Miss Illinois Blog
The Closing of March
April 1, 2010 | BLOG #10 | by Miss Illinois 2009 Erin O'Connor
Hello All! I hope everyone had a lovely March. The month began with some fierce competition for me. One of my first appearances this month was at "Dancing with the Stars Chicago." Sponsored by Arthur Murray to benefit the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. In the weeks leading up to the competition I rehearsed for hours with my instructor James. I had a fantastic time learning to tango at the Naperville Arthur Murray Studio. My favorite part of my lesson though had to be Jenks, the resident studio puppy. Jenks was named for one of my favorite White Sox Heroes Bobby Jenks, how could you not love him? The actual competition was intense. Local Chicago celebrities like Erich "Mancow" Muller, Matt Rodewald, Mai Martinez and D.C. Crenshawhad were practicing for months to strut their stuff on the dance floor. James and I felt very confident with our tango, but first place went to Valerie Warner from channel 9 news. Everyone did a great job and after the competition we danced the night away!
The beginning of this month marked the return of my weekly Triple Threat theatre class at Bardwell Elementary. This semester I have some truly talented kid and we are having a blast learning and playing our improv-theatre games. They are learning so quickly I've had to develop brand new games to challenge them! On March 7th I had the pleasure of traveling to my second home for the Miss Macomb Pageant. I can't believe it was a year ago I won that title and began my incredible journey. I performed my Miss America talent, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody!" and the talent I won Miss Macomb with "La Esmeralda".
Saint Patrick’s Day brought me to the home of the Miss Illinois pageant in St. Charles. In the grand tradition of almost every parade I've been in this year-it rained. A little drizzle wasn't enough to stop the celebration though, and we all had a great time. I have started my speaking tour of the Chicago Public Schools. School appearances are the most common, and also the most fun for me. After we talk about the six pillars of character, and acting with integrity, we move to question and answers. Throughout my year I have heard some hilarious questions. Some of them include: "Do you live in a castle? Do you have your own dragon? Will you marry me?" and my personal favorite: "So do you have to be a good swimmer to be Miss America if you wear a bathing suit?"
The most exciting event of the month, and possibly of my year happened on the 24th. I was asked to speak on behalf of the Melanoma Research Foundation at a congressional briefing in Washington D.C. I was flown to D.C. for the day, and then spoke before the media and several members of congress about my passion for Skin Cancer Prevention, and the struggle my family went through after loosing my mom. It was an emotional day. I was lucky enough to share the day with my little sister Caitlin, who is an intern on Capital Hill. Seeing her in the briefing room gave me so much comfort when talking about my mom's illness. It was an honor to be a part of meaningful legislation that will help prevent more young men and women from developing skin cancer. I'd like to thank the Melanoma Research Foundation for asking me to speak, and Amalia and Betsy for making that day happen. It was so special for my family and I, thank you.
I have received many emails from local titleholders or hopefuls asking for advice for their competitions. While I cannot give individual advice, I can share some general tips that helped me prepare for each level of competition. One of the most helpful things I did to prepare for Miss Macomb and Miss Illinois was to put together a binder of information. This binder had sections like "Interview Questions. Platform. Miss Illinois Information. Inspirational Quotes." I filled the binder with information about the Miss Illinois organization, character counts, facts about the state of Illinois, motivational quotes and pictures of past Miss Illinois and Miss America's for inspiration. I studied the book every day and added to it when I found new information or an interesting article. This was extremely helpful in preparing for the interview. I also filmed myself walking and dancing, so I could see what looked best on stage. If you are interested in a little outside help, I can highly recommend Michelle Holmes at The Pageant Room Wardrobe Consultation & Pageant Coaching (618) 997-2034. The best thing to do before any competition is prepare prepare prepare.
Next month I'll be singing the national anthem at Bulls and a Chicago Fire game, and shooting a hockey puck at a Black Hawks game. I can't wait to share all the experiences in my next blog!
Erin O'Connor
Miss Illinois 2009