It's Time for Divas in Training

Next month I will hold my 3rd bi-annual Diva pageant, and I couldn't be more excited. In just a month these girls will transform greatly. There are some that are in this pageant because they NEED to gain confidence. There are some that have confidence, real standouts, but who need to be around those that don't have it so they can see how the other half lives. They will begin to support one another, lift each other up and form new friendships. I look back at the girls who have participated in the past; some have slipped through the cracks, becoming runaways, and drops outs. But I know as much as I would like, I can't save everyone. But the ones who have gone on to college, that are about to graduate, I know the pageant has affected them. Not to say they had no other supports or reasons for success, but I know that me maintaining a relationship with them after 4 years means a lot. One girl, in particular, competed in the pageant in 2006. She was just 13 years old and very shy and unsure of herself. Competing against 8 other girls, she didn't place in the finals. I took a liking to her because the tomboy in her reminded me of myself. Even two years after the pageant, we spent a lot of time with each other. When she got into 10th grade we lost touch for a while. We'd touch base online every now and then, but I got busy with college, and she got busy with being a working teen. Well, she sought me out through my KYDS website, and we reconnected, going to go see "For Colored Girls" this past weekend. This year she will compete in the pageant again, but as a whole new person, and I am so touched that she feels she is confident, and successful in school because of her relationship with me. Now that is something I'm truly grateful for. Sometimes I forget that I mean so much, yes me the Queen of Self-esteem, I forget, and it feels good to be reminded.
http://www.mykyds.org/