You are my Miss America.

That's right - you.  You are my Miss America. 

You are beautiful.  You are talented.  You are creative.  You are confident. You are smart. You are sophisticated.  You are funny.  You are philanthropic. 

 

Last night I patiently waited for my little ones to go to sleep so I could snuggle up with my husband and force him to watch Miss America with me.  I have always loved watching these pageants and can remember watching them as a little girl and dreaming about being Miss America.  I would practice my wave and imagine riding around in a cool convertible car (red, to be exact) waving to all my fans who would, no doubt, line the streets just to wave to me.  I had big dreams, I tell ya.

 

 Fast forward to middle school and high school and I tried really hard to be a pageant gal.  I realized fast that I wasn't on track to be Miss America.  My clearance dresses from department stores just weren't able to compete with some of the other girls and neither was I.  I was uncomfortable on the stage but I always admired those who seemed to float around the stage with elegance and confidence oozing out of every perfectly pivoted turn. I still admire those girls.  I love watching the Miss America pageant and "judging" in my own living room and forcing my husband to choose his top picks.  He'll kill me for telling you this - but I promise that he ends up enjoying the show.  He may grumble at the beginning but he ends up with his own commentary and critiques (especially during the talent competition). 

 

Last night I was watching and really focusing on the introductions.  I made my pick early - Miss Minnesota.  She was beautiful and rocked the entire competition (until the interview) and she just looked like Miss America.  From her gown to her perfectly fluffed hair, she was Miss America to me.  I knew she lost it after the interview so the hubs and I finished the show, discussed our thoughts, and got ready for bed.  I checked Facebook and Twitter before closing my eyes and was surprised to see some of the posts criticizing everything about these girls from their weight to their hair styles to their facts that popped up on the screen to their talent to their facial expressions and more.  Sure, it's all in good humor.  Sure, these ladies are in a pageant asking to be judged.  But some of the comments I saw seemed so cruel and it got me thinking about the way we judge women on a day to day basis. 

 

As someone who has struggled with my own self-esteem and self-image since becoming a mom I can't help but think that we are living in our very own Miss America pageant - constantly judging women and mothers and comparing ourselves to them.  I know I do.  In the spirit of honesty I will tell you that I sat in my living room last night saying things like, "No....ew....ugly....what are they thinking?! Look at her nose! She looks like a bulldog.  Seriously?! Love her dress! Ew, hate her shoes! Tattoos?? That was terrible! Look how orange they are!" among other things. I do not believe that we sit here and say these things about these women that we do not know and do not judge others the same way in our real life.  I can't help but think that if we spent more time praising one another instead of tearing each other down, the world would be a lot nicer place for women.  I pray that women will start building each other up instead of tearing each other down.  I pray that women will start rooting for one another instead of feeling threatened by someone else's talents or strengths. 

 

So, I'll start. 

 

You are my Miss America. 

You are beautiful.  You are talented.  You are creative.  You are confident. You are smart. You are sophisticated.  You are funny.  You are philanthropic.