Once again Under the Bright Lights

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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