JonBenét Ramsey will always be remembered as the 6-year-old beauty queen who was committed to the pageant life. If she hadn’t been murdered in 1996 this young beauty would now have been 21-years-old.

JonBenét didn’t live long enough to learn the lessons that pageant life has to offer but she seemed to have loved partaking in the pageantry phenomenon. Her mother, Patsy Ramsey, was a beauty queen herself and once JonBenét saw her mother on stage for a pageant reunion she decided to follow in her mom’s footsteps.

After catching a few episodes of the TLC show, “Toddlers and Tiaras” it became oh so apparent that the world of pageantry is a huge and cut throat industry. I was blown away with what I witnessed but not before grabbing some lessons surrounding pageant life.

John Ramsey said he regrets allowing his daughter to join and compete in the pageant life but I have to commend all the families who go to the extremes just to support their children’s dreams.

Pageant life is an expensive and challenging competition; it must be something that the children are interested in. It is so rigorous that if parents try to relive their childhood by making their daughters join this life it bears the same weight as child abuse.

These children spend hours practicing and perfecting their craft with the mere hope of moving on to the next level. With poise and precision these young ladies strut across stages all over the USA with the intention of impressing judges. After catching a few episodes of the show “Toddlers and Tiaras” here’s what I gathered:

It costs money to chase your dream: As I watched these hopefuls parade throughout the show it became apparent that someone paid a great price for them to be there. Pageant life isn’t cheap. When you factor in the gowns, hotels, travel, and everything else that goes with the territory those funds add up quickly. Your dream is expensive and takes work. Ultimately you get out of life what you are willing to pay for.

Confidence is a must in order to compete at high levels: Child after child these kids are forced to go before the judges long before they ever hit the stage. Some are nervous and others are very comfortable in their own skin. What quickly became obvious was the young ladies who exude confidence are the ones who move to the final round. It takes more than a pretty face; without confidence, the kids are done before they ever start.

Everybody wants to win: Life has somehow perpetuated the lie that it’s just as much fun to be included as it is to win. No one goes through all those changes for second place; they don’t enter just be a runner up. Unfortunately there has to be some winners and as well as losers. Don’t fool yourself; we are born with the ideology that seeks to win hard wired within our DNA. It is disappointing to go that far and lose because everybody is in it to win it.

When it’s your chance to shine, turn up: There comes a point in every pageant that allows the girls the chance to show why they deserve the crown. This is when they can showcase their overall charm; their ‘X-factor. The difference in the ones who make it to the finals is their shine. Life responds favorably to individuals who have the guts to be their most authentic self in every situation.

What I came to realize from watching the show is how reflective it is to real life. Every day people go out and try to make their dreams happen while others kind of sit back and judge their performance. But in life the judges don’t determine the outcome of our lives; we do.

Pageants are filled with stress and waiting to see who makes it. For the ones who win, it feels like a dream come true. We don’t have to join the pageant life, like JonBenét, just to realize how great we really are. All we have to do grasp the lesson that pageant life can teach us.

JonBenét Ramsey didn’t live long enough to learn the lessons that pageant life has to offer but she’ll always be remembered as the 6-year-old beauty queen who was committed to the pageant life.

By: Cherese Jackson (Virginia)

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