This weekend, I judged the National American Miss California Pageant for 2 days, and I had such a great experience! Being that I grew up on stage in front of judges and an audience, It’s pretty cool to be on the other side of the table every once in a while. My best friend and I were able to judge together, along with a few more other girls, and we judged 3 different age groups. While I had many favorite moments, I had two in particular: One 8 year old girl had said during her intro on stage that she was adopted, and when she gets older, she wants to start an organization for foster kids to find every foster kid a family…. My dad was adopted when he was a teenager. He grew up in a pretty terrible household with his real parents until they passed. But he says the day he was adopted was the best day of his life. My dad’s childhood story is an emotional one, and I know how much his adopted family changed his life, so when that little girl said that on stage, I got teary eyed. She may not have won, but I went up to her after to talk to her about how her story touched me…. And another moment I just absolutely loved was when the winner for the last age group was announced. The girl who won (age 12 or 13 I think) did not expect to win AT ALL, so her reaction when she heard her name was the best thing ever. I got teary eyed again. lol. She was bawling and was the happiest girl in the world. We then went on stage to take a picture with her, and her mom came up to give her a hug and they both just sobbed together. Her mom said something like, “This was your year baby, God was on your side today. I am so, so proud of you” (while in tears) and I lost it! lol. I had to turn around because I  was crying just as much as them! lol. It was such a special moment, I can’t even put it into words, and it literally went to the sweetest girl I have ever met in my life. We found out after that she had been competing for years and never won, so this was literally the best day of her life. Now she gets a whole year of being a queen, attending charity events as a queen, and I am so excited for her. I know she will remember it for the rest of her life.
Anyway, sorry for that novel haha. I just had to talk about it!

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