One of my favorite hobbies is fishing. I just got back from fishing this weekend during fishing opener. I don't want to brag, but I caught the most walleye on the boat this year! I made up for last year when I caught the least. I love fishing for sun fish, crappies, perch, and walleye. Yes, I bait and unhook my own fish :-) Many people are so surprised that I am a "Pageant Girl" and like to fish. I want to prove that yes I compete in pageants and that I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty. Who says a "Pageant Girl" needs to be afraid of bugs or disgusted by touching a fish. I personally love fishing and believe me, I'm a biology major, I do much worse things in lab than simply touching a fish. As Miss Moorhead I want to let other women who may like to fish know that you can try and compete in pageants too! You don't have to be the stereotypical "Girlie Girl" to compete in pageants. Look on the Miss Minnesota Organization website to see what local pageant is nearest you http://www.missminnesota.org/ . Now this is only one example to show that we contestants are not only worried about our looks, but we have lives and have fun too :-)
On the topic of pageants, I just finished watching the Mss USA Pageant owned and run by Donald Trump. Many people don't even realize that there are two completely different pageants televised. Miss America (the pageant system that I compete in and televised in January) and Miss USA (the Donald Trump owned system and televised in May). I cannot stress enough how badly I want to raise awareness of the differences between the two pageants! The America System has five areas of competition, interview, talent, evening wear, swim wear, and on-stage question. The USA system competes in three areas of competition, interview, evening wear and swim wear. As a personal opinion I do feel that both pageant systems create outstanding opportunities for women, but I do feel that the USA system is mainly focused on looks and beauty while the America system is more focused on the entire individual. I think the racy photos released by this years Miss USA contestans is giving all pageants a bad image. It's the publicity of the Miss USA stories that stick in people's mind and competely put pageants down. I still have people within my life who don't think "it's right" to compete in pageants. They say that it's "demeening to women." What these people lack is knowledge of the Miss America Organization. I want to sit down and have conversations with these individuals and explain to them that because of the Miss America Organization I have become a better person by becoming more involved in my community, more aware of important issues, and more confident within my daily life. So many opportunities and doors have been opened for me because of the Miss America Organization. Let's not forget the scholarships provided! I'm a student and we all know how important scholarships are valued especially during this economic time. Please visit the Miss America Organization website http://www.missamerica.org/ and read about what Caressa Cameron, our current Miss America, has been doing this past year. Read about the amount of scholarship provided to the women competing. The Miss America Organization has without a doubt changed my life and I will forever be an advocate for spreading awareness of it's outstanding opportinities. Please help me educate others by telling them how life changing the Miss America Organization is.
Always,
Bethany Beniek
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