Shortly thereafter, some friends encouraged me to try out for the Miss South Carolina World beauty pageant. To my surprise, I won - and was sent to New York City to compete nationally.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I thought it might be a good move to get into a beauty contest so I tried for Miss Pennsylvania and won. I think that helped me get noticed, at least by the people of Pennsylvania.
Pageants were an amazing platform that gave a little girl like me from the mountains of my beautiful Puerto Rico a chance to travel, explore the world, meet amazing people, work for great charities and be a voice to empower women wherever I went. For all those things, I am grateful.
Back in the day after I won my first pageant there was an agency that was getting me work on the side.
For the pageants, it was my mother who got me involved in Miss America. It really gave me the opportunity to sing all around New Hampshire. And it was great when I was young, but looking back, it was also unbelievably stressful.
One of the first times I came to New York was for a modeling and talent competition, IMTA, which I won. I came with a group, like a modeling school from Fresno.
I was never an ambitious girl, or even a self-confident one. I never went in for beauty pageants or wore a stitch of make-up until I went to Los Angeles.
I was able to participate in New York Fashion Week and walk down the runway. I participated in a pizza contest in Canada.
I am so not a pageant girl, but I signed up for the Miss Junior Florida contest because I thought it would be good experience.
I was noticed by a person from a local model agency, and he proposed that I participate in a beauty contest Miss Chelyabinsk.
I accidentally entered a youth pageant when I was 14. That's like a beauty pageant, but without the beauty. It was terrible.