Send Off Party!

I am truly the luckiest girl in the world to have been blessed with the most incredible family and friends anyone could ever wish for! My Mom never ceases to amaze me, but this time, she completely outdid herself! A few weeks before I am leaving to compete for Teen USA in the Bahamas, I ask my Mom, "So are we going to have a send off party for me?!" Since we are new to the pageant world and how everything works, she had no idea that people had send off parties haha. She was confused on what I even meant, but she went above and beyond and threw together the best party! My aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, and friends all came together for me and helped out to make the party a success. My Uncle Kevin works at the University of Akron as the equipment manager which means he works a lot with the sports teams and events at the University. He came through for me and rented out the Press Level at the brand new Infocision stadium! It was perfect! The stadium is huge and one of the nicest places I have ever seen. It was so nice to have the University of Akron support me and honor me by having it there. I love Akron and proud to be a Zip! My aunts came together and got some delicious appetizers and drinks for the occasion. They also went on numerous shopping sprees with my mom picking up decorations! I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked in to the party to see posters of me hanging up, a big sign that said "Bridget Linton Miss Ohio Teen USA", a plethora of food and drinks, adorable tables with Hawaiian necklaces (representing Bahamas haha)on them along with my autograph cards for people to take,and my family running around making sure everything looked perfect! One of my great friends, Erin who made me my birthday cupcakes made a GORGEOUS cake for me! It was absolutely beautiful all glitzy and glamorous! She knows me too well and knows what I like! Also, there was a table set up with plain white puzzle pieces laid out for people to write a little good luck note on, for me to put the puzzle together and always remember who was there to support me on my journey to Miss Teen USA! I loved this idea and wasn't shocked to hear that Laura Spray came up with it and set it up for me. Laura Spray is who I like to call my "second mother." I literally call her Mom, never Laura or Mrs.Spray! I grew up with the Spray family through being best friends with both Adam and Kevin Spray. Adam is in my grade and Kevin is a year older. They have been such great friends to me and have ALWAYS supported me in everything I do. I know I can look to them for anything and they will be there for me. "Mom" has been nothing but so gracious and amazing. She has always treated me as I were her real daughter and spoils me! She's too great to me! I truly love the entire family and am so lucky to have them. The party then started at 7 and I was shocked to see how many important people in my life were able to fit me into their schedule and come to support me. The party was very last minute, but it was really the best party I could have ever wished for. All of my family and best friends were there and I just felt so blessed. People went up to the microphone and said the kindest words about me. They really brought tears to my eyes. After hearing what they had to say, I realized that I didn't care about the result of Teen USA because I already have had the most incredible journey and have grown up so much this past year preparing for this. I knew I was ready to walk on that stage knowing that I was going to be the best that I could be knowing that I had all of them behind me. Overall, my send off party was more than a success and really made me realize how lucky I really am!

I LOVE my food :)
The most amazing woman in the world and the one I can
thank for the greatest party! Love you Mom :)

I love this family too much! Some of the Irish dancers
that I teach :) We have some future Miss Ohio Teens
right here!

The CUTEST little man in the whole world!
Notice his onesie....it says "Good Luck Aunt Bridgie"
I love him too much!
Some of my best friends that came to see me off!
This group of gorgeous girls with me are my absolute
best friends!! I don't know what I would do without them
in my life! Look at them...any one of them could be Miss USA!

My handsome Pap!My 2nd family...the Spray's!!My two mini mes! They are just as crazy and outgoing as me
& LOVE the spotlight! I gave them the crowns off my cake
so they could be queens for the night too!

Hahaha! Just being funny & reliving the moment
my dream came true!

Happy 4th of July!!

I had one of the best 4th of July celebrations ever this year!! Even though I don't have pictures to prove it, I hope that you all believe me when I say that I spent my 4th of July with Lebron James!!! Yes, its true! My family is extremely close with the Hurley family who just happens to be really good friends with Lebron! I have grown up with the Hurley's through Irish dancing. Katie Hurley is one of my really close friends and we grew up together going to the same school, training in the same school of dance, and traveling all over competing in dance together. Through this, our Moms became best friends as well as our families. Katie's brother, Michael Hurley graduated from St. Vincent-St.Mary with Lebron and they were great friends all through high school. I actually remember meeting Lebron when he was only a sophomore in high school at the Hurley's house! So crazy to think about considering he is one of the best NBA players of all time now! Anyways, I received a text from Michael telling me that he had put my picture up on his facebook and blog for people to vote for me on the miss teen usa site. I thanked him and was so excited to know I had his support! Michael was actually named Mr.Ohio in Cosmopolitan magazine two years ago and has been very successful in his modeling career. After his text about voting, he told me that Lebron was having pool party and had told him he could bring a few friends. Now mind you this is a few days before Lebron is announcing his final decision on where he is going to play so I am thinking he meant it was a party FOR Lebron, not Lebron's party! I hadn't seen Michael in awhile so I thought I would go to see him and I knew I would have fun with him! He picked me and my best friend, Liz up and we were off to a party we thought was for Lebron. We arrive at this insanely huge mansion in Cleveland which looked more like a hotel than a house! I couldn't believe my eyes! Then, we walk around to the backyard where there is a gorgeous pool with fountains of water shooting and a hot tub within the pool! I have never seen anything like it! I am thinking this party could not get any better until I look up and see LEBRON JAMES!!! My heart seriously dropped, I thought I was dreaming! He walked up to us and said "This must be Bridget and Liz! Hi sweetheart! Hi Hun! My name is Lebron!" For the first time in my life, I was speechless. All I kept thinking was, "Lebron James just said my name in a sentence. Lebron James just said my name in a sentence" Haha and the funniest part was that he introduced himself to me like I didnt know who he was or something! I thought it was very polite of him and I respect him for that. He showed us where the food was and said if we needed anything to just come to him and he would take care of it for us! The whole day was incredible! The weather was perfect for the pool and I don't think it could get much better than spending it with two of my close friends and a celebrity!! The only negative part about the whole experience was that we weren't allowed to take pictures there or with him :(. I understand why he wanted it that way considering he is such a huge celebrity and his name is always in the News. Overall though, it was definitely one of the best pool parties and 4th of July's I have ever been to and I hope you all believe me that it did happen haha!

The following day was my day to be a celebrity! I was asked to be apart of Stow's annual 4th of July parade which is the biggest in Ohio! I got to ride in a red Thunderbird convertible with my name posted on the side of it! My Uncle John was so kind to let me use his cool car and take the time out of his day to be my driver :)It was a super hot day and I was sweating in that car while waiting for parade to begin. Just when I started to get frustrated with the heat, I got to see some of the Akron cheerleaders and some girls on my dance team! They were in the parade as well so I hung out with them before the parade began. The parade was huge and ran for about 4 miles long! There were so many people out celebrating and cheering for the floats and other organizations that were passing by. The people were so kind and were shouting their congrats and good wishes to me. I had tons of fun and it will be a 4th of July I will cherish for a lifetime!

My sweet ride :)

Team Akron! GO ZIPS <3>

Walking in Nashville :)

I traveled to Nashville about 4 weeks prior to Teen USA to get tips from only the BEST, Kent Parham! Kent is so much fun! He is full of energy and enthusiasm all the time. I don't know how he does it! I had a 2 hour walking lesson with him in which I learned more than I ever thought I could learn in that short amount of time! I never realized how much went into a walk, but I'll tell you what, I made a complete 360 turn after working with him. He showed me how to show off my best angles, how to work the runway without being too fast & "dance like", and how to command the judges attention. I felt so confident in my walk after working with him! That was definitely worth the trip and I had so much fun. He also gave me some very helpful tips to help prepare me more for Teen USA. He gave me some insight on what to expect in the Bahamas and definitely got me so pumped and excited for it! I was so happy that he was going to be the choreographer there too! Nashville is also known for it's amazing shopping so of course I had to make a few special trips too! I actually got a lot of clothing for the week at the Opry Mills! I also got to see Tennessee Teen, Kristen Rose while I was there! She is so beautiful and sweet! I am glad I got to become great friends with her!

CBUS trip & Kid's #1 Run!

I have some major catching up to do!! Feels like forever ago that I visited Columbus schools and participated in the Kids #1 Run! I have been so busy these past couple months, but I have to share these events with you because they were so much fun and I will never forget them! As I have mentioned before, my older sister lives in Columbus so I visit her and my new baby nephew all the time! She is a third grade teacher and I actually made my first appearance as Miss Ohio Teen USA at her school way back in November! I had a blast talking and spending time with all of the children and my sister informed me that they did as well! They had been asking if I was coming back to see them again so I made sure to make time to see them before I left for Teen USA. I came at the end of the school day and surprised them! They were SO excited! I felt like a true celebrity! They were jumping on me, hugging me, asking me to sign their projects, take pictures! It was craziness, but I enjoyed every second of it.

This is Mo! He is one of my favorite little kids of all
time! He is so adorable & so sweet. He brought my pic
from the last time I visited & he had it laminated so he
could keep it forever. I am going to miss this little man
so much!

The Kids #1 Run was held at Akron Children's Hospital which is rated one of the best Children's hospitals! It was a beautiful day and the perfect day for all of the fun festivities. The Kids Run event is the perfect mix of physical fitness and fun entertainment for all ages. Some featured events include a 5K run, a one-mile, non-competitive Fun Run and a Miracle Mile race for those capable of running less than an eight-minute mile. People of all ages came out to participate and help make a difference. I spent most of the day walking around participating in some of the little events they had set up, hanging out with the children, visiting some of the patients, and helping out with the races! I even got to meet Bill Considine who is the CEO of Akron Children's Hospital! This man is a true representation of a person with a heart of gold. He has given back so much to the city of Akron and is the biggest supporter of everything Akron has to offer. He is one of the nicest people I have ever met and he made me feel so special and welcome. He invited me on stage with him to start the races and he gave me the kindest introduction. Shortly after I helped with that, I once again participated in the 5K race! It was a very hot day, but it was definitely worth it! Overall, it was a fun filled day and very rewarding!

One of the most beautiful, sweetest, & strongest
young girls I have ever met!

Look who I found!! ZIPPY! Best mascot ever :)
The man that started it all :)This is 98.1 WKDD's very own Keith Kennedy! WKDD is
one of the biggest radio stations in Ohio. Keith was
there broadcasting the event & also invited me for an
interview as well! He's such a fun & nice guy!
Haha probably the least flattering picture of me, but
hey this is what I look like after running a 5K in 85
degree weather!