THE NEXT
GENERATION of the Global Sisterhood
By Samantha Roth
As a little girl , I always dreamed of being in a pageant . I mean , who wouldn ’ t want to be a real princess , right ? So my mom finally agreed to let me try one . At age 6 , I was in my first pageant , and although I didn ’ t win , I had a blast being on a stage and making friends . I couldn ’ t wait for the next pageant . It was before Facebook and other social media sites made it easy to find events in the area , so my mom could only find a couple pageants . I competed for several years in a few local pageants but again didn ’ t win . Through the years of trying , my mom wasn ’ t sure if she liked what pageants were about on the surface . Girls getting all dressed up , makeup , hair … it all appeared very superficial . But watching and learning , she started to express to me that “ it ’ s not the crown that makes you the princess but what you do with it .” Through Facebook , my mom connected with a college friend whose daughter just happened to do pageants ! With Becky and Cait ’ s help , not only did I win my first pageant , but they helped to show us the power of the crown . One of my very first appearances with my first title of Jr . Miss Riverfest was to perform at a local nursing home . My mom and I both saw that the crown opened up opportunities for me to volunteer . Since then , I have logged way over 400 hours of community service and have received two gold presidential pins . I went on to win numerous titles , including
“ I have shown other girls that they too can volunteer in their communities and make a difference .”
USA National Miss Pennsylvania Jr . Teen 2014 , Jr . Teen Miss Pittsburgh 2012 , American Royal Beauties Miss Pennsylvania Teen 2015 , and Miss Reigning America National Senior Spokesmodel 2015 . More importantly , I have shown other girls that they too can volunteer in their communities and make a difference . My pageant “ sisters ” and I have spent numerous hours volunteering at our library and community events , collecting items for charities ,
92 INSPIRING LIVES SUMMER 2016