 This past week, after nearly a year since passing on the Miss North Dakota title, I returned to Williston to host the 75th Miss North Dakota Competition. On a stage. Under bright lights. Standing in platform heels. Wearing arguably too many sparkles. With a microphone in my hand. And hundreds of eyes locked on me. Oh boy. Could I still do this?? Sure, just a year ago I had spent a good portion of 2021-22 traveling across the state speaking to thousands of students and individuals. But since then, a part of me had turned into a hermit following a year of needing to embrace my extroverted side. At that moment as I was about to walk onto the stage, my previous shy-thirteen-year-old-awkward self didn’t feel so distant in my past. A moment of hesitation, I swallowed, and I walked forward into the beams of the blinding stage lights. And it was okay. Actually, it was MORE than okay. Throughout the three nights of emceeing the competition, I had the time of my life and felt completely in my element. Everything that I hadn’t done in a year - but skills that I had cultivated during my year as Miss North Dakota - came back and I knew that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. It was as if I hadn’t taken a day off from publicly presenting. And, I remembered a part of why I so dearly loved being Miss North Dakota in the first place: because of the opportunities to connect with broad audiences of people. So… what’s the takeaway in sharing this? Well, quite frankly it’s pretty straightforward: I encourage you to keep stepping into the light, dear friends. (Yes, even if you’re wearing platform heels that make your feet swollen and numb by the end of the night.) 
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