This past weekend I had the opportunity to not only see my wonderful sister queens and director for the first time in a long time, but I was also lucky enough to have a photo shoot with the oh-so-fabulous Rick Martinez (who just happens to be my director). For months and months I have been excited for this shoot, I spent all last week preparing outfits and jewelry, made sure my hair was perfectly colored, and my nails had a tip-top manicure- but nevertheless, what happens 4 days before the photo shoot? I get sick. Really, really sick. I'm not talking little sneezes here and there, Dayquil will cure it all kind of sick, I'm talking body aching, nose dripping, coughing up a lung SICK. I felt awful and I'm sure I looked pretty awful as well, but what has being a pageant girl taught me?You suck it up, smile big, and do not complain (not always an easy task for me). However, it's just what I did. All. Day. Long. Another perk of being a pageant girl? I'm always surrounded by the best people. For 6 hours straight my fab director never once let me forget that I am ALWAYS beautiful and how proud of me he already is. Whether it was during my shoot or an outfit change, someone was consistently making sure my confidence was at it's peak. This official photo shoot was a BIG deal and letting someone down was not something I was willing to do. After an extremely long, extremely fun day of shooting, I felt like a million bucks. Yes, I was still sneezing, coughing, and sniffling, but I felt better about myself and more motivated about my goals as a queen than ever before. Sometimes all it takes is to know people are proud of you, and of course feeling gorgeous is always an added plus. Which (of course) you all are.
Do something every day so you can simply say "Congratulations" to yourself. Mine that day was not complaining and not letting being sick control my photo shoot. A small feat, but I was able to say I accomplished more than just taking a pretty picture.
It's the little things.
Miss Teen CAPTIVATING,
Kayce Patton
