Ariel's Story

You will never learn nearly as much if things are handed directly to you. This is a statement that I can confirm from the obstacles that I have overcome over the course of my lifetime. With hardships and failure come new experiences, viewpoints, and a better understanding of the world around you. With these elements of wisdom and sometimes a little bit of luck, success is bound to follow.

The time in my life that major obstacles began to become most prominent was in college. Even though I attended community college for 2 years and with free tuition, I was going to be on my own financially for the remainder of my higher education. I was going to have to take out student loans, earn scholarship money, and work multiple jobs in order to support myself and pay for my tuition while being a full time student. This of course is not an unusual obstacle to have as a young adult that is fresh out of high school or community college, but I knew that I did not want a pile of debt following me around after college. I wanted to be as financially independent as I could possibly be when entering post-college adulthood. This financial obstacle is what led me to competing in the Miss America Organization, which came with its own whole set of new obstacles in itself.

I started competing in MAO back in 2013. I first competed in the Miss Blackhawk Valley local pageant after seeing their then current titleholder speak about the organization and competition at an event I was attending. I decided to give it a try since it had scholarship awards and it honestly just sounded like fun! I did not win the title, but I had officially been bit by the pageant bug. I competed in several more locals that year, not winning a title. I returned to the Blackhawk Valley stage the following year after a lot of hard work and I won! I went on to compete for Miss Illinois 2014 where I (expectedly) did not place. I learned so much from my first state experience and from getting to know my fellow pageant sisters. I made it a goal of mine to make it into the top 10 the following year. I practiced, prepared, and returned to the local competition season with confidence. Unfortunately, I had a hard start and did not win a title at my 1st or 2nd local competition. My confidence was draining and I was ready to throw in the towel. However, a local director convinced me to keep at it and compete at her pageant - so I did. I ended up winning one of her titles, Miss Chain O’ Lakes 2015! I was over the moon excited because not only was I going to be competing at Miss Illinois again, but I was officially a part of an enormous pageant family, which was an incredible support system. Even though I had a hard start to the local competition season and almost quit, I ended up accomplishing my goal of making top 10 at Miss Illinois that year!

After having competed at Miss Illinois for 2 consecutive years (2014-2015), I was running low on time that I could commit to a title as well as money to support myself. I decided to take a break from competing and focus on my goal of finishing school with minimal debt. Throughout the remainder of my college years, I worked 3 different jobs, was a summer nanny, and also ran a custom shoe Etsy store on the side in order to make sure my bills were paid. I worked an average of 30 hours a week in addition to attending classes/student teaching full time. As my student teaching placements came to a close and graduation approached, I realized that I did it. I was going to graduate with minimal student loan debt thanks to the scholarships I had earned, the hours I had worked, and my overall determination to have financial independence.

However, I still had goals in the Miss America Organization. Unfortunately, time had gotten away from me. As of that year, I was officially aged out of eligibility. Less than 1 week after this realization and overwhelming disappointment, the stars aligned in my favor because MAO announced that the age limit had been extended 1 more year! I had one more chance! I wanted to win. I wanted to be Miss Illinois. I started preparing months in advance of the local season. I changed my talent from flute to singing, reworked my platform to focus on Arts Education Advocacy, practiced my interview skills, and frugally curated a new competition wardrobe. As a first year teacher in what felt like a closet-sized studio apartment, I didn’t have much money to work with, so I had to get creative. I thrifted my evening gown, bedazzled it myself, and even made the matching statement earrings. I also thrifted my talent outfit, edited my own background track for my song, and took vocal lessons with the choir director at the school I taught at. I rented the rest of my wardrobe, made my own hair extensions, and practiced walking on the school auditorium stage after hours. I felt very confident as the local competition started, but that confidence was quickly squashed into dust. I did not place, let alone win a title at my 1st local competition. I continued on and placed 2nd runner up at my next local. Then, at the final local competition of my season, I placed 1st runner up. I was devastated that my final year competing in the Miss America Organization would not end on the Miss Illinois stage. I picked myself up, came to terms with this fact, and moved on.

Later that month, days before Spring Forum, I received a phone call. The winner of the 3rd local I competed in (Miss East Central 2019) decided to back out, and the title and ticket to Miss Illinois were mine if I accepted. I decided to take the day to think about it because I had already come to terms with the end of my MAO journey. With many encouraging words from family, friends, and former local directors of mine, I decided to take the leap and go to Miss Illinois for the last time as Miss East Central 2019! If I am being honest, my goal from the start of the local season to become Miss Illinois had diminished completely because I was soon to be competing against at least 8 other local titleholders that had already won titles over me that season. I didn’t even think I would make it into the top 10. I decided that I would use this experience as a way to make new friends, build connections, and just have fun. That is what I did. I went into Miss Illinois week with a sense of peace, excitement, and with a strong sense of self. Unexpected to me, I was the first name called into the top 10 on finals night! I was so incredibly grateful that I was able to perform for the family and friends that traveled so far to support me that night. I felt complete fulfillment once the top 10 phases of competition were complete. However, the universe had more for me. I was the final name called into the TOP 5! I had never been in the top 5 before, so I had a paralyzing rush of confusion, excitement, and fear. I stepped up for that final on-stage-question, hyped up on pure adrenaline, and then it was time to wait. So much waiting. They first called the 4th runner up, I thought to myself, “of course that’s going to be me”. Surprisingly, it wasn’t. I felt the same as they announced 3rd runner up…. 2nd runner up…. I was still standing there… hand-in-hand with an incredible young woman that I can now proudly call one of my best friends. I thought to myself… “How is this happening? I don’t deserve to be up here right now. What is going on? Could I actually win Miss Illinois? Is this real?” Before I knew it, one of the most surreal moments of my life happened. I was announced as Miss Illinois 2019. I actually did it.

Just a few short years later, I am student-debt free, I am a forever Miss Illinois, and I am teaching full-time at an incredible school. I have accomplished these goals, which is often what people will now focus on, however it was not easy to get to this point. From my own experiences overcoming self-doubt and failures at competitions, life balancing obstacles, and financial hardships, I have learned several valuable lessons that helped me with these achievements. You can accomplish anything that you set your mind to as long as you continue to learn and adjust. You should never stop trying or believing in yourself even if your goal feels unreachable. You need to keep going. Lastly, when luck is a component, you should not let the end result define you or your capabilities. You can only control what you can control. These are all lessons that I have learned from having boldness, bravery, and brilliance as tools in the pursuance of my goals. Everyone has this set of tools within themselves. Use them.