And the winner is...

Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog! My name is Rachel Russell and I first started competing in pageants, specifically the International system, when I was 14 years old. I competed in the Miss Teen Ventura County Intl 2010 pageant just for fun because I believe that you should try everything in life at least once. I won Most Photogenic and had a fantastic experience! I bet you can guess....I caught the pageant bug. I continued competing in pageants and went at-large to the Miss Teen California Intl 2010 pageant where I won a $100 community service award.

I decided to compete in the Miss Teen Ventura County Intl 2011 pageant again and this time I was second runner up! I went at-large to the Miss Teen California Intl 2011 pageant and continued to learn as much as I could. While there, one of my judges Lauren Cook gave me some advice that changed my life...she said to just be me and to have fun instead of striving for perfection.

With this piece of advice in mind, I went on to the Miss Teen Ventura County Intl 2012 pageant. This was my last year as a teen. It was my third year competing for the title, and while I had started competing in pageants just for fun, it had really become a dream of mine. It would open so many doors for my community service platform, First 5's Reading Buddies Club, as well as be an amazing year.

So on Saturday, March 12, I woke up bright and early to get my make-up and hair done, and then I went to my interview. To my surprise, I wasn't nervous at all! I didn't try to think of the "perfect" pageant answer. Instead I just talked to the judges as if they were my friends, and I let my enthusiastic personality shine through.

Then, that night, we competed in fitness wear,

on-stage question,

fun fashion,

and evening gown.

I had done my personal best in all the areas of competition, so no matter what happened, I was proud of myself.
When it came time to announce the winners, I anxiously awaited the results.
Third runner up was one of my really good friends, Cassidy Millard, who had competed in the Miss Teen California Intl 2011 pageant with me.
Second runner up was Rachael Maurer. It was her first pageant, so I was really excited for her!

First runner up was my friend Bryana Inouye, who had placed 4th runner up in the Miss Teen California Intl 2011 pageant.

I looked at the girls standing next to me, and we all wished each other good luck. I held my breath...
"The new Miss Teen Ventura County Intl 2012 is...RACHEL RUSSELL!"

I couldn't believe it! My dream had come true! I was crowned and started crying. I had worked so hard over the past two years and it had all paid off. I proved that if I set my mind to something and worked hard, I could accomplish anything.

If that wasn't amazing enough, one of my best friends Allison Bowman was crowned Miss Ventura County Intl 2012. She was my sister titleholder, and we would get to train for state and make appearances together all year! It all felt like a dream. 

I am so excited for this upcoming year. I know it is going to be a life changing experience - and who knows, maybe I will even win the title of Miss Teen California Intl 2012 when I compete at state!

My pageant experience has just begun, but I have gained so much self-confidence and poise over the past two years. I know that everything I've learned from pageants is going to greatly benefit me in the future.