Miss Beloit 2006, Sara Siekierski

Follow Sara on her journey as Miss Beloit 2006!

Monday, February 19, 2007

Hello again!

This past Friday night I had an appearance that truly touched my heart, and I wanted to share my experience with all of you.

I was invited to speak to a local Girl Scout troop (Troop 13) at their overnight on Friday night. This troop is made up of girls in grades 4-6 from the local elementary and middle schools. The troop was working on receiving their patch for "Looking Your Best". The purpose of the patch was to teach the girls not only how to look their best on the outside, but also the importance of being beautiful on the inside.

Let me tell you, I've never seen a group of girls so excited to meet me as these girls were! It was so touching to see how excited they were to have me come and speak to them. I had no idea I'd be such a big hit! My presentation for the girls focused mainly on the importance of inner beauty. Most importantly, I wanted the girls to be able to relate to me. When I was growing up, I was a very awkward and shy little girl who never really found my confidence and true beauty until I was in college. I wanted these girls to understand that I was once their age and I, too, dealt with many of the same issues they are dealing with now. I wasn't popular and I was teased all of the time. Every one of the girls raised their hands when I asked if they had ever felt like they didn't fit in and if they had been picked on. We talked about what that feels like and ways to deal with these issues. I wanted the girls to understand that they ARE beautiful and they should never let anyone tell them otherwise. I stressed the importance of being confident in who you are and never letting anyone take away that confidence.

My platform deals directly with good-decision making and character education, so I also focused on the importance of standing up for yourself and not falling for peer-pressure. I believe having confidence in yourself enables you make good decisions and say no to peer-pressure. I wanted to give these girls the confidence they needed to be themselves and make their own decisions.

I think many times people look at me as Miss Beloit and assume that I've always been the confident, well-spoken, and beautiful woman that I am today. Many people do not know that for many years I was the complete opposite of who I am today. To stand here today as Miss Beloit 2006 is still sometimes baffling to me because I can still remember being the girl who thought I could never do this. I really wanted the girls to understand that I know what they're going through and to also know that things DO get better. My goal of my presentation was to give the girls the confidence to go out and reach all of their dreams. I spent a little bit of time telling them that as Miss Beloit, I do strive to always look my best physically when I'm making appearances, but that it's always been more important to me to show my beauty within. I told them I accomplish this by being caring, helpful, kind, and respectful to everyone I meet.

I couldn't have imagined that my presentation would have the effect that it did. The whole time I was talking to the girls I felt like they truly listened to everything I had to say. They were asking questions, making comments, and listening intently the entire time. After I got done speaking all I could think was, wow, I've really touched their lives. I truly felt like I had just made a big difference in the lives of these girls. The feeling was almost overwhelming. After I was done speaking, many of the girls asked me to be their role model, which I gladly accepted. I took my crown off so each of them could hold it, and I even "crowned" each of them so they could know what it's like. They were so excited to be able to touch my crown and to be "crowned"!

I honestly had no idea my presentation would have the impact that it did. I hope that my words will stay with these girls as they grow older and face many tough decisions that will come their way. I hope they are able to look back and say, I remember when Miss Beloit came to talk to me and she told me that I was beautiful and to have confidence in myself. I hope I've given them the confidence to be themselves and make good decisions. I hope I've just inspired a group of future Miss Beloits. This appearance made me realize how truly important and powerful my platform really is. The title of Miss Beloit is extremely powerful and it has given me the opportunity to change lives. I walked out of that room Friday night feeling like I had just changed the lives of every girl in there, and that is the most rewarding feeling I've ever felt in my life. Being Miss Beloit has done so much more than just change my life. It's given me the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those I touch. It's incredible what this title has allowed me to accomplish.

I can't thank Angela Moore and Melissa Corum enough for allowing me to speak to this troop. To Troop 13, I had a wonderful time meeting all of you! Thank you for making me feel so welcome! This is an appearance I will surely never forget. I hope that the last 6 weeks of my reign will be filled with more appearances like this one. In March, I'll be speaking to the students at Todd and at Aldrich, which I'm very excited for! I'm also hosting a Princess Party at the Stateline YMCA on March 17 for girls ages 4-8. We'll be making crowns, reading a princess story, having "tea" and cookies, and I'll even be teaching the girls how to walk and wave like a princess. This appearance is going to be so much fun! As you can tell, I have a lot going on during my last 6 weeks as Miss Beloit, so watch for new pictures as well as new blog posts. I'll also keep you updated on the events of the 2007 pageant! Thanks for reading!

Sara