Queen For A Day!!!!!

Today is Sunday, December 30th, and as 2007 comes to an end, I was reminded once again how precious life is! My sister queen Miss Michigan USA, Elisabeth Crawford, invited me to attend a Queen For A Day event! I had heard of this event before, but I had never participated in one and now I am hooked! :)

My mom and I drove about an hour over to Ann Arbor's Motts Children's Hospital. Motts was a first for me too. Once we found our way to the main lobby we met two wonderful ladies who are very committed to the Queen For A Day organization! Dena Rominick and Tina Gallando greeted us and told us what to expect. We registered at the desk and made our way to visit our Queen For A Day! I was a bit apprehensive as I didn't know how I would react and I didn't want to cry.

When we found the room, we met the cutest little 6 year old girl named Breanna Strange! She remembered Elisabeth from a fashion/modeling show that Breanna did just before her recent surgery! Small world! Here mom and dad were also present for this uplifiting experience!

Breanna has a condition I had never heard of called: Dystonia. It is often compared to Parkinson's Disease where the nervous system has a miss-fire of communication and the body sometimes twitches and is very "tight" which can cause pain. Dystonia does not cause any mental problems and I could tell she was very bright! I was very impressed with Breanna ~ to be so young with so many obstacles already at six years old and many more challenges ahead she remains cheerful and has the sweetest disposition! Breanna is in the first grade and loves Disneyworld characters (me too) so we had alot in common from the start! Plus we both love princesses, crowns, queens, and anything that sparkles!

Breanna had surgery three days earlier and was in a full body cast. She looked sooooooo tiny in that big hospital bed, but she had a big grin for all four of us! We all took turns introducing ourselves and she didn't miss a word! Her favorite color is purple and she wore a purple ribbon in her hair. She loved the fleece blanket with purple and pink ballerina's on it and requested purple sparkly nail polish when she had her manicure! She loved all the toys gifts and crafts she recieved and you could tell she will be a future beauty queen one day as she loved to be photographed!

Toward the end of our visit she was presented the crown and scepter, which she loved, and was officially the Queen For A Day! We promised we would see her again and we all wish her a very speedy recovery. The full cast will remain on for three more weeks, but she knows that she will be better soon!

Her neighbors and friends were visiting too while we were there. They were so sweet and waited patiently as the festivities were going on. At the end of the "tea party" the girls were given the Boa feathers we were wearing and they were delighted! I am sure we will see them again too!

It was a precious day, with a precious little girl, who reminded me today how precious life is . . . . and the relationships we share are precious too! Thank you Breanna!

*** To learn more about Dystonia go to any search and it will lead you to several links that explain it much better than I can! Breanna also has a webite of her own as she is trying to educate others about Dystonia and how it affects her life! I have not been able to find it for some reason, but when I do I will post it for you!

www.breannarose.org

www.breannaswish.org

www.roomforbreanna.com

American Red Cross !!!

Thursday night, Dec 20th, I volunteered my time to the American Red Cross Blood Drive in my hometown of Clarkston! I met some very lovely people and I was amazed how many of them have given blood over several years!

I was very excited to give my own blood and went through the registration. Then they tested my blood and I learned I was "deferred." My iron level was .01 under their requirement!!!!!!!!! I was bummed out and will be taking my vitamins and eating more veggies so that I will be ready for the next blood drive. I hope I pass next time! In the meantime, I was given a little sticker to wear that said "I Tried!!"

My friend and Clarkston News Writer, Trevor Keiser, came to do an article on my first Blood Drive and my giving blood to share with our readers. I feel bad that he made the trip for nothing. I know that sounds silly, but I wanted to give my blood, but it just wasn't right this time, but I WILL try again! Trevor was so great about it and told me not to worry! He is such a good trusted friend and my brother in Christ!

Bless their hearts, my mom and dad came and they both gave blood! I have some pics of my dad GIVING! They made me so proud!!

Won't you give . . . .please???!!!

Coalition On Temporary Shelters (COTS)!!!!!

This morning, Saturday, Dec 15th, I had the pleasure of taking part in a Christmas event at the beautiful Fisher Building in Detroit put on by the Coalition On Temporary Shelter! I just learned of the event on Friday and so I am very thankful to have been able to volunteer with this wonderful organization! The inside of this building has to be one of the most architecturally ornate and beatiful structures I have ever been in! The entire ceiling was hand-painted! Unbelieveable ~ it MUST have taken years! I wish I could have walked through the Fisher Theatre, but it was locked. Maybe sometime in the future I will do that!

I arrived at 8:30am to attend the volunteer meeting and get assignments as there were several different stations for the little children and their families to share in the joy and fun of the holiday season! There was a Karaoke station (and boy could everyone sing great!!), a face painting station, a Snowman craft table, a Christmas book storytelling station (with yummy cookies) and a visit with Santa! All of the stations began after a delicious breakfast with all the fixins'!!

I had so much fun greeting all the guests and mingling with as many as I could! Everyone was asked to bring $5 and an unwrapped toy! The toys were amazing and I couldn't believe, once again, how generous the people of Michigan were, to be sure that the children would have a wonderful Christmas experience! And with Michigan's economy right now I was actually humbled by what I saw and had to fight back the tears.

Some of the guests included: Santa Claus, Paws from the Detoirt Tigers baseball team, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Roary from the Detoirt Lions football team, and last, but not least, Maggie ~ American Coed's Miss Michigan Princess (she took 1st runner-up at the Nationals pageant and was actually a substitute at the last minute!!) She and her family are so nice!

Christmas is such a very special time of year and I hope that everyone who participated in the COTS Christmas event today felt blessed to be a part of it. I know I did!!! :) And it even snowed a little bit which added to the Christmas holiday spirit!

Volunteering for Christmas! :)

I love to participate in community service/volunteer work! Saturday morning I volunteered with Lighthouse of Oakland County (same place and organization as the Thanksgiving baskets) to help put together Christmas gifts for needy families.

My job was to go through the list and make sure all of the gifts were the right sizes and age appropriate for each family! My first assignment was to go through 21 boxes for the first family! It took forever, but well worth it! I wish I could see the smiles on their faces this Chrsitmas when they open everything!

As always, I met the most wonderful people and met several other teens who were volunteering too! When we had a break in the action, I had the opportunity to share all about the Miss Michigan Teen USA pageant and all of the volunteer work and events I have had the opportunity to participate in! They had many questions and it was nice to laugh and talk about how similar and different our high schools were too! I think we all left feeling good that in some small way we were all able to make someone else's Christmas special this year! :)

National Kidney Foundation Ball :)

"Motown Magic" was the theme of the annual "Kidney Ball" held at the Marriott-Detroit Renaissance Center last night!! It was an absolutely amazing experience!!

When I learned about this event I wanted to go. My maternal grandmother died of kidney failure in September of 1986 before I was born. I wanted to honor her memory this Christmas by attending the Ball and I am so glad I went! I honestly don't know alot about kidney care or anything about the Foundation, but in one short night I learned quite a bit.

The event started out with a silent auction, followed by a delicious Angus Beef dinner. Next we saw a powerful video and story about a young girl named Natalie Polachowski (see picture) who very suddenly experienced kidney failure. She is such an inspiration and the sweetest girl! After the dinner, Christopher, from Christopher's Flowers, was the emcee/auctioneer for the live auction!! He was fantastic!! He is the same Christopher who provides the flowers at our Michigan Teen and Miss Michigan USA pageants! There were 12 "live" auctioned items and one sold for $26,000!!!!!!!!!!!The generosity of these people was mind-blowing!! I couldn't believe it!! And all of the money went toward the Kidney Foundation! How cool is that???

Seated at our table was a woman who yelled out, "You are wearing my crown & banner!!" She told me that in 1979 she won the title of Miss Michigan Teen USA!!!! What a small world! Her name is Sandra Finkelstein and she won the Congeniality Award at the Miss Teen USA at nationals that year!! She was the shortest contestant at the pageant at 5'4" and said she had a blast competing at Nationals and reassured me I would too! We became fast friends and I am sooooooooo glad that we met! She is awesome!

Before the night began, I was waiting in the beautiful Marriott hotel when the Dallas Cowboys football team walked in!! I got a picture taken with one of them, but at this writing, I don't know his name!! He didn't know mine either so we were even!! :)

This Kidney Ball is much like the Silhouette Ball I will be attending in NYC so now I have got my "feet wet" so to speak!! And I can't wait!

New York City . ..here I come!!!! :)

I was so surprised to find a lovely certificate of appreciation for my work with the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) that arrived in the mail for me last week!!!

Even more surprising, and a million times better, was a phone call from Kris House, the Event Coordinator, with an invitation to NYC to their 13th annual Gala Ball!! NOF is flying my mom and me out to NYC on Friday, May 16th to attend the biggest fund-raiser of the year!!! They are putting us up in the Waldorf Astoria for two nights and flying us back on Sunday!!! We were so shocked and we can't wait!

Last year Joan Rivers and her daughter, Melissa, were the hosts of the Silhouette Ball! There were many celebrities in attendance and I can't wait to see who will be there this year! So many people volunteer a tremendous amount of their time and effort to help raise awareness of this very important issue! It has truly been my honor to be a part of this organization and hear all about them at the Gala!

Mom and I are already planning some of the places we want to visit while in NYC: Ford Modeling Agency, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Upper East Side, and the Statue of Liberty! I have no idea if there will be enough time to see all of that, but we sure will try!

Of course there will be so much more to tell you when I return and I will fill you in on all of the details!

Oh, I am soooooooooooo blessed!! :)

Miss Ohio Teen USA and Miss Ohio USA pageant!!!

I had such a blast at both Ohio pageants! The girls were SO nice and it was awesome to meet both the West Virginia Teen and the new Ohio Teen! I also met the West Virginia and new Ohio Miss USA queens, they were so kind! It was also really nice to spend more time with Elisabeth Crawford a.k.a. Peanut! I can't wait to go to Nationals with the wonderful girls and have the opportunity to get to know them even better! It was also great to see all of the pageant staff again since I haven't seen them since my competition back in September! It was like a mini reunion! The final shows were amazing and all of the contestants were stunning! The competition at Nationals will be fierce, but we'll all be rockin' it ; ) !!!!

My Interview with Clarkston News

Elizabeth Hawthorne was crowned 2008 Miss Michigan Teen USA. Photo by Trevor Keiser

I found my interview that I had with my hometowns newspaper "The Clarkston News" on the internet. So I wanted to share the article with all of you!

Millstream

Serving Society

Pageant winner uses crown to inspire youth

November 07, 2007 - Elizabeth Anne Hawthorne began competing in beauty pageants at age 12. Little did she know four years later, she would be crowned Miss Michigan Teen USA 2008.

"When I won, it was just amazing; there are really no words to describe it," she said.

Hawthorne competed against 64 other girls from around the state. She said her main goal for the competition was just to have fun and to enjoy meeting all the other girls.

"The judges were so much fun, the interview was awesome, and the girls were amazing. We just had a really good time because we didn't have our parents around and it was basically like a dorm room, but in a hotel."

Previous to Miss Teen USA, Hawthorne won two other titles. In 2005 she won Dreamgirls USA and in 2006 she was crowned Miss Michigan Jr. Teen.

"This is biggest one I have ever had, and honestly the one I can say I worked very hard for because it was the very first time I was in a swimsuit, so working out everyday, running, and just being myself was the big thing," she said.

Hawthorne is involved in several charity events with her "sister Queen," Ms. Michigan USA Elisabeth Crawford. Hawthorne will also teach others about her platform, osteoporosis.

"My big goal is to help teens and tell them how to prevent osteoporosis in the future," said Hawthorne.

She chose this after hitting her hip during a dance routine in a pageant. A shock went up her spine and, after consulting with a chiropractor, she found out that she has extra cartilage on her rib. She originally thought it was a bone tumor.

"So I went online to find this bone tumor I thought I had and I couldn't find anything, especially for teens, and I came across the National Osteoporosis Foundation. I contacted Kris House who was one of the speakers, and I told her I would really like to be a spokesperson for teens and really get the word out about osteoporosis and how to prevent it," she said.

Hawthorne is also working closely with the foundation while writing her first book for teens about osteoporosis prevention.

As one of Hawthorne's recent charity events, she worked with the Octagon Club and dressed up as Princess Fiona from the movie "Shrek" for the Friendly Forest, as well as doing a walk for the National Osteoporosis Foundation. She is a junior and honor student at Clarkston High School. Activities include, SADD, Octagon Club, French Club and Rachel's Challenge. She is also active in the Clarkston Coalition for Youth.

During the competition, Hawthorne was asked, "if you could have any class in high school that you don't already have, what would it be?" Her response: a confidence building class.

"In our society, we are full of peer pressure and that leads to drugs, alcohol and anorexia, by having this class we can build these kids up and let them know it's ok to be confident and have self esteem. With that we can have a better community."

Hawthorne has been asked to speak at Shelby Township middle school about self-esteem, since the school is going through a hard time after the death of two students.

"(I want to) try to inspire them to be themselves and if they're different, to embrace that and be unique. Because I think we conform so much in high school than in junior high because of all the peer pressure, that we should just embrace who we are and love ourselves and also open their arms to other people."

Hawthorne hopes to speak to the Clarkson elementary, middle school and junior high about self-esteem and peer pressure. She has noticed an increase in drug use, since the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program has been taken out of the schools.

"I went through it (Dare) five times in my hometown and I appreciate it so much. It has taught me not to even be associated with kids that do drugs or alcohol and if I do come across them I am a strong enough person, to tell them it's not a good idea and it is not good for their body as well as illegal," she said.

Hawthorne said doing pageants has helped her figure out who she is as a person. In 2006 Hawthorne had the opportunity to meet Miss America Jennifer Berry and listen to her explain how she was picked on in fifth grade for being taller than everyone else.

"I was just sitting their crying because I was that same girl and I never really realized how alone and how empty that feeling was because I never faced it, I just kind of pushed it away. Once I found out I wasn't alone in that situation it just kind of opened up and I accepted it and I knew I grew from that."

The following summer led to a lot of growth for Hawthorne, she said many people can go their entire life without really knowing who they are as a person.

"I am thankful enough to figure out who I am. It's not only Miss America, but it's my parents, pageants in general and just people I've met along the way, especially God because he gave me life and gave me these amazing people that are in my path right now," she said.

Hawthorne was born in Kalamazoo but spent 10 years growing up in Grand Haven, which she considers to be her hometown, until moving to Clarkston as a ninth grader in 2005. She is the daughter of Steve and Peg Hawthorne.

As one of her prizes as being crowned Miss Michigan Teen, she received a full four year tuition $34,000 scholarship to Baker College, as well as contracts from I Group Talent Modeling agency and New View Model Management.

After graduation, Hawthorne plans to go to France to be a model for two years to get money for college, then come back and go to Baker for two years of General Education classes. Then she wants to transfer to a different college. She wants to become a licensed Psychologist.

Hawthorne will represent Michigan in the 2008 Miss Teen USA pageant in April.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

(My amazing and supportive brother, Seth and me)

I wanted to wish everyone a very blessed and Happy Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for so many things this year! Here are a few...not in any special order:

Winning the amazing title of Miss Michigan Teen USA 2008
Keeping my grades up and making the National Honor Roll (again : ) ) as well as the school honor roll
Award from National Osteoporosis Foundation
Invitation to a Leadership Conference
Details that worked out for Eagle University
A peaceful passing of my Grandpa Mac on Saturday, November 17th
My 17th birthday on November 18th
My family and friends are safe and healthy as well as me
My new sister in law, Cary
A beautiful wedding for my brother, Seth
My returned stolen purse (which was bought in Spain)
Many opportunities for me to grow as a person and help others through charity events and community service as well as speaking engagements
And the many blessings from the Lord, my Savior

I can't believe it's snowing on Thanksgiving day!! And our Christmas tree is already up! (this morning)!!!
I hope that today would be a special day of true thanksgiving in your heart! God bless you!
Much love,
Elizabeth

Crown shots : )

The best director in the whole wide world, Melissa Pitchford, sent me some of my professional crown shots minutes after I won my title as Miss Michigan Teen USA 2008!

New Images from the Tim Priest Photoshoot!! : )

I still have not recieved the full disc of photos from the photoshoot, but Tim did send me 2 new pictures and I love them! I am so excited to see ALL of them hopefully very soon!! I can't wait to share them with all of you too! Enjoy!

Fitness USA!!!

On Friday after school, I went up to Flint to meet Jery my personal trainer for the next 6 months at Fitness USA! He is only 25 years old, but very knowledgeable about fitness and nutrition and will have me in top shape for the National pageant!

The facility is super nice and clean and has all the latest equipment and thankfully all of the machines are attached to a television so that we will can be preoccupied while we work ourselves into a sweat (it is probably used a distraction from all the pain!!)

This fitness training is one of the gifts I recieved from Fitness USA and because I am under 18 I have to have a parent with me so my mom gets to work out too!

Guess what my favorite food is? Tacos!! Yup, very hot and spicy too! But I want to be at Nationals in top shape soooooooo bad that I am willing to give them up for the next six months if I have to! Although, Jeri says I am allowed to "cheat" one day a week. It will probably always be a Sunday so I can still have my tacos, but just not as many!

I am really looking forward to the results of working out with a personal trainer. I have never had one before. I always work out anyway, but it helps to have someone tweak things! And I learned that Jery is great in Math and had a 3.9 gpa and said he would help me with Algebra anytime! I sure am a lucky girl! More later . . . . . . . :)

Thanksgiving Baskets :)

Getting up early on a Saturday morning isn't always easy, but if it is for community service or a charity event, it is always worth it!

On Saturday, November 17th, mom and I headed for Pontiac to help pack Thanksgiving baskets for the needy. This program is run through Lighthouse of Oakland County, a non-profit organization that meets the needs of Oakland county residents ~ they even help to pay bills when people are struggling in an emergency situation such as no water, electricity, and even help pay for pharmacy needs.

I met so many wonderful people who wanted to help others during the Thanksgiving holiday! Our morning crew volunteered from 9am-12noon. There were several tables stocked with foods of all kinds and all of us volunteers walked around in a very organized way. We went from station to station and filled up brown grocery bags that were called "baskets." We started out with singles, then to two person families, to 3, and finally bags for families of 4 and the bags got heavier and heavier! Mom and I decided to put cardboard box lids under our bags because the cans were so heavy and the cardboard lids helped keep the heavy cans from falling over in the bag. Pretty soon others saw us and did the same thing!! We had started a trend!!! :)

In three hours we had bags for 450 families! It was awesome to see all of the food stocked on the tables even after filling 450 "baskets." We felt we had barely made a dent, but a new crew came in for the afternoon to continue the work from 1pm-4pm.

I hope they found the time as rewarding an experience as I did! With our state really struggling right now because of the economy and the automotive industry up and leaving Michigan, and all of the foreclosures, it is so nice to know that many pople will have food on their table this year that otherwise might not have!

Miss Paw Paw ~ Blossomtime pageant :)

On Sunday afternoon I had the pleasure of working backstage with many lovely contestants from the Paw Paw area for a combined Teen and Miss pageant! It is a prelim for the Miss Blossomtime pageant held on the west side of the state! I had never heard of it before and I was thrilled to be asked to speak to the contestants before the competition began and also have an on-stage interview as well! I was invited by the pageant director, Mr. Josh Grimes, to share my pageant experiences with the girls because most of them had never participated in a pageant before! But you wouldn't have known that as they really showed a great deal of confidence and poise for newbies! I was so proud of each one of them for doing such a great job! :)

Mr. Grimes was hilarious and made everything so much fun!! The event was done so nicely and professionally, but the girls were definitiely the stars of the show!! My interview was a blast and Mr. Grimes put me at ease immediately!! He said I could talk for as long I wanted!! I did talk for a bit, but I was anxious to get back to see the rest of the competition as I wanted to see who won!! Thank you, Mr. Grimes, for including me in such a special night!

While I was talking backstage, before the pageant started, it was my honor to meet the new Miss Southwest Michigan, Kaylee Magroo!! She came as visiting royalty too and shared her talent routine (a monologue from Steel Magnolias) which almost had me in tears ~ she was so convincing. The only reason I was able to hold it together was because my interview was up right after she was done! Kaylee and I hit it off immediately when we met!! She is an amazing person and absolutely gorgeous with a warm and genuine personality! She and I share the same platform of building confidence in youth while speaking on self-esteem issues! We are both Christians and we know the gift that has been given to us as titleholders because of the Lord's blessings!

I plan to attend the Blossomtime pageant to see each city titleholder come together and compete for the Miss Blossomtime title!! I'll let you know how it goes! :)

Miss Capital City!

On Saturday night, Nov 10th, I attended the very first Miss Capital City (MAO) pageant! It was held at the Cadillac Club in Lansing! It was great to be able to cheer for so many of my friends that have cheered for me in the past! I love all pageants and all things that sparkle!

The whole night was fun and the competition was fierce! I am so glad that I was not a judge because all of the contestants were beautiful, wellspoken, and very talented! There were a few girls I have competed with before that have moved up to the Miss age group and they were awesome! I am so proud of them!

My friend and mentor, Tiffany Griffin, won the title and has an exciting year ahead of her! On Saturday she will be in the Silver Bells lighted parade which will end up at the steps of the Capital!! I would love to be there to see it!!!

Even though the room was full of MAO fans, I was deeply touched by the kind words of congratulations and the hugs! It was such a special night and I was happy to be a part of it!

Speaking on Self-Esteem at Malow Jr. High !! :)

Malow Jr. High students rock! What a great group of kids! Go Mustangs!

Because of a wonderful invitation from the school guidance counselor, Mrs. Witt, I had the amazing opportunity to go to Malow Jr. High, in Shelby Twp, and speak to eighth grade students for six hours on Friday, November 9th. Before I even started to share my message I was presented with a beautiful plaque to thank me for coming in! I was so surprised and I will treasure it always! The day was very exciting! I was on my feet for most of the day and I now have a new appreciation for all of my teachers! My feet were "dog" tired by the end of the day if you know what I mean! It was my day off from Clarkston High School and I was so thrilled to be asked to share my story with these students! :)

Malow Jr. Highers are required to take a Life Skills class. I spoke during each of the six classes ~ about one hour for each class. That is almost six hours of talking! Believe me, I was tired by the end and slept great that night! During the six hours, I talked about self-esteem issues, peer pressure, and I especially tried to help them with practical ways of finding out "who they are" and, of course, shared my pageant experience.

I am now hooked on public speaking and I hope that I will have many more opportunities to share my story and help other students to find out who they are! Motivational speaking is awesome!

Shortly after returning home from Malow Jr. High several of the students contacted me through myspace! It's great that they learned something that I had said or that maybe they don't feel so alone in a situation! I am thrilled they have written to me! I understand the responsibility I have been given with this title and just wanted them to know that if they had anything personal that they wanted to discuss with me that they could contact me on myspace. I have heard from several of the guys too ~ they weren't bored ~ they were listening! :)

I gave all of the students a challenge to take the time to find out who they are and I hope that they will do just that! And YOU can too! :)

I support ALL pageants!!!!

Saturday evening on November 3rd I made a Royalty appearance at the Miss Washtenaw's Outstanding Teen Pageant (MAO ~ Miss America Organization)!! I was there to support my friend Richelle! She did an awesome job and I was so proud of her! :)

For those of you who may not know, I have competed in several different pageant systems: Sunburst, Dreamgirls, National American Miss (NAM), MAO, International, and this year the USA pageant. I support ALL pageants! :)

I have now won three State titles: in 2005 Michigan Dreamgirls State Pageant, 2006 Miss Michigan Jr. Teen ~ National American Miss and now Miss Michigan Teen USA 2008!!! I was first runner-up in the Michigan International pageant in March 2006 just before the win at NAM!! I have been in the top 5 in a few MAO pageants as well and won a local Sunburst when I was 12! :) Every experience (win or lose) has taught me alot about myself and has helped me to grow and develop into a confident competitor!!

If you have never been in a pageant I encourage you to try at least one! It will change your life. It sure did mine!! :)

Clarkston News :)

On Wednesday, October 31st (Halloween Day) I had my first official interview as Miss Michigan Teen USA 2008!! My little hometown has a newspaper called The Clarkston News and it is a once-a-week publication. I recieved a phone call from Trevor Keiser, the staff writer, and he asked me to stop in after school for a casual conversation about the State pageant in Port Huron, what it felt like to win, what my plans are for the year, prizes won, and the National pageant. It was fun and Trevor was so nice that he made it enjoyable and I wasn't nervous at all. He took my picture as well and it is scheduled to be in the newspaper on Wednesday, November 7th!

Tim Priest Photoshoot!! :)

Yesterday was my photoshoot with fashion photographer, Tim Priest, and it was an AMAZING experience! I had such a blast! He was really nice and very funny! Everything was unique, original, edgy, and different!! I loved it!

I had five outfits chosen and had three different hairstyles. The make-up was amazing and my hair was great and looked flaming red! Alicia, Tim's assistant for hair and makeup, is so talented! And she is very sweet and supportive. The photoshoot was in Grand Rapids at 9 A.M. but I didn't get finished until 12:30pm. Tim knew of some really great backdrops around Grand Rapids for the outdoor shots. My USA sister queen, Elisabeth Crawford, had her photoshoot after me!

I had a few photos taken downtown right in the middle of rush hour traffic right beside the outdoor skating rink! They are some of my favorite pictures! A man driving by in his car told Tim that we could not work in the street according to Police regulation, but after the man drove around the block we went back and got the shot! My mom heard people commenting "I bet she is cold!!" Yes, I was. It was freezing out there! But I was all too happy to do the photoshoot! Even two Griffins ice hockey players walked by so my mom grabbed them for pictures too! It was just a wonderful day for me in every way! :)

I am SOO excited to see the pictures when they come back to me on a disk! I had my mom take some behind the scene pictures so you can see a little bit of how my day went! I will post my professional photos at a later date after I recieve them!

This was a great experience for me because my ambition is to return to Paris, France after I graduate from high school to model for two years! Then I will return to the US and continue modeling here. At least that is the plan! Yesterday's photoshoot was just another fantastic opportunity leading me toward my career ambitions! I am excited to see what other blessings God will have in store for me throughout this year and the rest of my life! :)

God bless!

Elizabeth :)