Octoberfest!

No, no...not that Octoberfest. In my house we call it Octoberfest because it gets crazy busy around here! Not only is NAM Nationals a little over a month away, but my calendar is filled to the brim with community service, fashion shows, meeting government officials, and most importantly school work! I wish I could get paid to be a juggler, because I have got this whole juggling thing down to a "T". 

Yesterday, my sister queens and I had the opportunity to help out at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's "Light the Night" Walk in Princeton. Not only was it a beautiful fall evening, but they also had a beautiful ceremony dedicated to those living with blood cancers. Did you know that approximately 21,840 deaths in the United States will be attributed to leukemia in 2010 (12,660 males and 9,180 females)? Thank you to the wonderful LLS that helps to raise money towards research and an eventual cure for Leukemia and Lymphoma. 


I just want to send out a big thank you to Evelyn McCleod (America's Mrs. 2010) for helping to coordinate this event. We even ran into Mrs. New Jersey United States, Claire Pavlinec.

NAM Girls with Claire Pavlinec, Mrs. NJ United States

I walk to find a cure!

All of the girls and I with our lighted balloons! 

Next up was Miss New Jersey Teen USA! I think as titleholders it is our responsibility to visit other pageants and cheer on our fellow pageant girls, some of whom I have been competing along side of since I was 12 years old! The Miss USA Pageant never fails to put on an awesome show and the New Jersey State Pageant was no exception.

The lights were glowing, the heels were high, and the energy was through the roof! Only one lucky lady got to walk away with the title and it went to Savannah Schechter, our new Miss New Jersey Teen USA 2011! 

Savannah Schechter, Miss NJ Teen USA 2011, and I!

It would be very inane of me if I did not mention some of my favorite pageant buddies who also competed this weekend: Congrats to Christina Monello (my predecessor), Emily Shah, and Katarina Kneer (who also won the Photogenic Award) for making top 15! I'm so proud of you ladies! I had an awesome time and even got to catch up with my beautiful Jr. Teen Sister Queen, Jeanine. Love ya girl!

Sister Queens <3

Emily Shah (Top 15 Finalist) and I.
(I actually sold Emily her beautiful Sherri Hill Pageant
gown from my place of employment, Ultimate Fashions!
Check us out on www.ultfash.com)

Before I sign off I want to leave you all with a quote. I will continue to do this after every blog. I hope you read them and enjoy them, but most importantly I hope you can take a small tidbit of it to get you through the week:

This quote is also to pay tribute to five young men who took their lives in the past month due to anti-gay bullying...RIP.

"Never be bullied into silence.  Never allow yourself to be made a victim.  Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself."  ~Harvey Fierstein

All My Love,

Melissa