The pageant

A few months ago Brooke was invited to compete in the National American Miss Teen pageant and decided she would pursue the opportunity. I probably looked at her like she was from outer space - after all, here was my 24/7 hockey player wanting to be in a pageant. Quite a deviation from what I was used to.

Brooke was able to get sponsors, sell some advertising space in the program, and we had a successful shopping trip to get her business suit and gown.

Now, one of my favorite movies is Miss Congeniality. I love it! And it's a pretty good reflection about how I feel about pageants... I mean Scholarship Programs. I have fought against stereotypes all of my life and had a hard time reconciling a "beauty" competition with intelligence and leadership capabilities. Maybe it's because my 5'2" frame wouldn't necessarily lend to an evening gown competition.

But now my daughter was competing and I had to support her by stepping away from my old perspectives and leaving behind my connotation of what a pageant was or was not. A couple of observations:

• Pageant moms, believe it or not, are actually 10x better than hockey moms. There's no yelling, screaming (in a bad way), getting mad at the refs/judges, glaring at the other team, etc. No, on the contrary they were all sweet and genuine and nice. We would talk about which daughter was ours and then we'd cheer each other's daughter on in the next competition. Not to say this doesn't exist in hockey, just not as frequently.


• Parents didn't carry spare allen wrenches, wheels, hockey tape, but rather hairspray, safety pins and bobby pins. And it smells so pretty!! (even though the girls weren't permitted to wear perfume)


• There is a generation of young women who have incredible poise, knowledge, strength, determination and drive. They are smart, genuine and sweet. It would be an honor to work with any of them within the corporate environment.


• When on stage in a beautiful gown, my daughter wasn't a goalie, she was a princess, beautiful beyond words.


• No matter how old you are, you still need the love and support of your family. Perhaps one of the biggest disappointments coming out of the weekend was the fact that many people who Brooke loved and counted on were not at the pageant with her. Although she didn't say it, I could read the sadness on her face.

I am very proud of her - she did a great job. She looked beautiful and tried something outside of her comfort zone.

And I, back to the topic of judging, was reminded once again that I have no right to judge anyone on such trivial grounds or to make assumptions about their character based on their outward appearances. I witnessed an opportunity for young ladies to learn and develop leadership qualities and skills that are lacking in most people in this country. Pride in themselves, strength in their convictions, and belief in the future. To say it was a beauty pageant would simply be referring to pure inner beauty and kindness of spirit.