A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF MISS OHIO TEEN USA 2010

Modeling for Tony Bowls in ATLANTA!

2010-10-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

As you all know, Tony Bowls helped me design my dream dress for the national pageant, Miss Teen USA! He is truly an incredible person and he couldn't have done a more perfect job on my gown! When I had met Tony to design my dress, I tried on a variety of gorgeous gowns in all different colors and designs. All of Tony's designs are beautiful, so it definitely made it hard to choose what I wanted for my gown! Tony had a difficult time choosing what was best for me too! He couldn't believe that all of his sample gowns fit me so well. After we sealed the deal & sketched the PERFECT gown, Tony asked me to model for him! I was beyond excited! What an honor to model for one of the most famous designers! After Teen USA, Tony contacted me to model his 2011 collection in the Atlanta Apparel Market! This was so exciting to know that I would be one of the first to ever see & wear his designs. When it comes to gowns, Tony Bowls offers a unique look. The collections are fresh, gorgeous designs that include voluminous ball gowns, trendy formal gowns and playful special occasion gowns crafted by a world-renowned designer, Tony Bowls. All of his lines are different from the sophisticated collection of sexy, sleek gowns and modern special occasion gowns for the fashion-forward woman to the show-stopping, upscale collection of eveningwear that offers couture formal gowns and sophisticated styles designed with close attention to detail. It was honor to even wear these gowns, much less to actual model them for him!

I flew out to Atlanta for an entire week filled with runway shows & TONS of fun! The other models were the sweetest girls and we got along so great! All of us were past, present, and future titleholders so we all had that in common! We really had too much fun together which made the week even more exciting! Tony and his staff were just as amazing. They are such inspiring people and I am lucky to have met & had the opportunity to work with them. If it weren't for them, the shows would not have been as big of a success as they were! With Tony's absolutely incredible designs, the fun, upbeat music, the beautiful models, and the amazing runway, the shows couldn't have been better! We had so much fun dancing and strutting down the runway! I was in heaven up there! We had 2 to 3 shows per day and each were about an hour and a half long. It was a lot of work, but I enjoyed every minute of it! From running back stage, ripping off the dresses and changing into the next, to kicking our heels off and switching them up, to getting our bodies baby powdered up to slide the dresses on faster...the week was priceless. If only the crowd could see the madness backstage! Haha, we had a blast though! After the shows, we got to shop till we dropped! The market was full of amazing clothing designers and awesome jewelry and accessories too! I was having a field day with all of the bargains! All of us models went to karaoke one night which was an absolute blast as well! Who knew we had 2 American Idols modeling with us! They were AMAZING! Instead of torturing the crowd with my singing, I decided to rap and teach everyone how to dougie! Haha! It was too much fun! The entire week was incredible and I will never forget it! The girls will be my friends forever and I am so lucky to have met each and every one of them!

This is the gorgeous Ashley Durham who was Tennessee Teen 2006 & just this past weekend won the title of the 2011 Miss Tennessee USA!!! Couldn't be more proud of her:)

Tony had picked 5 out of the 14 of us models to do a fun runway show for him the night before the real week of shows began! I am absolutely in LOVE with my gown! It has my name written all over it! I HAVE to introduce these beauties! The first one on the left is Ana who just recently won the title of the 2011 Miss Texas USA! She was preparing all week because she competed the weekend after the market. I knew she was going to win from the moment I met her. She is HILARIOUS! She brightened up my day everyday. We got along so well & I love her! I can't wait to see her compete at Miss USA along with the beautiful blonde, Ashley! They are both truly just as beautiful on the inside as they are the out! How exciting that they are best friends too and will get to compete at Miss USA together! The other beautiful brunette with the fun sparkly dress is Courtney! She was Miss Kansas USA 2009! She is one the sweetest girls I have ever met! Last but not least is Adrianna! We had so much fun together all week! She taught me some new dance moves that I brought back to Ohio! She will be competing for Miss Texas America this year as well! Can't wait to her about her success too!

This the beautiful Elena who just happens to be Miss Pennsylvania Teen 2010! We had a blast together at Teen USA, so I was beyond excited to see her again & get to work with her! This picture was taken right before our first show of the week! I have to credit Joel Green for the hot make up & hair!

The beautiful blues!

FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS!! Team Tony Forever :)

Kayla aka the next Miss Arkansas USA (keep her in your prayers!) & Elena :)

The amazing Jayme Shaw! She was the designer of our swimsuits at Teen USA! Love her:)

After our night of karaoke! Best group of girls I could have spent the week with!

Hahahaha oh Joel!! He is hilarious! We had so much together!

He's the best :) Thanks for all your help Joel!

Haha I love Elena! DANCE PAARTY in our room :)

ALL of the gorgeous dresses I got to model :)

Hahaa my new best friend of the week, Brittany! She was the lucky one that got to dress me AND powder down my body when I would get sweaty from the constant changing! Too funny!

Love all these girls! On break before the next show!

All of the models after the final show :)

TEAM TONY! All the incredible dressers/staff :)

My Weekend in Cinci :)

2010-10-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks after competing at Teen USA, I made a trip to Cincinnati for some exciting events! I stayed with the best sister queen/friend EVER, Amanda for the weekend. We woke up early Saturday morning and modeled in the Bridalrama fashion show for Bridal & Formal! We had a BLAST! We got to wear some gorgeous dresses & the people from Bridal & Formal are the best. They treated us so well & made the show so much fun. The event had some amazing vendors as well. The DJ they had was the best! He played my favorite, Michael Jackson all day for me! I think Amanda wanted to kill me by the end of the day because I kept making her walk by the DJ booth with me so I could dance to MJ! We modeled in two shows that day & at the end of both of them, Amanda & I got introduced as Miss Ohio and Miss Ohio Teen USA which was really exciting! In between shows, we got to sign autographs and take pictures too :)

Getting ready for the show :)

An adorable fan!

After the show!

Haha love this group :)

Since I was in Cinci for the whole weekend, of course we had to make a trip to the famous KINGS ISLAND!! We needed some quality sister bonding time & what better place to do it! We had so much fun together that day! We rode almost every ride there & Amanda introduced me to my very first Skyline coney dog! I'll admit, it was delicious! We also celebrated with some yummy ice cream too! We worked very hard all year, so we decided we deserved to have some fun & eat junk food! That night after we left Kings Island, we had a fun girls night with some Chinese food & watched our pageant on DVD to bring back the most incredible moment of our lives! We had so much fun reminiscing about the memories of the weekend & also making fun of ourselves haha! We certainly made some improvement throughout our year! I will never for that night though. I couldn't be more blessed & I believe that everything happens for a reason & I think that Amanda & I won together for a reason. She is seriously my best friend & will be for a lifetime!

My first CONEY! Had to catch it on camera haha

ice cream + sprinkles = heaven!

Only we would pose while on a ride haha love her too much!

The next day was even better! Amanda & I got to model for Saks 5th Avenue at the ATP Tennis Tournament! We got to wear some hot outfits! It was so awesome to get to wear the latest fashions & meet the New York designers. We also got to meet some of the professional tennis players that were competing. It was so exciting walking down the runway with such a huge crowd watching & getting to experience it with Amanda made it even better!

All of the models before the show!

One of the pro tennis players!

Altima Tan :)

2010-10-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine, Tim Freeman owns the tanning salon, Altima Tan. This is a high class tanning salon and a very popular one too! They have put a cozy, but classy touch to the salon. You will find that the decor is very natural and warm with wonderful aromas to create a relaxing environment for your ultimate tanning and massage experience. Altima Tan has been in business since 2007 and tans on average 260 people a day. Tim is an ardent supporter of tanning in moderation and tanning responsibly. I feel the same way about tanning and I respect him very much for making his customers aware of this. Once I was crowned Miss Ohio Teen USA, Tim had approached me shortly after to help back me up on my responsible tanning platform. Especially in pageants, girls think they have to be super dark and tan at all times and will tan everyday. I have been advising people of all ages during my reign to learn about their skin type, find out how much exposure their skin can accept without burning, protect their skin with protective lotions and ALWAYS wear safe, protective eye wear. I have also been educating people all over Ohio about the benefits of UV exposure past simply getting a bronze glow on the outside. Tanning does have its benefits and does make people look fabulous! Although, I think it is important for people to realize that they don't need to tan everyday to keep their glow. Moderation is key! I have had so much fun working with Tim this past year and he has helped me so much! It is so cool to walk into the salon and see posters of myself hanging all around! He has made me feel like the celebrity that I always wanted to be! People are always stopping me and telling me they saw a huge poster of me hanging in the plaza, saw my picture in ads in the newspaper, and even on coupons! Also, at my send off party to Miss Teen USA, I was presented with an award for the goodwill ambassador of the year for safe tanning! He really is the best just like his salon!

MISS TEEN USA 2010 in Bahamas!

2010-10-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

I once had a dream of becoming the new Miss Ohio Teen USA and I was willing to do anything to make that dream come true. I stayed true to myself, worked to the best of my ability, took in every moment, and had the time of my life throughout my entire journey. On October 10, 2009, my dream turned into a reality! I will NEVER forget that moment when the crown was placed on my head and I heard my name announced as the 2010 Miss Ohio Teen. From that moment on, my life had changed forever.

This past year has been almost like a fantasy for me. This is the life I have dreamed of ever since I was little girl and I can't believe all of the amazing opportunities I have gotten to experience. From the moment I had been announced Miss Ohio Teen USA, I had a new goal and dream. I worked very hard all year all while having the time of my life! All of my training sessions, photo shoots, appearances, and work outs were all leading up to the moment I had been waiting for all year....MISS TEEN USA!

I traveled all the way to Nasseau, Bahamas with my amazing family and support group! The first day I arrived, I was able to relax and spend time with the most incredible family anyone could wish for in the beautiful Bahama weather. Unfortunately, the relaxation with my family was short lived. I woke up early the following day and checked in to the beautiful Atlantis with all of the other titleholders. This was a free day for the queens to get checked in, unpack, eat, and hang out with one another. Miss Michigan Teen, Catherine McGhee was my roommate! Not only was she my roommate, but she is also my sister state! We unpacked our things together, hung up our dresses, laid out our heels and jewelry, and were off to meet the other queens! I made friends with so many incredible girls that night and we all shared a nice healthy buffet together! The food at the Atlantis was DELICIOUS! We all hung out and laughed together while walking around the gorgeous resort. Although none of us wanted to end the fun, we knew we had to get to bed early for the anticipation of our first morning of rehearsal for Teen USA!

My beautiful view :)

The entire week was filled with countless hours of rehearsals. Kent is the choreographer for Teen USA, so obviously the opening number dance and walking patterns were AMAZING just like him! The opening number dance is my favorite part! The dance was so much fun and I got to stand right in the center :) I rocked it out and had a blast learning and performing it all week. The week wasn't only just about the early morning and late night rehearsals, we also got to experience some fun and exciting events! There was a welcome cocktail party for all the contestants and their families. The dinner was superb and it was so nice to see my family and meet all of my new friends families as well! It was such a warm feeling to be apart of something so special. After the cocktail reception, we got to dance the night away at the teen dance club in the Atlantis!! If you know me at all, you will know that I LOVED this! I had SO much fun! We also got to tour the world famous Atlantis resort. The resort is absolutely beautiful and there are so many things to do there. I wish I could have stayed an extra week to experience all of the fun activities! It was such an amazing feeling walking through the resort and having people stop and ask for autographs and pictures! I felt like a real celebrity! Unfortunately, we had strict security and we weren't allowed to stop most of the time. The security made me feel like a superstar too! I've never had a personal body guard follow me around! It was definitely a new and exciting experience!

First morning before rehearsals!

SC! Megan & I met at the titleholder
retreat back in February and we were
instantly friends! We have to much fun
together! We had a blast in Vegas &
then even more fun in the Bahamas :)

The beautiful queens before the cocktail party!

Dancing the night away with the girls!

The beautiful West Virgina, Ally & I after rehearsal!

After long hours of hard work and fun, the night we all had been waiting for FINALLY arrived! On July 23rd, I competed in the Preliminary competition for Miss Teen USA 2010. I worked it out and strutted my stuff down the runway! I had so much fun and I felt like a truly shined on stage! It such an exhilarating feeling hearing my name and state called out, then seeing a huge audience cheering me on! I felt like all of my hard work had paid off and I did the best I could! Every single contestant looked absolutely gorgeous and were STUNNING on stage! I've never seen a group of more beautiful girls in my life. It was a true honor to have met and bonded with each one of them. I know that there are some girls that will be life long friends of mine! After competing in prelims, we woke up the next morning for interviews and more rehearsing for the FINAL NIGHT! I had so much fun in the interview. I just acted like my complete self and enjoyed meeting the judges! You never know what they are looking for, so I just stayed confident and hoped for the best on the night of the 24th! Finals night was the night we performed the opening number! That moment was indescribable! I can't even explain how much fun I had. Immediately after was time for the top 15 to be called. We were all so nervous and were hoping to hear our name and state called, but unfortunately, there are only 15 spots. Even though I didn't hear my name, I still can look back at my experience as the greatest time of my life. I am so proud of all of my friends that made it so far especially to the new Miss Teen USA, Kamie Krawford! I know she will do an amazing job and make our country proud!

Kandis!! or as I like to call "Okie" We had too much fun together all week! Love her!

Haha! My OHIO glasses that my amazing sister got me :) Love you Amanda!

Diamond Nexus Group :) Miss this!

My best friends before evening gown competition :)

Swimsuit Competition!

After the show was over, I got to see my beautiful family, my incredible director Melissa, my gorgeous sister Amanda, and my dance teachers who came to support me! I had the best fan club there! These are the people that have been behind me cheering me on throughout my entire year. I knew no matter what the result was, they would still be so proud of me and continue showing their support. Melissa has impacted my life in a way no one else in the world ever could. She is truly the most incredible person I have ever met and I would have never grown into the person I am now without her. She was there to tell me how proud she was of me and my performance! My parents, aunts, sister, and my baby nephew were all there showing me their love and care as well. Seeing their smiling faces after the show meant the world to me! My Irish dance teachers from Michigan and Chicago also traveled all the way to see me! I have grown up with Tim O'Hare who is the owner of my dance school and Megan Sanders who is a highly recognized dance teacher in my dance school as well. They have been behind me in not only dance, but in everything I have ever done in my life. They have always told me to shoot for the stars and DREAM BIG! They couldn't have been more proud of me and I am so happy they were there! Of course it was a pleasure to see my stunning sister queen, Amanda too! She has been my back bone throughout my entire journey and I truly couldn't have been blessed with a better Miss to share my year with!

Overall, I have grown up so much and have learned so many things about myself that I never knew before. I have met countless incredible people that have impacted my life in such a positive way and so many doors have opened for me throughout my journey. Now I can only look to my future and keep working hard while staying true to myself to reach more success in my life. I thank God everyday for blessing me with this once in a lifetime opportunity and I am anxious to see what he has in store for me in the future!

Rima's Homecoming to MICHIGAN!

2010-09-23T20:16:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!! I know I have been way behind, but I HAVE to update you on all of the exciting things that have been happening! One of them being our absolutely amazing Miss USA, Rima Fakih's Homecoming to her hometown in Michigan. Amanda and I traveled to Detroit, Michigan together for a fun little road trip to see our sister...who just happens to be Miss USA! The event was held in downtown Detroit at the $200 million remodeled Westin Book Cadillac Italian Renaissance hotel. The hotel was beautiful and had top notch decorations for our wonderful Rima. Right when Rima captured the title of Miss USA, her new journey in life quickly took action. After a whirlwind tour including visits to China and New York after her crowning, The Pink Fund hosted a much-needed homecoming for her. Rima looked like a goddess. She is so beautiful and the party was everything she could have ever dreamed and more. Everyone that was close to her heart was there showing their support for her as she took a step into her new journey which was Miss Universe! We danced and socialized all night and had SO much fun! I will never forget that night and it will always be close to my heart. I couldn't be more proud of Rima. I am truly honored to have spent my year as Miss Ohio Teen with her. She has taught me so much and deserves every ounce of her success. She is the most beautiful, friendly, loving, down to earth, and funniest person you will ever meet. I have never met anyone who has all those qualities balanced in one package. I will always be her number one fan! After the party, Amanda and I went straight to sleep! We were so tired after the eventful night. We woke up the next morning for some more sister bonding! We went shopping all day and she pumped me up for Teen USA! I love her so much and I can always count on her to make me smile. Whenever I need anything, she is there with me in a heartbeat and we will be sisters/best friends for life!

The Fabulous Four :)
Haha dancing & have a great time with some of
Rima's friends & of course the fabulous CHESTER :)

One of the most incredible women in the world!
LOVE YOU RI <3>

Send Off Party!

2010-08-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

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!!

2010-08-01T14:41:00.000-07:00

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 :)

2010-08-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-08-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

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!

5K Health Run!

2010-06-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

As you all know, I have been in intense training for Miss Teen USA. Well, a few weeks ago, I was asked to make an appearance at Mercy Hospital's 5K Health Run. I was asked to help pass out awards, meet and greet with the participants, and help out with the children races. I was so excited to be apart of such a worthy cause and to meet all of the individuals that were participating to help make a difference. Before I got up early the morning of the race, I thought to myself, "Wait, I like to run, I am always seeking to help others and make a difference, why can't I also participate in the race along with helping out?" I called the director early that morning to share my idea with him and he was thrilled with my eagerness to participate. I arrived at Mercy Hospital around 7:30 that morning of the race to register, get my shirt and number, and then I was all ready to run! I was shocked to see how many teens and young adults like myself were there to participate! It's amazing how so many teens are getting out there and seeking to help others. It's very refreshing and tells us that our youth is striving for a positive future. Before running in the race myself, I helped out with the kids run! They were so adorable and looked like they had so much fun with their little obstacle course which I helped direct them through. My race started within a few minutes after that so I hurried over to the starting line and began my running! It was a long 3 miles, but I made it through and felt GREAT!! I felt great about myself and my health and also felt great knowing that I helped others through my actions. I got to announce the award winners and hang out with the participants afterwards. I had a ton of fun and got a great work out at the same time! I killed two birds with one stone haha!

I ran into these two beautiful girls right before the race!
They go to Green High School just like I did! It was great
to see them again & catch up as we fought through the race!
I DID IT! haha :)

Presenting awards!

Orange Jubilee Fest :)

2010-05-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

Just a few days after I arrived back in Ohio after such a fabulous week in Vegas, I was asked to make an appearance at Orange City Schools, Orange Jubilee Festival! I received a warm welcome from the superintendent of Orange City School along with the other wonderful staff. The festival was so much fun and they had so many talented students to be proud of. I was asked on stage to "kick off" the festival weekend! I took a few minutes to introduce and tell them a little bit about myself and to stress how important it is to give back to your community as well as staying healthy and positive. I then announced the winners of the "Community Service Ambassador" awards. It amazes me how intelligent, kind, and well rounded the students are. After hearing all of their hard work and community service, no one could deserve the award more! I also got to pull the name of the winner to sing the National Anthem for the following day to start out the festival. It was so thrilling to see how excited the winner was. She was adorable! She even sang with her sister that night on stage. Both of them have beautiful singing voices, I was so envious of them! I think God passed me up when he was handing out the talent of singing haha! I spent the remainder of the night hanging out with students and children of Orange City. Everyone there was so supportive of me! I signed tons of autographs and took countless pictures. I had a blast with everyone there and was really sad to leave.

The wonderful staff of Orange City Schools :)The winners of the Community Service Award!
Congrats! Very well deserved :)Some of my "number one fans" which they called
themselves haha! The students were so welcoming
& kind to me. Orange Schools should be proud!
The beautiful sisters that sang for everyone! Look
out for them on American Idol in a few years!

These are some of the friendly police of Orange City! They had a fun game set up to advocate the importance of no drinking while driving. I even got to play! I wore some funny goggles that blur your eye sight and had to walk in a straight line. Let's just say I would have definitely failed the test!! I was all over the place! A very important lesson was learned by this demonstration and I hope that the students realize this too. I know it is so hard for teens to turn down the use of alcohol and drugs because of the strong pressure from your peers. Always remember to stay true to YOU and know that YOU have the power to say no and do what is right. Orange City Schools have done an excellent job teaching this to their students!

MISS USA 2010! Viva Las Vegas :)

2010-05-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

The moment we have all been waiting for had finally arrive, the Miss USA pageant 2010!! I flew into Vegas very late on Wednesday night which was the night of the Preliminary competition for the Miss USA contestants. I woke up Thursday morning and heard from my beautiful Miss Ohio, Amanda! She was thrilled with her performance at Prelims, but I wouldn't expect anything less from her. I knew she was going to be amazing from the moment I met her at the Ohio state pageant. She oozes beauty and confidence and you can't help but to stare when she walks into a room. I can never take my eyes off her and I can just see how much passion she has in her. She has worked so unbelievably hard and I couldn't be more proud to call her my big sis! She also informed me that my other beautiful sister, Miss Michigan, Rima also did an amazing job at Prelims! I have grown to become so close to Rima as well. I drove up with Rima to our last training weekend and we had a blast together! We are so much alike and we just laughed, sang, and danced the whole way there! There is a never a dull moment with us! Rima just has that "IT" factor just like Amanda. She works that stage like she owns it! She is absolutely gorgeous and has the personality to go with it. I couldn't be more proud of both of them! The rest of the day, I had the opportunity to lay out and relax the whole day with my family! The weather in Vegas is amazing! It was so hot, but they have incredible pools which made it so relaxing. One of my best friends & my brother's beautiful girlfriend,

Britney & I enjoying the gorgeous weather at the pool!

Later on that night, I got to meet up with Amanda for a meet and greet session they had at Planet Hollywood. I was SO excited to finally see her! I missed her so much! She looked incredible as always and I was so happy I got to bond with her even if it was only for 20 minutes! I made her an Ohio State bear at Build-a-Bear along with a heart felt card that I gave her which she loved! I also got to see my amazing director, Melissa at the meet and greet! I felt like I hadn't seen either of them in so long! I missed Melissa so much too! Once the contestants had to leave, I hung out with Melissa for a little longer and she surprised me with a mini me!! Yes, a real barbie doll that looks just like me!! She had my same color hair, same length, and was wearing a hot little black dress haha! I LOVED it! She really is the best director anyone could ask for.

Haha and this is why I love her so much! We have
too much fun together! She will be my best friend &
sister for life!

I woke up Friday to another relaxing day! I soaked up the sun and enjoyed the pool all day! Later on, I attended the Miss USA rehearsal at Planet Hollywood. It was so thrilling to be there at the actual theater watching all of the beautiful contestants light up the stage. During their break, I got to see Amanda and Rima which was great! I just can't get over how stunning they both are! We also got to meet Trace Adkins! Although I am not a huge fan of country music, Trace's voice is breath taking!! He is an incredible performer and it was an honor to meet him.
After rehearsal, I was off to my first event with all of the other teens that were in Vegas! I was so excited to reunite with the teens I had already met and was even more anxious to meet all of the others! We all gathered for a group photograph in front of Planet Hollywood and the Miss USA 2010 sign. After our mini photo shoot, we met in a conference room to meet and bond with one another. I had met several girls at the Standout Productions retreat and it was so great to see them all again. I've missed them so much! I also got to meet all of the other titleholders that I hadn't met before. They were all so sweet! Everyone is so beautiful and so welcoming! Miss Teen USA 2009, Stormi Henely also made an appearance! She looked gorgeous of course and she spoke with us about her experience at Miss USA last year. She had to leave due to another appearance so for the remainder of the night, us teens just hung out and got to know one another a bit better! After the meet and greet, a couple of us teens were asked to Jonathan Kayne's suit to try on some of his fabulous designs! When I say fabulous, I mean it! His dresses were absolutely gorgeous and I wanted to wear them all!

Saturday was yet another fun and exciting day! This was the day of the True Beauty Expo! The Miss Universe Organization and Planet Hollywood put this on for the teens and anyone who wanted to come! The expo had tons of amazing vendors like popular pageant boutiques along with wonderful designers, amazing photographers, cosmetic lines, CHI hair products, and many, many more! Before we explored all of the vendors, all of the teens were asked to line up on stage to introduce ourselves and give the audience a chance to get to know us a little bit better! We each went up one by one and were asked an individual question about ourselves then got to work the runway and do a quick pose at the end. I had so much fun up there and it was so nice to learn a little something new about each of the teens. We also got to meet the beautiful Stormi Henely once again along with Miss Universe 2009. Tony Bowl is the designer of my Teen USA dress and I was thrilled to see him there!! We got to chat and catch up which was so nice. He then asked me to model in a fashion show he was having at the expo. Of course I said yes! I had a blast on the runway and it was so nice to get to see Tony again.

Miss Teen USA 2005, Allie LaForce :)
Love her!
One of Tony Bowl's many beautiful designs :)
Miss Universe 2009, Stefania Fernandez!

Once the Beauty Expo was all over, Catherine and I headed up to Melissa's room for a shoot with the wonderful Deb Knoske! Deb had some rockin' outfits for us! We got our hair all teased up and some fierce make up done! We were ready for a hot shoot out by the pool! Deb always makes shooting so much fun and it was even better this time being in Vegas with the beautiful weather and pool! Catherine and I took a lot of the photos together, but we also took some individually too. There was a clear runway in the pool which was awesome! We took full advantage of it and worked the runway as Deb snapped some photos. We were looking through the pictures on her camera and I will admit, they look awesome! It looks like we are walking on water because the runway was clear, very cool! We also took some shots outside and around the casino. I am eager to see the pictures! I had an absolute blast with the crew as always! After we were all done shooting, we rushed to get ready for our Fashion Rocks event! All of us teens got to walk the red carpet and have photos taken of us. I felt like a true celebrity!! It was just like the red carpet events you watch on TV. We walked on the red carpet, posed for a few photos, then had a quick interview all on live webcast!! It was a BLAST! Shortly after was a fashion show with Sherri Hill's fabulous designs! The dresses were amazing, I wanted all of them! We took pictures and had fun for the rest of the night. It was so good to see the beautiful Allie LaForce, the inspirational AT Dunn, and all of the wonderful past and current titleholders.

The beautiful Miss South Carolina Teen, Megan & I
on the red carpet! I have become really close with Megan
& I know she will be a life long friend after Teen USA :)

The Michigan girls!! Miss Michigan Teen 2009, Kristen
& Miss Michigan Teen 2010, Catherine! :)

Sunday was the best day of them all! I woke up bright and early for my photo shoot with famous Fadil Berisha! Words can't explain how incredible he is. The make up artist was phenomenal as well. Fadil makes you feel so beautiful with all of his compliments and helpful hints on how to move. He even showed me some of the pictures off his camera and they looked great! The shoot was so relaxing and he is truly an incredible photographer. After my shoot, I headed to the Planet Hollywood theater to watch the final dress rehearsal with the Miss USA contestants. Every single girl was drop dead gorgeous and were stunning on stage. It made me so excited to watch the telecast later on that day! I got all ready and ate lunch before I was off to the telecast! It was chaos walking through Planet Hollywood with all of the people going to watch the show! I just couldn't believe that I was going to witness the Miss USA pageant live with everyone! This has been something I watch on TV every year. I have looked up to the Miss USA contestants and always wanted to meet them. This year, not only was I there, but I have gotten the opportunity to meet most of the girls. They were everything I expected and more. Each contestant is beautiful in their own way and I respect every single one of them. Before the show, my fellow teens and I took some fun photos together and got to hang out a bit more before the show started. It was so thrilling when Donald Trump walked out on stage to announce the show was about to begin. I got goose bumps and was beyond excited! Amanda, Rima, and all of the girls looked incredible! Shortly after the show began, they announced the top 15, then top 10, and finally the top 5. Rima made it through all 3 rounds!!! I was going crazy in the crowd! I could have been her number one fan out there! I was so proud of her and she was absolutely beautiful up there. After the top 5 were asked their final questions, it was time for results. I was so nervous as the count down was happening, but it was all worth while once I heard....."the next Miss USA is......MISS MICHIGAN, RIMA FAKIH!!" I completely lost it! Tears came to my eyes and all I wanted to do was rush on stage and hug her and tell her how much I love her! She deserves the crown and she will be the best representative for USA at the Miss Universe pageant this summer. I met up with my gorgeous sister, Amanda after the show and we got ready and went to the after party together! I am so lucky to have the best big sis in the world. She even gave me her VIP guest bracelet! We had so much fun together getting interviewed, having photos taken, and meeting all of the accomplished individuals in there. We even got to see our beautiful Miss USA, Rima! It is so crazy to think that the girl we've spent our entire year with, having sleepovers and goofing around with all the time is our new Miss USA! I don't think our country realizes how incredible and down to earth Rima is! She will be a fabulous Miss USA! After a long night in heels and walking around everywhere, Amanda and I had a fun sleepover in her hotel room! I was so happy I got to spend more time with her. She is truly the best Miss Ohio and sister. She has been there for me throughout this entire year and I know she will for a lifetime. I couldn't be more proud of her. She was a goddess on stage and could have easily been Miss USA too. I love her with all my heart!

Some of my gorgeous fellow teens posing before the
telecast began! So exciting :)

Amanda & I at the VIP after party with one of the
celebrity judges, Johnny Weir!

The beautiful, stunning, incredible new Miss USA,
RIMA FAKIH!! Love her so much & couldn't be more
proud of her <3

Overall, my week in Vegas was one I will never forget. I met so many incredible and inspiring people. I am so blessed to have experienced these once in a lifetime opportunities at such a young age. This week has gotten me so motivated, prepared, and anxious for Teen USA!! It's right around the corner!!

Birthday Week :)

2010-05-23T20:28:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe my first year of college has already come to an end! It seems like yesterday that I was at dance team practice in the summer asking all of the seniors a million questions about college and my classes because I was so nervous for my first day! This year has gone by so fast, but it been the best year of my life. I absolutely love the University of Akron! The campus is beautiful, the academic department is excellent, and the people I have met are so inspiring. I have had the time of my life meeting new people and experiencing this new venture in my life. My last week was by far one of the best! I was recruited while walking on campus to be participate in a photo shoot for the University of Akron's publications. The photos would appear in the program books, pamphlets, posters, and other recruitment books for the University. Of course I agreed to be a part of this exciting event! We shot the photos throughout the duration of finals week. I had a blast with it and I can't wait to see what the publications look like!

Enjoying free Starbucks samples with two of my
new friends, Courtney & Jordan before the shoot!

Another exciting part of the week was the fact that it wasn't only my last week of classes and finals, but it was what I like to call my BIRTHDAY WEEK! I don't like to celebrate my birthday for just a day, so my friends, family, and myself make a fun week out of it! The first event of the week was spent with one of my best friends, Brenna who attends Miami University. I hate not getting to see her all the time so it's always exciting to see her! We went out to dinner, shopping, and then had a fun girls night with some close friends! The next event was spent with some other close friends of mine, Liz and Jessa! Liz and Jessa live on campus and I am at their house ALL the time with them! It is so nice to walk over to their house and visit after class or practice. We have grown to become really good friends with their neighbors across the street too! They are so nice and an absolute blast to hang out with! We even created a "game night" where we all get together and play a different game once a week. It gets pretty intense, but is always so funny! We made this week's game night special for my birthday! We played my favorite game, Catch Phrase all night! We had so much fun! The following birthday festivity was a delicious sushi dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, House of Hunan. It is located in downtown Akron and they are known for their amazing sushi! A group of my best friends got together and enjoyed a delightful dinner there! The following day was my REAL birthday! Unfortunately, I had to wake up at at 7:30 to take not just one, but three final exams!! Figures most of my finals would fall on my birthday :( I was all finished with them by noon so I kept looking at that as the bright side of it! After my finals were over, I enjoyed a delicious lunch and then a fun filled day shopping and getting my nails done with my wonderful mother! It was so relaxing and of course so much fun! My family then took me to my favorite Mexican restaurant, Mariachi Locos for dinner! They put a huge sombrero on my head and sang to me! It was hilarious! My friends met me there and then we all went out to celebrate! I am so lucky to have the best friends in the world and they made my birthday so special. Wait, it wasn't over yet! The day after my birthday, Liz and Jessa threw a birthday party for me! There were so many of my friends there from my high school friends, to dance team friends, to the neighbors, to different sports teams, and much more! It was such a fun night and I'm so happy I got to celebrate it with so many people that I love!

Haha! Looking so funny in my sombrero after
my friends & family sang to me!

My friend Leann did my hair & make up for me
before my birthday celebration :)
My friend Erin is AMAZING & baked me this
giant cupcake along with small cupcakes with leopard
cupcake wrappers! She knows me too well! Don't worry,
I didn't really eat this huge cupcake haha :)

Just when I thought my birthday week had finally come to an end, I received the best gift of all the following day. My older sister, Tara called to share the good news that she was in labor!! My family traveled to Columbus and my baby nephew, Jack Thomas Hageman was born! It was an incredible day and I am proud to say that I am an Aunt! I love little Jack and he is just the cutest baby in the world! I am looking forward to watching him grow up and being there for him every step of the way.

Baby Jack! Words can't describe how much
I love him <3

Go AKRON AEROS!

2010-05-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

This is quite a humorous story! I was asked to throw out the first pitch at the home opener game for the Akron Aero’s minor league baseball team as Miss Ohio Teen USA. I was so excited and honored to be apart of such a huge event in my hometown. Once my friends heard the news that I was throwing out the first pitch, they kept giving me a hard time saying “Make sure you make it to the plate!” and “Don’t bounce it! You better work out those arms to make it to the catcher!” I am not the type of person to get nervous so they didn’t bother me! I was still all excited to go out on the field and get the opportunity to meet all of the players. The game was nearly sold out with it being the home opener so I knew I had to make that ball to the plate to prove everyone wrong. I arrived at the game and the Akron Aero baseball players themselves started saying the same things to me! They were offering to practice with me because they truly believed I would not make it to the catcher. I told them I could do it and didn't need the extra practice haha! I pretended like I was some baseball all-star which I am definitely not! I did know I had to throw this ball as hard I as I could to prove that I could make it to the plate though. I was introduced with a brief bio and was asked to walk onto the field. This was the moment everyone was waiting for.....I threw the ball as hard and fast as I could. Well, I certainly made it to the plate and then some! The ball flew clear over the catcher’s head and the whole crowd started laughing! Of course I laughed along with them and still had fun with it, but it was definitely embarrassing. Then, to top it all off, they replayed my pitch on the News that night so everyone got to see my amazing throw haha! Overall, it was a great experience and I had tons of fun regardless of my terrible throw!

This is one of my best friend's, Britney who got to
join me on the field before I threw my amazing pitch
haha!

Posing with some of the Akron Aero baseball players :)

Signing some autographs!

Training in Cinci!

2010-05-08T12:43:00.000-07:00

This is the time of year we call CRUNCH TIME!! Miss USA is here and Miss Teen USA is right around the corner! The Michigan and Ohio titleholders had one last training & bonding weekend with our fabulous director, Melissa Pitchford. I traveled with Rima and Catherine (Michigan girls) to Cincinnati to meet Amanda and Melissa. We were running a bit late so right when we arrived, we had 6 minutes to beautify ourselves and be ready for our event appearance at a party being held for us as we continue on our journey to Miss USA and Miss Teen USA. We were ready in record time and made it to the party. We had so much fun meeting past judges, reuniting with one of the emcee's at our pageants, and getting to know all of the incredible people there. We all are so fortunate to have such a huge support group and people behind us that care so much. After the party, we headed back to the Pitchford household! We all stayed at Melissa's GORGEOUS home for the weekend with her wonderful family. We stayed up the remainder of the night eating healthy snacks of course and watching some fun pageant videos. It was a fun Queen's slumber party! Even Melissa's absolutely ADORABLE little girl, Ava joined in on the fun! She is the cutest little girl I have ever seen and she is hilarious! She is definitely a future Miss Teen USA! She already walks better in heels than I do and wears my crown and sash like she was born a Queen! We all had a blast together, but we had to get our beauty sleep for our big training day! We woke up Sunday morning and headed to the New View Modeling Agency to practice walking, have our physical appearance checked out, and practice our interviews. I honestly don't know what I would do without my sister queens, Melissa, Kim Proctor, and Deb Knoske. I could not have wished for a better group of people to be my back bone throughout this journey. They tell me exactly what I need to work on, exactly what I have down great, and are constantly giving me that extra boost of confidence to keep my head held high. I had so much fun with my mock interview and the judges there were fantastic! They gave me helpful hints which I will carry on with me to Teen USA! After training was all over, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at P.F Changs! It was unbelievable food and it was great to get one last bonding time in before we all separated to our homes. The weekend was definitely a success and I can't tell you how excited it got me for Miss USA and Teen USA! Rima and Amanda couldn't be more ready. They are both drop dead gorgeous with amazing bodies and hearts of gold. They have been such great role models to me and I look to them for anything I need. They are kind, caring, and genuine individuals. They are going to shine at Miss USA and I can't wait to be there cheering them on every step of the way! I love you both with all my heart!

My beautiful sister queens with past judges :)

The GORGEOUS Miss Ohio & myself :)
I love Amanda so much! I don't know what
I would do without her!

Amanda & I with one of the judges from the
Ohio state pageant!

Hahaha! The beautiful queen, CHESTER!
He is absolutely hilarious! He always makes
everything entertaining :)
I can't put into words how much these 3 girls mean
to me! We have had so much fun together throughout
this entire year! We get along so well & they will be life
long sisters to me. LOVE OHIO & MICHIGAN <3

Dance Team NATIONALS!

2010-05-02T10:27:00.000-07:00

The University of Akron cheerleading squad and dance team traveled to Daytona, Florida to compete in the NCA/NDA collegiate national competition. This was the first year that the dance team has ever competed so we were all entering an entire new experience. We worked so hard months before leaving to compete and were so excited to create history being the first ever dance team from Akron to compete in a collegiate national competition. Our routine was very difficult, but so much fun at the same time. The music was great and I think it was a very entertaining performance. We rode a bus ALL the way to Daytona two days before competing and were there for another three days post competition. The bus ride was torture trying to sleep and get comfortable, but we had so much fun together bonding and joking around the whole time. I truly love my team and I couldn't have asked for a better group of ladies to be on a team with doing what I love. We help each other not only in dance, but we are there for each other in any situation. They are true friends to me as I am to them and I don't know how I would survive without them! We made the bus ride as much fun as we could, but it was definitely nice to finally arrive in sunny Florida! We spent the day relaxing and shopping until practice later on that night. It was unbelievable how many cheer and dance teams were there. There were teams from all over the nation and they were all extremely talented. There were cheerleaders and dancers everywhere you looked. I felt like I was in the movie "Bring It On" haha! We woke up early the next morning to compete in the Preliminary competition. We are in Division 1 which is the hardest division and with it being our first time competing, it was very intimidating to compete against such amazing teams. We just told ourselves we were going to go out there and give it all we had, but most importantly to have fun! We definitely had a blast performing and we danced to the best of our ability. We wanted to make a name for the University of Akron which I think we did. After we competed, we went and supported our cheerleaders. They did an awesome job and we were really proud of them. We spent the day watching other teams while we anxiously waited for results. After a long stressful day, we found out we made it to the Championship Cup! This isn't the highest round to make it to, but we were so excited to have made it that far. We finished 4th in the cup and 9th overall. We were very proud of ourselves to be ranked in the nation in the hardest college division! The rest of the time in Daytona was spent at the beach soaking up the sun! We all had so much fun together and will be a week none of us will ever forget!

Cassi & I right when we arrived in DAYTONA! :)

Having fun & being our crazy selves on the beach
after a long night of practice!My beautiful team and coach right before competing
in the Preliminary Competition!

Soaking up the sun after a long day of competition!

Before our night out on the town!

UA Dance <3>

This was not taken in Daytona, but yes this is the
2005 Miss Teen USA herself, Miss Allie LaForce!! I
ran into Allie while dancing at the Ohio University/Akron
game! She was there broadcasting the game! This was an
amazing surprise and I couldn't have been more excited to meet her!
She is just as beautiful inside as she is the out! I am so lucky
to have met such an incredible young lady :)

Designing my DREAM dress :)

2010-05-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

It's finally time that I got to pick out my gown for Miss Teen USA! I met Tony Bowl at Catan's to design my dream dress. Tony is incredible. There aren't enough positive things to say about him. He took the time to pick out different colors and styles of dresses to have me try on to decide what looked best and felt best on me. I tried on numerous gorgeous dresses that I loved! His pageant line is amazing and I really couldn't have gone wrong with any of the dresses. After testing different colors, beading patterns, and styles of dresses, I figured out exactly what I wanted. I liked the top of one dress, the beading on another, the fit of a different one, and the color of another. Tony sketched up a dress for me of exactly what I wanted from each dress and I cannot tell you how excited how I am to wear this at Teen USA! Although it is not made and I don't have it yet, I am absolutely in love with it and I can't wait to grace the stage with this gorgeous gown. I don't want to give TOO much away so you'll have to wait and see! After spending the day with Tony, he asked me to model for him at the Atlanta Market in the summer!! This is a huge opportunity for me and I am really looking forward to working with Tony again!

After my successful day with Tony, I rushed off to my sister's baby shower. My sister lives in Columbus so it makes it hard not seeing her all the time. I miss her more than anything and I can't wait to be an aunt! My family found out the news that Tara was pregnant the same night as I was crowned Miss Ohio Teen USA! She shared the good news with my family at dinner before the pageant and then told me right after. It was an amazing night for my family and a night none of us will ever forget. She has had a very healthy pregnancy and is very blessed to have an incredible husband and family behind her. Her baby shower was beautiful and she received a lot of thoughtful gifts. Her baby is already spoiled and isn't even born yet! The shower was so much fun and now it's time for my new niece or nephew to be born so I can call myself an aunt! Overall, I had a fun filled weekend and I am looking forward to all of the exciting events coming up!

HAPPY ST.PATRICK'S DAY!

2010-03-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

St.Patrick's day is my all time favorite holiday! I am very Irish and I love to celebrate my heritage. As you know, I have been Irish dancing since I was four years old and I absolutely love to perform! Every year, Akron has a big Irish parade the Saturday before St.Patrick's day and I always walk and dance with my dance school. This year I was asked to make an appearance in the parade as Miss Ohio Teen USA! They had a convertible for me with signs on it that said my name! I was so excited! When it came time for the parade, it started pouring down rain. The luck of the Irish wasn't with us when it came to the weather! Because of the rain, I didn't get to ride in the convertible because I didn't want to ruin the interior of the car. I decided I would just walk in the parade, and that way I could walk up to the children and actually interact with them. Even though the rain put a damper on the day, I still had so much fun. It was amazing to see so many people there still all decked out in their Irish and green clothes even in the rain! They made me feel so special too. I had people asking for my autograph and pictures with me! I truly felt like a celebrity! After the parade ended, there was an after party at the Barely House which is an Irish restaurant and bar. The University of Akron band also participated in the parade. It was so nice to see the talented band that I get to dance with at every Akron game! They came into the Barely House and played a few Irish tunes and ended with the Akron fight song as Akron got ready for the MAC tournament! I felt proud to be a Zip after listening to them play. My uncle is in an Irish band and they were playing at the Barely House all day after the parade. My uncle invited me in and called me on stage and introduced me to the crowd. The crowd gave me so much support and will continue to on my journey to Miss Teen USA!Look!! It's a real leprechaun! Haha I love this holiday!

About to walk in the cold & rain with my high heels
& skirt on! It wasn't too bad, I survived :)

The University of Akron's fabulous band director!
He taught the band "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling"
which is my favorite Irish song for me! They did an
amazing job as always!

This is one of my best friend's, Megan! I have grown
up with Megan and have Irish danced with her throughout
my entire life. I love her!

The Callahan & O'Connor Irish band taking a break to
introduce me! :)

Some adorable little girls that just may be future
Miss Teen USA's!

Early morning on March 17th, my family began the Irish festivities! I woke up and put on all of my Irish clothing and decorations to celebrate St.Patrick's day! My family and I enjoyed a delicious Irish breakfast with all of our fellow Irish friends whom I've grown up with over the years. After breakfast, we went to Rockne's which is an Irish restaurant and we listened to my Uncle's band again. They are an amazing band and bring so much fun to St.Patrick's Day. Following Rockne's, we were off to the Barely House again. Another Irish band was playing there and they have been very close family friends to me my entire life. I dance with them every year and I did once again this year. I had a blast dancing with my friends and with such a talented group of musicians. Overall, St.Patrick's Day is a day I look forward to every year and it never fails to be one of the best days!

One happy Irish family! This is my cousin Katie, our Pap,
and my 7 month pregnant sister all ready to
celebrate St.Patrick's Day!
I love my Pap so much! I am so blessed to have the
best grandpa in the entire world :)

Haha I love my best friends so much! These are
two of my closest friends Leann and Liz! I have also
grown up with them and I don't know what I would
do without them in my life! <3

Pittsburgh Training Weekend :)

2010-03-03T21:08:00.000-08:00

Training has officially begun!! I spent the weekend at the Pittsburgh Hyatt with an incredible group of people. Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, and the Pennsylvania state titleholders were all lucky enough to spend the weekend with our wonderful directors Randy Sanders and Melissa Pitchford along with Melissa's sister, Kim Proctor. I am so fortunate to have these amazing individuals helping me through my journey to Miss Teen USA. Friday night when I arrived, Randy and Melissa gave us helpful tips that we will carry on with us to Miss USA and Miss Teen USA. We watched past pageant videos and discussed how the pageant is going to work at the national level. Their encouraging words and important tips really motivated me for Miss Teen USA! I honestly can't wait! I woke up Saturday morning for my photo shoot with Carter Studios. I had a blast with Jonathan and Heather! Heather did an amazing job on my hair and make up and she was one of the sweetest people I have ever met. We had so much fun together. Jonathan is a phenomenal photographer and he made the shoot such an amazing experience. He had the BEST music on his ipod too haha! He was laughing at me the whole day because I kept coming back while the other title holders were shooting just so I could dance to his music! I had such a great time getting to know both of them and I hope to see them again soon! I also can't wait to see the pictures! After my shoot, I spent some time with the best director, Melissa! We went over what I need to work on and what to expect at Miss Teen USA. She really has my best interest and I am so lucky to have her. Rima, Amanda, and I met Melissa later in the day for some walking training. We put on our bathing suits and walked for her....in the lobby of the hotel!! We were all laughing saying how we could be a reality show on TV for MADE or something! I have to admit, it did prepare me to walk in my bathing suit in front of people with confidence though! We spent the remainder of the day bonding and going over more hints to help us be the best we can be at the national level. I had such an incredible time throughout the entire weekend and I am so blessed to have the best sister queens and director. Rima, Amanda, and I grew to become so much closer and I love them both to death. We certainly missed Catherine though! She was at home sick :( Pictures to come soon!

Photoshoot With Deb Knoske!

2010-02-21T16:33:00.000-08:00

Shooting with Deb was a BLAST!! I traveled to Cincinnati very early in the morning all ready to get my hair and make up done and to have an exciting day of shooting! I was so excited to see Melissa, Deb, and my beautiful big sister, Amanda again! I was even MORE excited to experience my first photo shoot as Miss Ohio Teen USA! Right when I arrived, Deb and Melissa started picking out my fabulous outfits for the shoot. I envy Deb for all of her amazing jewelry too! After we figured out what I was going to wear, it was time to get beautified! Thank you Salon Bastille for making my hair and make up look fabulous! As soon as I was ready, it was time to get to shooting! Deb made me feel so beautiful and confident. I loved every second of the shoot even when Amanda and I froze outside! Even though it was a bit painful out in the snow, we still made it fun and got some great shots! I wore a short white cocktail dress which happens to be the same one I wore for my opening number at the Ohio Teen State pageant! Deb and Melissa made it fabulous with some fantastic jewelry to match the dress too. Amanda wore a beautiful white dress with gorgeous jewelry as well. The white dresses and ice jewels in the winter wonderland made us look like ice princesses!

Here is a sneak peak of one of the shots out in the
snow with my GORGEOUS sister, Amanda! I can't
wait to see the rest of them! Thank you Deb! :)

After shooting outside, we took individual pictures and head shots. I loved all of the outfits Melissa picked out for me and I felt awesome in them. I am so anxious to see all of the pictures! I will make sure I post them as soon as I get them! I can't thank Deb Knoske, Salon Bastille, and Melissa enough for making my first photo shoot as Miss Ohio Teen USA such an unforgettable experience. Deb is a phenomenal photographer and might I add she is one of the nicest people and hilarious too! I also want to thank Amanda for being so generous, kind, inspirational, and the best pageant big sister anyone could wish for. She is constantly giving me that extra boost of confidence and she makes every experience so much fun and memorable. Overall, I had such an amazing time and I CAN'T WAIT to see the photos!!

The FANTASTIC make up and hair stylists! As you
can see, Amanda is looking beautiful and all ready to
work the camera!

My new best friend and sister. Words can't
explain how much I love her!

StandOut Titleholder Retreat!

2010-02-14T16:50:00.000-08:00

Words can't even begin to describe how amazing the retreat experience was! The StandOut Titleholder Retreat was in Lynchburg, Virgina. The retreat is held by the incredible former Miss USA, Chelsea Cooley and the renowned fitness trainer and inspiring speaker, AT Dunn. The weekend was filled with exciting events, activities, seminars, and most of all, receiving the opportunity to have the time of my life! The retreat is a preparation for Miss Teen USA and Miss USA. After spending the weekend with all of the other contestants, Chelsea, AT, and the incredible staff, not only do I feel more prepared to enter my journey to Miss Teen USA, but I learned so much about myself. I gained confidence, morals, and truly found belief in myself.

I flew into Lynchburg Friday evening. I was so nervous flying alone to another state! I flew out of Akron/Canton airport to Charlotte then I was off to Lynchburg! When I landed in Charlotte and was waiting for my flight to Lynchburg, I met Miss Alabama! She was such a sweetheart! We sat together on the plane and found out we had a lot in common! Miss Arizona Teen, Miss Utah, Miss Utah Teen, Miss Massachusetts, and Miss Wisconsin were all sitting near us too! We had a plane full of queens which was really exciting! After we landed and picked up our luggage, I realized my sister queen, Rima Fakih was on my flight too and I had no idea! Rima is Miss Michigan USA and she is a true beauty! She is drop dead gorgeous and she has the personality to go with it! All of us queens arrived at the camp, The Master's Inn, and immediately unpacked our luggage in our rooms. I roomed with South Carolina Teen, Indiana Teen, and Connecticut Teen. We all clicked right away and got along great! That night, we had a blast roller skating and playing hockey! Let's just say, I found out hockey is not of my better sports! I kept trying though and had so much fun with it!

This is Megan and Ashley representing South Carolina
and Delaware! We got along great and had a blast trying
to play hockey together haha! We are all in our first year
of college so we thought it was appropriate to take a
"college girl" photo! Love these two girls!

On Saturday, we played paintball, went horseback riding, climbed rock walls, and a telephone pole!! I would never have imagined myself ever climbing a telephone pole AND jumping from it to catch a trapeze bar! I was scared to death to even climb it, much less jumping from it! No wonder they call it, "The Leap of Faith." You have to gain trust and faith in yourself to conquer the fear. After I climbed up to the top, my legs were shaking and my heart was racing. I was so nervous, but with everyone cheering me on, I gained the confidence to jump. I was one of the few that actually caught the bar too! I was so proud of myself!

Yes, this is me, Bridget climbing a rock wall! I never
thought I would ever do something like this! Each teen
was paired up with a Miss and we competed to reach the
top of the wall. I was paired with the beautiful Miss Maine
USA! After climbing the wall, we sky lined across the woods!

Crazy! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw these
pictures! I can thank the wonderful Miss Michigan
Teen, Catherine for capturing these moments!

My first horseback riding experience! So much fun :)

Some of the beautiful queens after riding the "bull" haha!
We each took turns sitting on the barrel and the other
queens would pull the strings until we fell off!

After the adventurous day, we took the time to have mock interviews, walking lesson, inspiring

speech from AT about living a healthy lifestyle, and a special seminar with Chelsea. I truly learned more than I ever could have imagined. The words of Chelsea and AT really touched my heart and I could not feel more prepared and excited for Miss Teen USA! Chelsea is such an inspiring role model and I look up to her in so many ways. AT's words are so real and meaningful. These are two of the most phenomenal people I have ever met. I cannot thank them, the incredible staff, and the amazing other queens for making this weekend one of the best experiences of my life!

Posing with my beautiful sister queens! This was our
first night at the retreat. I was SO excited to see these
ladies and spend an entire weekend with them! I am so
fortunate to have the opportunity to share my year with
these incredible girls! I love them so much :) Yay go Ohio
and Michigan!!

I cannot thank Chelsea Cooley enough for the amazing
experience she gave me. She is one incredible woman
and I am so honored to have met her!

Happy Holidays!

2010-01-03T20:45:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a very happy holiday, along with a fun and safe new year! It has been so nice to be off school the past couple weeks and spend time with my family. I spent Christmas Eve with my family from my Dad's side at my house. I truly have the most amazing family and it is so exciting to be with my aunts, uncles, and cousins that I don't get to see everyday. The next morning I woke up to the best Christmas I have ever experienced. Santa was certainly very good to me this year! After opening presents, laughing, and sharing Christmas memories together, my family packed up the presents and went off to my Pap's house. My Mom's side of the family was all there which is always a treat. Everyone brought their specialty dish and my Pap cooked up a delicious turkey! The food was almost too good to be true! I am lucky to be a part of a family with so many wonderful cooks! Following lunch, it was time for presents again! My aunts and uncles were very generous and I received a plethora of wonderful gifts. Christmas isn't just about the presents, it really is about being with your family and spreading good to everyone around you. I learned that I can't take my family for granted because without them, I really don't know how I would survive! Christmas shouldn't be just for one day, it should be all year round! We should be continuously loving, caring, and sharing all that we are blessed with. That's what I love the most about Christmas!

Throughout my holiday break, I have still kept extremely busy with dance. There are basketball games almost every other day! The University of Akron dance team works very hard to make every performance memorable. We practice everyday we do not have a game and sometimes we even practice when we do have games! I have had so much fun being a part of such a wonderful team and I am looking forward to the rest of our year together.

The U of A dance team performed a Holiday special
dance to spread the Christmas cheer! We had a blast
choreographing a fun and upbeat dance to all of our favorite
Christmas songs! We also picked out some pretty cute outfits
for the halftime show as well :)

New Year's Eve was SO much fun! Every year, I Irish dance at "First Night." This is a night full of performances, activities, fireworks, and family fun. This family-friendly celebration of the New Year through the arts brings the community together to experience a brief moment in time while creating lasting New Year's Eve memories. The entertainment and fun featuring music, dance, theatre, visual and interactive arts delight everyone for the Holidays! It is located in downtown Akron and is always a blast! This year, I was asked to be an emcee for the night as Miss Ohio Teen! I arrived in downtown Akron at 4:30 to learn my scripts and introduce some very talented acts. It was so much fun to watch other performers! This was the first year I had the opportunity to do that because usually I am getting ready to perform myself! I was planning on performing with my dance school, but unfortunately, I was double booked! I was supposed to be an emcee at one stage and performing on another at the same time! I rushed to my performance stage, but they were all ready and about to go on stage. Instead of dancing, I went ahead and came on stage to talk to the audience! I greeted them with a Happy New Year and informed them that they were certainly in for a treat. I told them that the next act was one that was very close to my heart for I have been Irish dancing with this dance school for 15 years now and have loved every second of it. I told them what a phenomenal group of dancers they were and how sad I was that I didn't have time to change and get ready to perform with them! As I finished up, one of the Dad's of another dancer came out and took the microphone! He went on to introduce me and tell the audience what a treat it was to have me there and introduce the dancers. He told them that I was a six time World Qualifier and have won numerous competitions. He went on to them about some of my accomplishments and ended with that I am the 2010 Miss Ohio Teen USA. His words were so touching and it meant the world to me that he said all he did. I had to emcee a few more acts, then I was free for the night to talk to children, take pictures with them, and sign autographs! It was a blast to be there and I am very happy I got to be there as Miss Ohio Teen!

Kendall and Ashley are two of my favorite little
dancers! They both dance in my beginner class
and are VERY talented! This picture was taken right
before they went on to stage to perform. This was their
first big show and they were so excited! They did an awesome
job and I am very proud of them!

I had SO much fun being an emcee at First Night this
year! I love being in front of people and speaking
especially when I'm introducing a group I have grown
up with. Here, I was just finishing up my last words
as Glade Pauley, whom is a father of one of the dancers,
came on stage to say a few kind words about me and
the O'Hare school of Irish Dance.

These three beautiful girls are some of the most
wonderful dancers! The pretty blonde is Caroline!
I have mentioned Caroline before on her success
becoming a World Qualifier this year! I have trained
with Caroline for the past couple years and have had the
pleasure of watching her grow as a dancer. She is truly
amazing and I know she will blow the judges away this year
in Scotland at the World Championships! The other adorable
dancers are McKenna and Tauri! They are outstanding as well
and all three of the girls put on a fantastic show! :)

As 2009 came to an end, I can look back at all of the accomplishments I made, all of the wonderful memories I have created, and most importantly see how fortunate I truly am. I have a had such an exciting year! 2009 was the year that I became a leader of my high school. I was a senior and held countless responsibilities. I was a member of the National Honor Society, Student Council, Spanish Club, "Girls of Green", and Varsity G club. I served as a captain of my varsity cheerleading squad, dance team, and track team. Throughout high school, I remained very involved with my school and community. I participated in numerous walks and runs for Relay For Life, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, and the Susan G. Komen Foundation. I was also a team leader for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. I participated in Kick for the Cure and Volley for the Cure every year and had a blast! I modeled in a charity runway show for the Battered Women's Shelter which was so inspiring. After sharing the news with the women about our success with the show, they were so grateful and to see their happy faces meant the world to me! Every year, I have been very involved with Toys for Tots. This is an amazing charity and I am so happy I have the opportunity to help make a difference in so many children's lives. Helping my school and community have been two major aspects that have made 2009 such a memorable year. Another great success was when my dance team was named State champions and then went on to become National champions! I was also a dedicated performer to Musical Theatre all throughout high school and my senior year, we reinvented the classic musical, "Crazy For You." I played the leading show girl by the name of Patsy. I had so much fun with this role. I was "the ditzy show girl" and really got to showcase my dance ability. I even got to spotlight my Irish dancing skills! Speaking of Irish dance, I qualified for the World Championships the following weekend! I was then voted Homecoming Queen by my fellow students which was a tremendous honor. I always strive to treat everyone the way that I would want to be treated. I was very welcoming to all freshman and new students and tried to make everyone's day brighter. To know that my friends and other students of Green High School saw that, means the world to me! My school was then chosen to have a rally for the McCain/Palin campaign! We found out only two days before that a Presidential campaign was going to be at our stadium! I was called down to the office to be told that I was chosen as a student news reporter and journalist!! My major is Broadcast Journalism, so this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me! I was so excited and it was thrilling to be apart of such a huge event! I got to interview reporters from other countries and even talk to the security and secret service of McCain and Palin. After interviewing, taking photos, and reporting, my dance team got to perform at the rally in front of ten's of thousand's of people! It was exhilarating and a moment I will never forget. After performing, John McCain, Sarah Palin, and their families arrived! We made a spirit tunnel for them and each of them shook our hands and took pictures with us! This is something I will remember forever and can show my grandchildren! Later on that year, I was named a member of the 2009 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Court. I was a goodwill ambassador for the city of Canton and participated in numerous charitable events. I worked with charities like Habitat for Humanity, the Hammer and Nails foundation, the Turnaround Community Outreach Center, Mercy Medical Peace Camp, and many, many more. This was an experience I will never forget. Again, helping people make their dreams come true and by even just brightening up their day in a small way is one of the biggest accomplishments I can receive. I had the honor of escorting Bruce Smith as he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame! Following this exciting experience, I was chosen to be a model in the Henri's Cloud Nine Coolbook magazine! I auditioned along with hundreds and hundreds of girls in Columbus. I was thrilled to even be chosen in the top ten! There was not a girl in there that wasn't drop dead gorgeous! I was shocked to hear my name called! We each tried on one of the dresses that would be appearing in the magazine and the photographer took ten snap shots of us. The number was then narrowed to five of us! When they said that I had been chosen to appear in this year's Coolbook Magazine, I flipped! I was beyond excited! The photoshoot was a couple months later at a beautiful resort, Nemocolin Woodlands. It was a week long shoot and I had the time of my life. Everyone involved was amazing in their own way. The make up artists were so much fun and I became very close with them. Paul Innis an Tanya Dejesus traveled from New York City and made the week so memorable for me. The hair stylists were equally talented. We would sing and dance together every morning to help wake everyone up for a long day of shooting! I still keep in contact with the hair stylist and he even calls me to do run way shows for him which is great! Then there's the owner, managers, and other workers for the Henri's Cloud Nine store. They are so inspiring in all of the hard work they put into the store. The magazine actually just came out a couple weeks ago and it turned out great!

These are a few of the many photos that appeared
in the 2010 Henri's Cloud Nine Coolbook magazine!

After that unbelievable opportunity, I auditioned and earned a spot on the University of Akron dance team! That was a decision that I will never regret! I honestly don't know what I would do if I didn't get the chance to meet such an amazing group of girls. They have become my best friends and I know I can count on them for anything. Then, to top off such a successful year, I became Miss Ohio Teen USA 2010!! Words can't even describe what this title means to me. I am so honored to represent Ohio! It was a dream come true and the happiest moment of my life. Ohio, I promise to make you proud!

So here's to 2009! Thank you for providing me with a supportive family who loves me unconditionally, for blessing me with countless opportunities, for sharing some of the most precious gifts, and most importantly for helping me grow as an individual and letting me share my blessings with others. I can't wait to see what 2010 brings for me! I am looking forward to an unforgettable year! :)

SO Thankful!

2009-12-12T10:05:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I have been blessed with an amazing family and I am so thankful to have them in my life. Every year on Thanksgiving weekend, I am traveling to compete in the Midwest Championships for Irish dance. This is an extremely important competition because this is the qualifying competition for the World Championships. I spend all summer preparing for this weekend and hope all my hard work pays off. Now that I am in college and on a collegiate dance team, I didn't have the time to be fully prepared for this competition. Instead of competing, I have been teaching at my dance studio. I helped other young dancers prepare in hopes to make their dreams come true. It was so nice to finally be home for Thanksgiving day! My whole family went over to my grandpa's, "Pap", and had a delicious feast! I woke up VERY early the next morning and traveled to Columbus to support the dancers I had been training. It was a very different experience going to the competition as an instructor rather than a competitor. I did miss dancing, but I also enjoyed the stress free weekend! I watched my own age group compete and supported all of my friends I made through competing in past years. They all danced amazing and I was very proud of them! I have been working with a 13 year old dancer for the past couple years and I have grown to become very close with her and her family. They are like another family to me! She has worked so hard and she made it her goal to qualify for the World Championship competition which will be held in Glasgow, Scotland in April. After watching her compete, I knew she danced to the best of her ability and I could not have been any more proud of her! I told her it didn't matter what the results were because she gave it her all and that was a huge accomplishment in itself. When it finally came to results that night, I heard the good news that she is now a world qualifier!! It was a very successful weekend and I had a blast! After the competing is all over, there is a dinner dance for all of the dancers, instructors, and judges. This is my favorite part of the weekend because all of the stressing is over and we can all go just relax and have fun dancing with our friends. This year's theme was "A Night in Las Vegas." I was pretty excited to find the perfect dress for the event and I must admit, I think I found it! It was so much fun just getting all dressed up with my friends and taking pictures together before the night began. We danced the night away to an amazing live band and had a delicious dinner too! It was a great way to end such an awesome weekend. Irish dance will always be a major aspect in my life. It truly has made me who I am today and I have a huge passion for it. One of the main reasons I love Irish dance so much is because of my dance teacher, Tim O'Hare. Tim O’Hare has taught me so much not only in dance, but about these true life lessons that I will carry on with me forever. Tim will always be one of my favorite people in this world and he will tell you himself how much I love him! I never leave a practice without telling him! I am so grateful to have him in my life. I am so thrilled that I started to be an assistant teacher with Tim. I have found that I enjoy teaching much like I enjoy dancing myself. When I see my students reach their goals and see the smiles on their faces, I feel I accomplished a goal myself. Tim gave me this amazing opportunity and I could not thank him enough.

My wonderful siblings!
I love Tara and Sean so much! I honestly don't
know what I would do without them in my life. We
joked about how we all matched on Thanksgiving!
We honestly didn't even plan this! We must think
alike :) We thought it was definitely picture worthy!

This is one of my great friend's, Veronica! She
lives in Chicago and I grew up dancing with her.
She is extremely talented and a very accomplished
dancer. This picture was taken after she was all finished
competing! Don't you just love the curly wigs we Irish
dancers get to wear? Haha!

This is the best Irish dance teacher in the world,
Tim O'Hare! This was taken right before the dinner
dance! How do you like my Las Vegas theme dress?
I fell in LOVE with it when I saw it in the store! I also truly love
Tim with all my heart! He was SO excited when he heard I
won Miss Ohio Teen USA! He not only supports me in dance,
but in everything I do. He is even coming to watch me at the
Miss Teen USA pageant this summer! I can't wait! :)

My First Appearance!

2009-12-04T13:29:00.000-08:00

I made my first appearance as Miss Ohio Teen USA! My sister, Tara is a third grade teacher at Cornerstone Academy in Columbus, Ohio. I am extremely close with my sister and it is hard on me not being able see her all the time. Tara has been my role model and my best friend. She is one of my biggest supporters and is so proud of me. She shared with her colleagues at work that I was Miss Ohio Teen USA. When the principal of Tara's school heard my good news, she invited me to visit the school as a guest speaker to the children. I was thrilled and so excited for this opportunity! One of my goals as Miss Ohio Teen USA is to visit schools across Ohio and encourage children to become aware of their inner beauty and promote a positive self-image. I want to inspire children to believe in themselves and realize that no one can make you feel inferior without your consent. One of my life ambitions is to ALWAYS stay true to myself. I think it is very important for children to learn this at a young age and develop self-confidence.

I traveled to Columbus November 23rd and spent the night with my sister. I woke up early the next morning and went to school with her. This was the last day of school for the students before Thanksgiving break. The students in Tara's class were adorable and they truly made me feel like a celebrity! They were so excited to see me and I was just as thrilled to see them. My day was broken up into assemblies by grades. I began with the children in kindergarten and ended speaking to the seventh graders. The students were well behaved and treated me with respect. I truly had a blast talking to the children and answering their questions! After the assemblies were over, I visited a number of classrooms. The first graders had a Thanksgiving feast and invited me to come and share it with them. They made me an Indian hat and the cutest Happy Thanksgiving cards. Each student wrote about how thankful they were that I came to visit. They truly made my day! The students asked if I would come back to visit them and I think I just might do that! I took a countless number of pictures and signed just as many autographs. It is my hope to be a positive influence on children and young adults. I felt that I accomplished my goal and brightened the day for these students. I know they certainly brightened my day!

This is my sister's classroom bright and early
in the morning before the children arrived!

Here are some of the adorable first graders that
invited me to their Thanksgiving feast. They were
so sweet! They wrote me the nicest cards that I will
keep forever! I will never forget them! :)

After speaking to all of the classes, I spent the remainder of
the day with my sister's 3rd graders. They were the cutest!
I helped them with their math homework and then had a
free day the rest of the time! We watched "The Lion King"
together and danced to Michael Jackson haha!
I had a blast with them!

GO ZIPS!

2009-12-01T11:27:00.000-08:00

Wow! November has flown by so quickly! This was a very exciting month for me! I am a member of the University of Akron's dance team and I love it so much! Dance has been apart of my life ever since I was a little girl. I was thrilled when I found out I had made a college dance team! I have made so many wonderful friendships with the girls on the team that I will cherish for a lifetime. I have spent countless hours with them and they have grown to become like a family. We have been practicing since July! We have been working very hard to make our season the best it can be! Although we don't dance at the football games, we are still a part of all the football excitement! We are there at the games promoting the University of Akron, usually throwing out t-shirts or passing out fliers. We also serve as ambassadors for the University at various functions, fundraisers, and charitable events. Now that the football season has come to an end, it is finally time for the basketball season to begin! We danced at our first basketball game November 10th which was a blast! The Akron Zips men's basketball team faced off Mount Union in an exhibition game and we won with a score of 88 to 38!! The dance team and cheerleaders cheered them on to an exciting win! Our primary mission is to interact with the crowd to generate enthusiasm and spirit during the game. The dance team performs at all of the time outs, usually with our fantastic band, to keep the crowd involved and entertained. At halftime, we really get to showcase our talent with a choreographed dance. This is my favorite part of the game! I love all of the dances and it is so much fun to perform them in front of a large crowd! Dance team definitely has kept me busy and I'm honored to be a part of such a wonderful team!

The beautiful U of A dance team! This group of girls have become
like a family to me. I am so fortunate to have them in my life!
We recently took this team photo along with individual photos and
the photographer decided to use this flier as her advertisement! :)

Posing with my good friends Cassi and Danielle prior to performing
at a wheelchair basketball game! This was a charity event for disabled
children and adults that are wheelchair bound. It was so wonderful to
be a part of this event and to see these individuals participate in a sport
they love so much! We had a blast dancing and cheering the athletes on!

This is my best friend Cassi! I met Cassi in the summer at our first
dance team practice. We immediately clicked and have grown to
become best friends! We are inseparable! We do everything together!
We always joke about how we ever lived without each other! She supports
me in everything I do and will hopefully be coming to the Miss Teen USA
pageant this summer to cheer me on! She's the best! :)

A Dream Come True

2009-11-01T14:44:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!! My name is Bridget Linton and I am proud to announce that I am the new Miss Ohio Teen USA 2010! The weekend of October 9th and 10th was the greatest experience of my life and a dream come true. The weekend began early Friday morning with registration. Immediately following check-in, a full day of rehearsal began for the pageant. Kent and Lindsey were SO helpful throughout the entire rehearsal and made every minute of it fun and exciting. Throughout the day, I had the opportunity to meet some of the most amazing young ladies. The camaraderie was unbelievable and everyone was so willing to reach out and lend a helping hand. I miss them all so much! The preliminary pageant was held Friday evening. Every contestant competed in the swimsuit and evening gown category.

Early the next morning, the interviews were held with the judges. You might think that this would be the most difficult and nerve wrecking part of the pageant, but in reality, it was a ton of fun! The judges made me feel so comfortable. It was like having a conversation with some new friends. Following the interview, all of the contestants were able to leave the hotel and spend some time with their families before returning to yet another full day of rehearsal. I was so happy to see my family and thoroughly enjoyed eating breakfast with them at Bob Evan's! My family is the greatest! You won’t find a better or more loving support group. My family has been my number one fan and they are proud of me no matter what the undertaking may be. As my family and I said good bye, I knew I would see and hear them cheering me on later that evening.

The big night finally arrived! All the contestants were able to participate in the opening number that Kent had choreographed to the hit song “I Gotta Feeling That Tonight‘s Gonna Be a Good Night.” I think the Black Eyed Peas prediction was correct! It was definitely a good night! The night flew by so quickly! It felt like I was there for only five minutes and then it was time for awards. People always say "time flies when you are having fun." I can honestly say this experience proved that to be right! Being backstage with the Miss Ohio and Miss Ohio Teen contestants, helping each other with make-up and hair, dancing and laughing together, it made me realize I wasn't going to worry about the outcome because this was already one the of most exciting nights of my life! I was thrilled to hear my name called out as one of the top15! I then competed once again in the swim suit and evening gown category. The judges deliberated and before I knew it, the top five names were called. When I heard my name called again, I was beyond excited! Each of the finalists pulled a question out of the fish bowl and answered it. Moments later, it was time for awards! Throughout the entire weekend, I was not nervous for one minute. I was beginning to think there something wrong with me! I truly think it was because I was surrounded by such wonderful people that made every second of this experience amazing. As the names of the runners-up were called, I could not believe I was still standing there. When my name was announced as Miss Ohio Teen USA 2010, my dream turned into a reality. I cried tears of joy and no one could wipe the smile off of my face!

The moment my dream came true!

My new big sister Amanda, Miss Ohio USA 2010!
Words can't describe how excited I am to spend this
incredible year with her! I am so fortunate to have
been blessed with such a caring and beautiful friend
that I get to spend my year with. :)

Words are too inadequate to convey my sincere thanks to all of the people that made this weekend possible! Your hard work and commitment made the Miss Ohio Teen USA and Miss Ohio USA pageant possible. Thank you to all of my supporters and especially my family. I love you with all my heart and you know I could not have done this without your loving support! I promise to represent the beautiful State of Ohio, the heart of it all, as Miss Ohio Teen USA 2010 to the best of my ability!! :)

Love Always,
Bridget <3