I met Miss America!!!! and a few other appearances as well

Heyyyy everybody!
What a busy week! Obviously the highlight was meeting Caressa Cameron at DSW in Bethesda! After work, I drove a car load of Mount de Sales girls to meet Miss America! We were so excited and had so much fun doing our hair and makeup in the school bathroom. Haha! We got there a bit early so got to spend some time shoe shopping, DSW is amazing. No wonder Miss America always looks fabulous. We were some of the first in line and even got to scream and cheer as Caressa walked into the store. I had so much fun meeting all of the people attending the event. Lots of little princesses and Miss America fans, even a lady who lives in the Appalachian region and was so excited to meet me! Miss America's bodyguards were very intimidating until I started joking around with them and made them laugh. They said they would be happy to join my posse. When I met Caressa, I gave her a big hug and told her how proud I was to see her win her crown LIVE in Vegas. She told me she would be attending the Miss Virginia pageant on the same night so would not be at Miss Maryland this year, but wished me luck in the competition. Lots of my pageant sisters also came to meet Caressa and we had a big Maryland reunion! Unfortunately I didn't win any DSW gift cards, so I did not leave with a pair of new shoes. Maybe next year. Check out photos from the event on my Facebook page and also on the DSW website at http://www.missamericaandyou.com/displayimage.php?album=23&pos=8

Also this week, I was honored to be the guest speaker for Meade High School's National Honor Society induction. I absolutely LOVED the event! There are over 2,200 students at Meade High School and about 35 of them are a part of the National Honor Society. What an honor to meet these very talented and intelligent students. I not only gave a speech at the gathering, but also congratulated each inductee as they signed the official register and received their pin. I remember when I was inducted into the National Honor Society many years ago. I would never have imagined that the Four Pillars of the National Honor Society (service, scholarship, leadership, and character) are so similar to the Four Points of the Miss America Crown (service, scholarship, style, and success). How neat! God has truly been preparing me throughout my life for this moment as a Miss America titleholder. I made lots of friends at the event, some of the students said they will come to Miss Maryland to cheer for me this summer. I hope so! I'm so glad I had the opportunity to talk about my platform of Inspiring Youth to Serve. I told the students about my journey towards learning the importance and rewarding experience of serving another human being in need. I shared about my service trip to Lourdes, France where I served the sick and handicapped in the hospitals. I'll never forget the time I first realized that I could impact another person's life through such a simple thing as a smile, or a kind word. Service is so easy, so fun, and so rewarding!!!!

Other than photo shoots, gym time, and lots of harp practice, I have been very busy preparing for the Project Redesign Fashion Show! Please attend the show, you're in for a treat, and half of the proceeds benefit the Children's Miracle Network! Go to www.projectredesign.net for info

Today, I attended a local pageant and am so excited for the four new titleholders! Congrats to my returning pageant sisters, Amanda and Kristin! I'm looking forward to getting to know all of the new titleholders and the entire Miss Maryland Class of 2010.

Continue to follow my journey to Miss Maryland as I prepare for the competition. Good night and God bless!