To the number of people who are talking down on the newly crowned Miss America, Kira Kazantsev, for her talent with the "cup song," I just want to talk about a few points of pageantry.
I, too, was rather shocked at a Miss America contestant performing a talent that incorporated such a silly move from the much-loved film Pitch Perfect. Being from Alabama, I was pulling for Caitlin Brunell, but I soon heard that New York and Virginia, the top two contestants, were formerly a part of the National American Miss system that I am so proud to be a part of now. It is indescribably inspirational to see women exceed in the world's most prestigious pageant system after growing in the system I call home today.
For those of you thinking negatively of Kira for her quirky choice of talent, remember what pageantry is about. Remember how beautiful her voice was despite her modernized addition. The talent portion of competition is only 20% of each contestant's overall score, and the girl has a phenomenal voice. That is a talent just as any other.
But more than that, I saw the speaking skill and brains in Kira in her onstage question. Even after competing in pageants for over fourteen years now, I sat and thought, I would have had no idea how to answer a question about how women in the Senate should stand tall over men and make changes that matter to women. And her answer blew me away! She not only had an educated and sincere answer, but she spoke with poise and calmness even in knowing that she only had twenty seconds to give the perfect answer.
A pageant interview is what takes the crown, and seeing only a fraction of her brains and communication skills, I can only imagine how quickly she captured the judges' hearts in a ten-minute interview. I know first hand of the pressure in an interview room and knowing in the back of your mind that you have this small time slot to convince a few strangers that you are the best potential titleholder. You have to be smart and quick-witted and elegant in your speech, and that is what pageantry is all about to me. It is being a woman who can speak and connect with people on a level that allows them to see her greatness, even if there are only a couple of minutes to do so.
National American Miss, I have no doubt, grew Kira into a woman perfectly suitable to represent our country with the Miss America crown, because I know what I have learned from it on my own terms. NAM girls are world-chagners who inspire people every single day. They are the all-American girls who are unique and special, and they are dedicated to serving the world and its people. I am honored to be a part of such an organization, and Kira has only created more motivation and given stronger inspiration to NAM girls and other young women to go out and chase their dreams.
Beautifully said!
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