Beauty Pageant Wisdom
Let me spill the tea on a little life secret I learned from a most unlikely source: a beauty pageant. Yes, you heard that right. Those sparkly spectacles of smiles and sequins taught me a thing or two about the power of words to shake up the world.
Every February for well over fifteen years, I gave up a very long evening to attend a local-level beauty pageant I had zero interest in. What I did have an interest in, however, was seeing my daughters dance. Their dance teacher, a beauty pageant alum, choreographed the pageant’s physical fitness routine and volunteered her dancers as tribute to fill time while the judges deliberated the winner. The ruse ensured the scholarship coffers stayed full, and there would be butts in the seats. While I would never pass up an opportunity to watch my girls on the stage, the whole shebang always left me with a lingering sense of... well, fakeness.
During this spectacle of glitter and hairspray, contestants displayed a whirlwind of talent ranging from impressive piano concertos to questionable baton-twirling routines. The physical fitness portion, while surprisingly rigorous and reminiscent of jazzercise routines, was only the second most awkward part of the night. It was the interview portion I dreaded the most. Up to 20 contestants each answered the same question with the same tired clichés about world peace and how fame would only empower them to help animals and children. Except for one year…
The interview question that year was, “Do you think one person can change the world? Why or why not?” If you’re already formulating your Miss Congeniality world peace responses, you’re my kind of people. And you have a pretty good idea of how the first seventeen interviews went.
“One person can totally change the whole world and help make the whole world a totally better place.”
“Yes. One person can change the whole world, and I want to be the person who helps them.”
“Yes. One person can change the world by loving others, and world peace would be nice.”
Then came contestant eighteen. When the emcee asked, "Do you think one person can change the world?" contestant eighteen didn't hesitate. "Of course not," she declared, her voice ringing through the stunned silence. In that moment, she held the entire audience in the palm of her hand.
"But I can change my world," she continued, her voice gaining strength. "I can help the people in my community and make a difference in my own little corner of the world. If I do my part where I am and you do your part, and each person here does their part, that’s how the world changes."
Her words hung in the air, shimmering with a raw authenticity that cut through the manufactured glitz and glamour. This simple truth reminded me even in the most superficial of settings, the words we say matter.
We often get caught up in the idea that we have to write grand narratives, tackle global issues, or solve the world's problems with our words. But the truth is, the most profound changes often start small, in the quiet corners of our own lives. It's the stories we share, the experiences we recount, the whispers of truth we dare to speak that have the power to ignite a fire in others.
Maybe you're writing the next great American novel. Maybe you’re not. Maybe you're simply jotting down your thoughts in a journal, crafting a heartfelt letter to a loved one, or sharing a personal anecdote on social media. But don't underestimate the power of your words. They have the potential to spark a conversation, to challenge a belief, to inspire action.
That young woman on the pageant stage knew exactly how to change the world. By speaking her truth, by sharing her vision for a better future, she planted a seed in the hearts of everyone who listened. And who knows what might have blossomed from that single, courageous act?
So write, darlings. Or paint. Or make music. Or launch the business. Create with passion, with purpose, with a fierce desire to connect. Share your stories, your struggles, your triumphs, and your dreams. Use your words to build bridges, spark conversations, and ignite a movement of change.
If you do your part where you are, and I do my part where I am, we just might change the world.