You’re That Girl….

“What gets scary is when your self-worth is tied up in what strangers think of you.”

~ Emma Watson

My entire life I have heard, “Oh! you’re that girl that does ballet.” Loving ballet and what it has done for my life I never saw this as a negative saying. Now years later, being 21 and in college, I have adopted two more “You’re that girl” sayings. All three unfortunately can lack respect from people that look from the outside in with an uneducated perspective. After explaining these crucial parts of my life I hope that it can be understood how important and respectable being “that girl” means to me. 

“You’re That Girl That Does Ballet” 

Attempting to sum up 13 years of my life in a few short paragraphs is quite the challenge! Ballet has been a part of my identity since I was eight years old. It was difficult as a child to comply with the mental and physical discipline ballet required. From an early age this taught me to work hard and never to give up. Don’t get me wrong there were several days of frustration and tears but those moments were followed by moments of triumph. 

Ballet has opened several doors for me in my life. I have trained with three professional schools over summers, won several awards and danced leading roles in my studios productions. Yet, these moments aren’t what have held the most weight. My ballet instructor, Ceci Klein, is one of the most influential people I’ve had in my life. She saw potential and believed in me even when I didn’t. She pushed me to moments of extreme defeat that ultimately made me strive to succeed. Ceci taught me more than just Plié and proper technique. She taught me respect, class, and perseverance. These qualities and many more are what make me proud of what I have accomplished over the years. 

Ballet isn’t for the weak at heart, mind or body. When someone watches ballet it looks effortless and graceful, almost easy! Know that this is what ballet dancers train to do hours a day for countless years. Quoting Ceci, “We are in the business of creating beauty so we shouldn’t look life buffalo tromping through the mud!”. I remember Ceci every time I take the stage and always embrace the hundreds of other lessons ballet has taught me. Being “that girl that does ballet” is something I am extremely honored to be.

“You’re That Girl That’s in a Sorority” 

(Cue the high pitched, valley girl voice) …..OMG…. I’m in a sorority! 

Alright, back to normal. There are so many stereotypes attached to women that are members of sororities and it truly streams from the media. Through TV shows like “Greek” and movies like “Legally Blonde” (both which I have watched and love) give the impression that sorority women are superficial, dumb and are both obsessed with guys and partying. Even being new to a sorority at Boise State University I am the first to say that these are proven false. 

I always knew I wanted to “Go Greek” in college yet it was put on hold as I made the decision to begin my college career at a two-year community college. I graduated with my Associates Degree from North Idaho College in the Spring of 2015 and transferred to Boise State University in the Fall of 2015. Recruitment was a whirlwind of a weekend where I had the chance to meet all the sororities on campus and go through the process of finding my home within one. At the end of that weekend I became of new member of the Theta Upsilon Chapter of Alpha Sigma Alpha. 

My first year in ASA has been incredible! It has provided me with chances to be involved on campus and in the community. Every sorority and fraternity on campus has a philanthropy they support though volunteering, raising money and/or creating awareness. ASA supports Special Olympics, Girls on the Run and the S. June Smith Center. One of my favorite parts about being Greek at Boise State is how supportive the Greek community is of one another, even if you aren’t part of the same organization. It’s understood that each sorority and fraternity is trying to make their positive mark and a difference in the world around us. Being in a sorority also requires that you maintain a good standing in grades, are active in community service and are involved in making improvements within the chapter. 

However, the one thing that I love most about being a sorority woman is being able to surround myself with other incredible women that embody the same characteristics as I and strive for the same college experience. In this year alone I have met some of the most remarkable friends that I will hold on to for the rest of my life. As a transfer student they took me in and we have been making memories ever since. My sorority Big, in particular, is someone I have respected and looked up to since the first time I saw her. Literally, I hadn’t even met her, just creepily admired her from afar. Taylor is driven, intelligent, kind, stylish and honestly someone I am blessed to call a dear friend. I owe Alpha Sigma Alpha much gratitude for introducing me to life long friends and for that I will gladly be called “that girl in a sorority”. 

http://alphasigmaalphabsu.tumblr.com/ 

 “You’re That Girl That Does Pageants"

When I tell someone I compete in pageants they usually come back with a comment about “Toddlers in Tiaras”. Sigh…. This time last year I knew very little about pageantry and was just starting on a wonderful journey within the Miss America Organization. I decided to compete at my first local in March of 2015 and I was clueless! I didn’t have pageant experience but I knew it was something I had thought about doing since I was a little girl. I would watch the Miss America pageant on television and could only dream of what it would be like to represent my state on that stage. I wouldn’t have ever though my dream could become a reality in the next few years!  

Now just 14 months after my first local pageant I look back and am in awe of how this organization has impacted my life. I have met so many wonderful, smart and driven women, have been able to impact my community and grow as an individual. Being awarded first runner up at Miss Idaho 2015 was a blessing and being able to represent Idaho at the National Sweetheart Pageant was an experience I’ll never forget. Having been crowned National Sweetheart 2015 was the cherry on top of a week where I was blessed with friendships from all over the country and experienced growth in my abilities. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to continue to be involved with the Miss Idaho Organization, work on the goals I have set forth and strive to represent Idaho on the Miss America stage. 

I admire the women that are in the Miss America Organization and am thankful that we represent women of service, style, scholarship and success. From wearing a crown out in the community I have learned that you never judge a book by its cover! I proudly wear my crown and represent the organization with the upmost pride, fully accepting the title of “the girl that does pageants”. 

No matter if you’re that girl that does gymnastics or that guy that does crossfit embracing what is important to you is a must. Not everyone is going to understand or even respect everything you do but as long as it is bettering your life and there is passion behind it, stay true to yourself. Be unique. Be happy. Be you. 

Miss Tri-Counties 2016

Kylee Solberg 

Miss Eagle: The Real Side of Pageantry

Whenever I tell someone that I compete in pageants, I get responses and questions that vary from, “Oh! Like the movie Miss Congeniality,” to, “Are the girls mean?” Well, I am here to show the real side of pageantry. Being involved in the Miss America Organization since the age of 17 has changed my life for the better. I’m here to clear up what it is like to compete against strong, talented women of prestige. I’ve heard people say that pageants are degrading to women. However, competing has instilled the confidence in me to change the world around me. It has opened my eyes to be more involved in my community and to find my value. A myth that I have had to clear up several times is that this is strictly just a beauty pageant, focusing on looks and looks alone, but I emphasis the fact that I compete in a scholarship organization. The MAO is the nation’s leading advocate for women’s education. And it is also the largest provider of scholarship assistance to young women in the United States. Each year, the organization awards millions of dollars in scholarship to make it possible for students like me to go to college. I am beyond thankful for the financial support I have received. Another myth is that none of the girls that compete with each other get along, and that backstage, everyone fights. This one is probably the farthest from the truth. I have met some of my best friends from competing in pageants. We support, love and encourage each other. We build each other up, not tear each other down with petty comments and mean attitudes. The reality of it is, only one girl is going to win and walk away with a crown. But whether or not I win, I walk away with lifelong friends.

Miss Eagle 2016

Madison Treyz

Miss Boise: A new Be Limitless development, President of Y.E.S!

Be Limitless, my platform, has been my labor of love. A message I stand by and will continue to stand by is that of the momentum built behind one person with the courage and strength to see their full potential realized. I know that this isn’t always an easy task- but I do believe that everyone can be given the tools necessary and then take it upon themselves to do so. 

As I became more and more engaged in this message, I took advantage of every opportunity I was provided to spread it. I created a television show through my university, Boise State, where I interview community leaders on my campus in hopes of educating my peers about the opportunities to participate in the community outreach going on around them. This has allowed me to also ask for tips on how to overcome adversities and accomplish goals- especially in terms of community service. The show, titled “Be Limitless”, has been viewed in countries all over the world.

I then competed for Miss Boise and gained yet another outlet to spread my message! Again, I have utilized this in every way possible. As a volunteer and a public speaker, I have had the ability to reach another audience that I may not have been able to with the show alone. I have now begun to educate a diverse range of people, from elementary students to adults, about the power you have to make a difference. All of this led me to another defining moment in this journey…

This will be my second time competing for the title of Miss Idaho. Throughout my journey vying for the crown I have received many benefits. I have learned how to articulate my thoughts. I have overcome my fears (talent). I have had this organization as common ground with women fundamentally different than me- allowing me to expand my thinking. I have also now been given the opportunity to network with and now partner with an organization that lives and breathes the message of being limitless.

The direct reflections of what my platform represents are the people in Idaho that have TRULY overcome difficulties in order to establish the things that are easily taken for granted. These are the women that have had only themselves as a foundation, and build financial independence from the ground up. Women that come from homeless shelters, domestic violence centers, and the like, but really the only thing they have in common is their recognition of their power. 

The non profit organization called Dress for Success provides women in need with an interview outfit and a support system to help them reach their financial independence. But why stop there? Let’s take it one step further. It’s not just an outfit and support system, but it’s the experience that every woman deserves- one that makes them feel worthy. With trendy clothes and a delightful boutique, Dress for Success stylists instill the confidence in the women of our valley to recognize, not just for a day- their worth- but for a whole life time. A true recipe for success.

I have partnered with this organization to put roots in my Be Limitless platform. To paraphrase what the executive of the organization, Rachel, said: it’s not just about saying “be your best” and saying you want to “empower people”, it’s about actually doing it. 

Not everyone can relate 100% to the women that have decided to take advantage of an outstanding organization like Dress for Success. I, for one, have been extremely lucky to have financial and emotional support when disaster strikes. But men, women, and children understand the difficulties in being told you can’t achieve a goal, but deciding you can. This can be when other people are telling you that you can’t or when your inner self tells you you can’t.

“I'm afraid that sometimes you'll play lonely games too. Games you can't win 'cause you'll play against you.” 

Thank you, Dr. Seuss, for reading my mind. This is a message I will continue to champion with a more concrete role within an organization that proves it is possible to overcome. That power of attitude, I’ll tell you, it is just that- POWERFUL. As president of Young Executives for Success (Y.E.S!) for Dress for Success, I will not just continue to spread this message in a direct and meticulous way as a platform, but as my passion. I am so excited to be a cog within this great organization. With this addition to my platform, I really believe that it will round it out in a way that it wasn’t before. True happiness, or virtue, comes from having a balanced life. Realize the importance of giving back to your community, the importance of doing things that make you happy, the importance of education, the importance of having meaningful relationships, and the importance of achieving financial stability. This is a message that everyone can benefit from.

- Brittany Lock Miss Boise 2016

Our Words Have Power

“Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.”

~ Gautama Buddha

A typical Thursday morning, sitting on my couch drinking my coffee, I reach for my phone and begin scrolling through my social media feeds. This post was shared by a friend and it lit a fire inside of me. 

This letter was written by a middle school student in my home town of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Written with disgusting words of hatred and cruelty, a girl named Caitlyn, had to be subjected to this. This is not right. I don’t know Caitlyn or anyone involved but I knew I wanted to make my words heard in a positive way. Our Words Have Power is my platform within the Miss Idaho Organization. It’s a platform set out to educate and create change in the way people treat each other both on and offline. Living in a technology driven age, bullying has escalated into drastic attacks of written remarks through text messages and social media sites. Within our nation, communities, and educational systems, there is a need to promote media literacy through teaching appropriate online behavior and stressing the importance of respectable commentary through our words.

I know I couldn’t take the negative words off the bully’s paper so I decided to write my own for Caitlyn. As a child, I was bullied in school. I remember just wanting to escape the mean comments that began to pick away at my confidence and self worth inside. By writing this letter I hope that it not only stands as a wake up call that as a culture we need to change the way we communicate with each other, but as an image of hope that people can choose to heal with words rather than to destroy. 

As a title holder, I am setting an example of treating others with respect through what I say and do both on and offline. You as a parent, a friend, a sibling or a peer, can stand up and make a difference as well. Teach words that will heal rather than destroy. Don’t let this behavior be accepted. It time to heal a culture destroyed by words. 

#OurWordsHavePower 

Miss Tri-Counties 2016

Kylee Solberg 

Miss Boise: Don’t Rain on my Parade

Miss Idaho is an organization that has many things that set it apart from other pageants. If you enjoy keeping up with my blog posts like I enjoy writing them, you may be starting to see some trends. One is that I speak endlessly about the personal platform that I have been developing. Another is that I have, in the past, been terrified of failure. A few days ago I realized that there is a part of the competition that allows me to voice these things and my development because of them. I know what you might be thinking- interview, right? Wrong. For me, it’s my talent.. but I don’t even think I realized that until just now.

One area of competition that is wildly important in the Miss Idaho pageant is the talent. This portion of competition is unique to the Miss America Organization and cannot be over looked as it carries the most weight percentage wise. In order to prepare, I have been practicing my Broadway vocal, “Don’t Rain on my Parade”, on my own time as well as receiving coaching from a vocal instructor.

I’m going to be honest with you, ladies and gentlemen. The past few weeks have been stressful. The Miss Idaho competition is less than two months away, all of the paperwork and ad sales are due in about 2 weeks, college final papers are due this week, and I have also getting adjusted in a new internship. All of these opportunities I am so grateful for but, I’ll tell you, I go to bed tired. In the midst of all of this hustle and bustle, I forgot why I am here in the first place. That was until Friday, April 29, at 2:15 pm.

I had just gotten off work at my internship and went straight to my voice lesson. Carole, my voice coach, reminded me kindly as I was warming up and as I was practicing my talent song, “relax your arms”, “relax”, “relax”. My tense body was contributing to a strain on my voice and the missing of a couple notes. I was getting so frustrated thinking “why can’t I just relax?” and “why can’t I get this right??” Finally she said, “Brittany, let’s talk about what this song means to you”.

Of course I had thought about this before, but being consumed in the technicalities, trying to be perfect, and trying to be the best, I forgot why I loved this song. Well, I am here to make a document so that I never forget and so that everyone knows what it means to me. The song lyrics are bolded. My translation of the text is below:

“Don’t tell me not to live, just sit and putter. Life’s candy and the sun’s a ball of butter. Don’t bring around a cloud to rain on my parade”.

I think that I had always told myself that I was singing this particular section of the song for the judges and the audience- maybe even the “haters”. But, I have realized that I am singing that part to myself. It’s like the devil and angel on the shoulder picture. Part of me knows that I am capable of great things and that my heart is in the right place. But there is another part of me, the part I have from time to time listened to, that tells me that I am not enough to achieve what I want to. It’s when I sing these lyrics that I will boldly declare to everyone listening “I am enough. I am the best Brittany Lock in the history of the world”.

“I’m going to live and live now. Get what I want I know how”.

I have all of the tools to be successful. I have done all of the work to be successful. I just have to apply it and know that whatever happens, I have done everything in my power to make the world a little better.

“One roll for the whole shabang. One throw that bell will go clang. Eye on the target and wham. One shot one gun shot and BAM”!

You know what everyone says about Thomas Edison and how you have to find 999 ways to not invent a light bulb before you find the one way that works? That is what this phrase means to me. I am going to be unsuccessful- a lot. I’m not perfect. But I am going to try and try and try and put 110% effort into it. Then, eventually, there will be one time that it works and BAM. I DID IT!

“Hey Mr. Ariensteen here I am”!

Yup. Here I am. In all of my flaws, in all of my glory, in all of my hard work, I am here to do my best.

“I’ll march my band out. I’ll beat my drum- and if I’m fanned out- your turn at bat sir. At least I didn’t fake it, hat sir. I guess I didn’t make it”.

Again, here I am. I am going to give it all I got. Even if I fail, I will fail knowing that I put my whole heart into this and that I was raw. I was Brittany Lock. Not someone that other people want Brittany Lock to be.

“Get ready for me love ‘cause I’m a comer. I simply gotta march my heart is a drummer”.

I have to compete and I have to compete to my best ability because this program, Miss Idaho, it makes me better. It gives me a platform to overcome my fears, to put myself in uncomfortable situations, to connect with people I never may have otherwise and learn from them. I also have the ability to share my message with others. I have the opportunity to utilize the talents of a group of people that are committed to my success (the Miss Idaho board). The Brittany that achieves greatness is the Brittany that I was meant to be.

“Nobody, no, nobody, is gunna rain on my parade”.

Not you, not me, not anyone can take away my power. Nobody can keep me from reaching my full potential. I can do great things and I am here to do them. Watch me, and then join me.

After I told Carole all of these things, I was a little emotional. I had been so caught up in trying to be what other people wanted that I forgot that this song and my Miss Idaho experience what my chance to challenge myself to be my best self. I was so focused on doing right by the program and by not failing that I forgot I am enough.. and not only just that but also that by being involved in this great organization, I CAN’T FAIL. All I can do is get better. There are a team of people that want to see me succeed and will do everything they can to help me. Even if I don’t come home with a crown on June 18th, I will come home knowing that I was a fearlessly Brittany.

Brittany Lock

Miss Boise 201