All Hail, Miss Kansas!

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There have been many articles circling the interwebs lately about the 2014 Miss America pageant.  I would not call myself a fan of beauty pageants.  I will admit, I was in quite a few as a child.  But back in the 90's pageants (well, the kids ones anyways) were not quite the spectacle that the ones are today.  I will admit I haven't ever watched a full Miss America pageant.

One contestant in particular caught my eye this year: Miss Kansas, Theresa Vail.  Theresa is not your typical Miss America contestant.  She is a bow hunter.  She is a Sergeant in the Army National Guard.  She has tattoos.  Basically, she is a strong, tough, beautiful woman.  I think that Theresa Vail is a woman that the average American woman can look up to.  Yes, she has tattoos, something that has never been visible in a Miss America pageant before.  But so what?  1 in 5 Americans today have tattoos.  Let's face it, they aren't as much of a taboo as they once were.  Theresa has made it know that she has two tattoos: the Serenity Prayer and the military medical insignia.  On her reason why she is choosing to show her tattoos during the competition this year, she wrote the following on her blog: "Reference A; my platform! Empowering women to OVERCOME stereotypes and break barriers. What a hypocrite I would be if I covered the ink. With my platform, how could I tell other women to be fearless and be true to themselves if I can’t do the same? Now, had my platform been something entirely different, maybe the tables would be turned. Maybe. But I am who I am, tattoos and all. "  She also wrote that she doesn't think she should win because she has tattoos, but she doesn't think girls should be disqualified for having them.  I personally do not have any tattoos, but I do not find anything wrong with them.  I can appreciate the art of them and the meanings behind them.

One of the many things I love about Miss Kansas is the fact that she is an American soldier.  Theresa has served the state of Kansas and our country for 6 years in the Kansas National Guard.  She shows girls that just because you have a pretty face doesn't mean that there isn't more to you.  You can be tough.  You can be powerful.  She shows that it is okay to have hobbies outside the typical girly stuff (though there isn't anything wrong with that either).  The point is, just because something might be a male-dominated activity (such as bow hunting), doesn't mean that girls can't do it too.

There are several other impressive candidates this year who are all dedicated to doing good in our country.  To learn more about the candidates and this year's Miss America competition, visit MissAmerica.org.

To learn more about my new hero and role model, Miss Kansas, you can visit her website here.

So tell me friends, do you watch the Miss America competition?  Who is your favorite competitor this year?