A Reason Why Not Everyone Should Have A Blog… Or A Crown!

I’ve been doing a lot of web surfing about the Miss USA Pageant, the finals of which will air live on NBC this Friday. The “buzz” this year is around Miss Virginia, Miss Texas, Miss Tennessee and Miss South Carolina, but what’s much more interesting is the controversy around Miss Oregon’s blog. Sharitha McKenzie [left], a 23 year old with a B.A. in Journalism, who is representing Oregon, wrote the following:

I was sitting in the airport with my crown and sash on with people starring at me. One guy even said, "Gee, she must be proud of herself wearing that sash everywhere." I hate comments like that…. Rosalin, one of the two people who escorted us to the hotel, cussed a driver out….

We arrived at the hotel and as soon as I got there, they fitted me for swimsuits, my Tadashi dress, and shoes. I did interviews, answered questions for the judges and they gave me free stuff as well.

Some of the girls had already been here for a whole day and were done in two days with what took me one day. I was so exhausted that day and very overwhelmed.

I waited so long for my Fadil shoot, I was the very last person to shoot with him out of all the states. I got so cold waiting I felt myself getting sick. My throat was hurting and my body felt like it was shutting down.

We had a welcome cocktail event in the Wilshire Ballroom. During the party they pretty much forced us to mingle with sponsors, a lot of whom were men who were intoxicated. I got dizzy and had to sit down for about a half an hour. I was running a fever and felt the way I did when I fainted in the Post Office two years ago. The nurse stayed by me for about an hour. I started to feel better and stood up and Esther the PR women for Miss Universe made me dance. It's so funny how "Wagging the Dog" works; everywhere we've gone, we've had to fake like we're having fun to put it on the Internet for people to think we're doing more than we are. Don’t get me wrong we are busy, but it's also a lot of hurry up and wait. One of the waiters…informed that this was something like a D List party that the people we were meeting were nobodys. LOL

...talked with Miss Nebraska USA about not believing in the national system but in the state systems.
Hard Rock Cafe autograph signing- Pageant seeming political.

This week have been feeling like I don't stand out and am just a number. Just need to rip my interview so that they know who the winner should be.

…it was Miss Universe Zuleyka Mendoza Rivera…I don't think I recognized her at first because she gained a lot of weight since she won Miss Universe. Don't get me wrong, she has curves, butt, thighs and I like the look

Most of the kids were black which was weird because the majority of kids in Oregon with Down Syndrome are white. But maybe that's just because, well it is Oregon, for Gods sake.

Tara had a chat with us about Being Miss USA…Before meeting her I was upset about the whole drug and alcohol thing but I realized its all a part of "the game." The game, as Miss Universe 1995 Chelsi Smith would call it, is what the Miss Universe organization is doing. Although many people think that Tara made the organization look bad, it shed light on pageantry and people actually are interested in pageants now.

My personal belief about the situation is that they planned and staged this months ago and maybe Tara does have a problem with addiction but it's not as bad as they make it out to be. They did a good job of "Wagging the Dog," something that most celebrities do. She also gained 10lbs but she said that when you go to rehab they feed you food with steroids in it to make you gain weight. She also mentioned she was engaged when she won but her fiance cheated on her and I guess she has a new man now.

CLICK HERE to read the entire patheitc entry, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets taken down soon.

This young woman clearly has no idea who her blog would reach or what it means to be a titleholder! Who is ignorant enough to post this as Miss Titleholder?!?! She lacks class and decorum. As someone who has passionately sought to represent a state, I am utterly disappointing that someone like this has gotten the opportunity and is clearly not appreciating it.

I’m quite sure all the negative experiences she described happened; having competed at state level pageants six times I know they can become utterly overwhelming and frustrating. HOWEVER, you must realize that being a titleholder is a thankless job. Attitude and endurance are critical in successfully making through a national pageant. Every woman has a few bad moments and will no doubt break down at some point during competition week, but you have to be intelligent enough to do it with grace and behind closed doors- not on the internet!

Pageant week is never ideal, nor is it as glamorous as outsiders assume it is, however if you can’t deal with it, you’d never be able to handle the title you’re seeking! I could go on and on about how upsetting it is to read this… I can’t begin to imagine how heartbroken the Miss Oregon USA contestants must be right now!