Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is Thanksgiving and I am home alone… but in no means sad. While my family is enjoying delicious treats and the company of extended family members, I’ve opted to take this day to make final preparations and completely immerse myself in peace and tranquility. My day began by packing and organizing all of my weekend necessities and finding the time in between house cleaning and doing laundry to read and jot down some final thoughts in my journal. Throughout the day, I’ve received some amazing support text messages and it has definitely made this experience a lot more real.

For the most part, I’ve been doing a lot of self talk in order to get my mind focused but I know that in order to really live out this experience, I must live in the moment. Luckily, I’m not as nervous as one would usually think but I definitely am feeling a bit anxious. Later this evening, I will be joining my sister and heading out to Southern California where my life may change forever on Sunday.

Since it is Thanksgiving and all, I’d like to take a moment and thank all of my readers who have followed me on this amazing journey. Your comments, daily blog visits and emails have inspired me to continue my writing posts and I hope you have learned a lot about me and who I am as a person. To date, my heart is so happy with all of the opportunities I’ve had being part of this pageant and whatever the outcome may be, I know I will continue moving forward in life because if there’s anything I’ve learned this year, is that there is no other option but to.

As for now, I will go take my final walk as Miss San Jose Latina 2013 around my neighborhood breathing in the fresh air and admiring all that Mother Nature has to offer because that right there, is something to truly be thankful for.

Love,
Kassie P.

Glam Squad

Just like any other girl, I love having spa and beauty days. Usually for me though, they are spread out and never all in one day but since Miss California Latina weekend has finally arrived and Thanksgiving is tomorrow, I had to do all of my beauty regiments today. I visited the nail salon, got a fresh spray tan and even had some of my neck kinks worked on during a massage. Though I was running around all over town, I definitely found some quite moments throughout my day to write in my journal I’ll be taking with me and reflect. During those moments, I also received many “Good luck text messages” from various friends who have been rooting for me since day one. Their kind words reminded me that I have had a lot of great experiences with my Miss San Jose Latina title and their thoughts and positive vibes would be with me throughout pageant weekend.

I have had a blast preparing for Miss California Latina and to know that we are in the final countdown amazes me. I am thankful for all of the opportunities I’ve had and all of the support from family and close friends and I am lucky to feel their energy knowing I’m not going into this competition alone.

Love,
Kassie P.

Back to the Basics

If you were to ask my family how I studied for exams and presentations during elementary and early middle school years, they’d probably cringe at the very thought of those oh so memorable years, right Mom?! You see, many of those pre-test-nights consisted of me bawling my eyes out laying faced down on the kitchen table literally suffering trying to memorize facts and those horrible irrelevant math word problems! My mom (who I’m pretty sure wanted to strangle me a few times during these melt downs) patiently tried to help me figure out new ways to study and when her patience ran out, in came the switch-a-roo and boom!…my older sister was there for the rescue, that was until she’d toss the papers in the air out of frustration and say, “Mom, it’s your turn.” Eventually, I learned my personal style of studying and once high school and college came around, I hardly ever asked for help and was always above a 3.0 GPA.

When I at last figured out writing in sections, dividing questions and answers in parts and circling and boxing in phrases was my style of remembering, I wasn’t surprised since after all, I’m a writer. I learned when I began writing down notes or key words that needed to be remembered, it was imprinted in my head. Once the test or presentation came, I was then able to visualize my study guide and know exactly there had been three key points about that one subject on the left hand side of my notes and four facts about the other topic underneath of it, circled. I remember multiple professors asking me during tests if I was okay since I’d have a burning look within my eyes staring at the whiteboard or at my classmate’s shirt, when in reality all I was doing was visualizing my notes. 

Over these past few months, I’ve had the great opportunity to discuss my personal beliefs on politics and world and local issues with my family that I feel I may be asked during pageant weekend. In my head, I’ve kept tabs on certain key points I’d like to hit just in case I am asked those questions but since almost anything is game, obviously that’s a whole lot of key points I’d need to store in my memory bank! Then, it dawned on me…why not keep a small journal of all my pageant related thoughts, beliefs and facts?! I knew this was going to be ideal for pageant weekend and I’d “study” and review everything throughout the weekend. Though I will not of course memorize everything word for word, I know having my journal will help reduce the nervousness. My journal will symbolize everything I’ve done thus far to make it to the pageant and it will be the ultimate reminder that I already have all of the answers…for my writing pieces are not ordinary things to simply be memorized;  they are what is written inside of my heart.

 

Bling Bling!

My mom and I headed out to the mall on Monday with a glitter vision in mind. We were determined to find the most sparkly and “blinged out” pair of earrings I would soon wear with my evening gown. As mentioned in a previous post, I’m wearing my prom dress and if you were to look up the definition of glitter or sequins, my dress would probably be pictured. In 2007, I wore plain earring studs not to take away from the dress but pageants as we all know, is a whole another ball game. Hopping from one store to another, we finally came across to the most perfect, shiny gold embellished earrings. Not only was the price more than reasonable but the earrings are something I’d definitely be able to wear again long after the pageant is over.

Since luck was on our behalf, we had extra time to look around for other pageant odds and ends. After visiting a few shoe stores with no success in correct sizes or styles for my evening gown and interview outfit, we decided to go into one last store before calling it quits. Finally, under the dim lights on the shelf there they were: gold platform high heels alongside black suede professional-sized heels. I immediately asked to try on both pairs and I was so excited when the saleswoman came out with two boxes. More importantly however, when I opened the boxes, the shoes had never been tried on before as they were both neatly wrapped in plastic, untouched. As I unwrapped the fresh shoes, I carefully slipped my feet in and… Alacazam! They fit so perfectly and were so comfortable to walk in as if the manufacture said, “Here, these are made especially for you.”

Originally, I had planned to try on all of my new items together but that was before my stomach had other plans of its own. On our way home, we stopped by Target to purchase our final family dinner desserts as the last hoo-rah since pageant bikini body mode is officially now on FULL GEAR. I grazed on warm baked cookies, ice cream and hot chocolate fudge for more than I should have and before I knew it, I spent the remainder of the night in the restroom, detoxing my sugar rush one flush at a time.

Love,
Kassie P.

The Chosen One

After celebrating a late Father’s Day dinner with my family yesterday evening, I was finally able to show my relatives all of the thumbnails from my photo shoot. As you know, I’m required to send in a head shot to the pageant to be showcased on the website as well as the weekend booklet. Up until yesterday evening, I hadn’t yet chosen the final picture simply because I wanted my family’s input…aka my mother’s final approval. As we laid on the bed swiping from left to right and right to left on my mother’s IPad, we finally agreed to Photo #6518.*

When my photos first came in, I had screenshot a few pictures from my phone and excitedly sent them to my family showing a few snapshots. I hadn’t had much time to visit my parent’s house until the celebration of my step-dad so yesterday was the first real chance I had to show all of the thumbnails. As mentioned, we spent quite some time choosing the final picture and ironically we noticed the picture we chose yesterday happened to be the same exact one I randomly sent to my parents a few weeks back.

Since the photos were just proofs, I’ll now just need to let my photographer know I’d like to have Photo #6518 properly cropped and sized to send to Miss California Latina. As mentioned in previous posts, I’m very close to my family and I’m thrilled I’m getting to share this experience with them in all aspects of the pageant. I value their opinions very much and I enjoy taking their thoughts into consideration on the smallest details of this journey, like a simple picture, for I will not only be representing myself on stage but also my family.

*To view Photo #6518 please visit my Photos page.

Love,

Kassie P.

 

Code Red: Stage Mom

When I decided to enter myself in the Miss California Latina pageant, I didn’t tell anyone, including my family. No one had ever participated in an event like this so I knew telling them would be somewhat of a shocker but I knew my family would support my decision. When I came to visit my parents house later that week, I made an announcement during dinner of my latest news. My parents laughed in amusement but started asking questions right away of what the process consisted of and how I even came across pageants in the first place. After explaining all of the nitty gritty, I showed my parents what my next steps were in finding sponsors and how I’d make this pageant affordable. My parents showered me with their support and now we had officially become a “pageant family.” My mom has since begun to send me links,articles and ideas that revolve around pageants, that are allowing me to get more insight of the unknown. Together, my mom and I have created two binders full of Miss California Latina documents and have even made a calendar of “to-do” items with each month that passes in preparation for the big weekend. My mom has been such a big help and I’ve enjoyed brainstorming and bouncing off ideas back and forth of what the pageant will be like. Though talking about dress alterations and events to make appearances at are some of the exciting details about the pageant, I am thankful my mom continues to remind me I must hang onto my true values and beliefs throughout this experience. We know as a family that Miss California Latina may open golden doors of opportunities for me but I am thankful my mom is constantly reminding me to keep grounded. Though the pageant lifestyle is new to our family, one thing that is not new is the encouragement and love my mom sends out with whatever her children decide to do in life. Happy Mother’s Day to the best stage mom I could have ever asked for!

Love,
Kassie P.