Making Other Pageant Goals other than Winning the Crown
Not being crowned can be devastating for many pageant contestants. The endless hours of walking practice, mock interviews, and working out at the gym to watch someone else go home with the crown can be soul-crushing. It is completely normal to feel disappointed to not win your dream title despite all your hard work. It can hands down be one of the hardest things to go through in pageantry.
Last year, I participated in the USOA Nationals pageant. During my pageant prep, my coach reminded me that only one woman would go home as the winner, but I could still get a win if I made my own “side quests” or personal goals I could accomplish during the pageant. It took a mental shift for me to understand this. Being new to pageants, I thought the only goal anyone would have in a pageant was to win. However, I realized that pageantry is truly about personal development and growth. The true goal in pageantry is to push yourself to be the best version of yourself. I eventually did listen to my coach and although I didn’t win last year, I truly felt like a winner.
The beauty of making these side quests for yourself is that they are often in your control, so you have a good chance of accomplishing them! Make it a point before your competition to make goals that are within your control and power to achieve. Of course, my ultimate goal when I am competing in a pageant is to win(and I make sure to train like I intend to win). It just doesn’t have to be my ONLY goal.
My Goals for This Pageant Season
Right now, I plan to compete this year, though I am not sure yet in which system. Here are examples of goals I have for this pageant season:
1. Improve my pageant walk. This is a BIG goal of mine. During the holidays, I rewatched the video of my performance during the USOA nationals and saw I needed more work on my confidence on stage. I am taking dance classes and looking for more opportunities to be on stage. Doing this has already greatly improved my performance.
2. Earn the Silver Presidential Award. This community service award is given to those who earn a certain number of volunteer hours. I earned the bronze award last year, so now I am challenging myself to earn silver, which is 250 hours.
3. Vlog/blog my pageant experience. During my time with USOA, I regret that I didn’t document more of all the wonderful memories! I realized a lot of what I experienced could have helped another queen. I recently purchased a vlogging camera so this pageant season will DEFINITELY be uploaded.
I recommend you write these goals down. It will subconsciously be a contract you sign with yourself and will keep you committed. The crown is only for a year, but goals I set for myself above will be with me for a lifetime!
