Pageant Prep: Managing Stress and Distractions in the Final Countdown

We are right in the middle of state pageant season! If you're new here - that means that the local pageants are complete, titles have been awarded, and women across the country are in their final countdown to step on their state pageant stage and vie for their chance to represent their state at Miss America or Miss USA.

This weekend was a big one for state orientations and spring meetings across the country where all of the girls get together and size each other up while also spending quality time with each other - a weird act to balance, but somehow it works in the pageant world.

I've been stalking everyone on social media to see what everyone's wearing, any new info or intel that's being released, and making note of competition orders as I start to make my picks as the competitions get closer.

Orientation doesn't just mean that you pick your competition number and finally learn what the opening production song will be, it also means that the countdown to the competition is REAL and you're literally sitting in a room with all of your competitors as the heat gets turned up a couple of degrees with final reminders from the board, the current Miss State, and the glaring to-do list in your head of things that still need to get done before you move in.

It's safe to say that this is the time when stress gets more intense and distractions can be the ultimate pitfall. I've been around this block more than a few times, so I feel qualified to give you a few tips to manage the stress and distractions in the final countdown to the crown to help you be at your BEST by the time you move in for the pageant.