Our daughter showing us how important it is to let our children be who they are

Wow is all I can say. We are all just waking up this morning after a full and special day for our daughter and our family.

Our daughter walked away last evening with the Little Miss Paradise, Miss Congeniality, and Miss Photogenic titles in the Little Miss Paradise Pageant and she blew us away. And I am so glad we allowed her to pursue her dream. We were the sort of parents who thought pageants were frivolous for girls and did not want our daughter to be a part of that whole scene. But seeing her last evening come alive on stage with such poise, dignity and confidence we knew we had done the right thing by allowing her to be who she wants to be.

Our daughter researched the pageant, found it then came to us and asked us if she could enter. As parents, we were both hesitant about it as we are of the philosophy that children should develop their whole selves rather than just focusing on their physical selves and what they look like. But she told us the Pageant was not just a beauty contest that it was about building confidence and showing talents. It was about being on stage. Then we talked to her about how she would feel if she did not win the pageant and her answer was if she did not win, it would be just wonderful that she was on stage doing the best she could. And she would learn from that experience to take her to the next experience.

She chose every outfit she was going to wear. Her music for her talent. Her formal dress she did not want her dad to see until she had it on on the stage. She worked on her own to develop the answers she thought she would be asked. She didn’t want us to know how she was going to answer the questions because she wanted the whole night to be hers and not what we thought she should say. She wanted everything to be a surprise to us. And did she ever surprise us every step along the way.

From the moment she walked on the stage to the moment she walked off we were mesmerised by our daughter. By our little girl who set a goal for herself and more than exceeded it. A little girl who asked us to let her be herself not what we thought she should be. A little girl who showed us that when we follow our passions with dedication and truth, we will always come out on top. Always feel like winners. And last evening she stood amongst 6 other young ladies who all did the best they could, built lasting friendships with people she had not met before and gained so much more than just being in a pageant. She gained validation that as long as she is being true to herself and if it is her time, life will always reward her.

And what was priceless was when we were driving home and she said she felt bad for the other girls because she won everything, I knew we are raising our daughter right because even in her crowning moment, she was thinking about the feelings of the other girls.  Then when we got home, all of her friends and some of our friends had come to our house. All of them proud of her. All of them congratulating her and she being gracious to share her win with them. Our hearts swelling with pride for the young lady she is becoming and the friends she has by her side through thick and thin.

We would like to thank the Pageant organisers Mrs DeRoza, Miss Brangman, Miss Simmons, Miss Smith and Miss Galloway for all the work they put into our young ladies. A thank you to all of the other contestants. A job well done to everyone who took part in the Pageant. We are so proud of our daughter for just going for it and claiming who she is. An invaluable lesson for a young lady developing who she is. An invaluable lesson to us as parent to learn how important it is to let our children be who they are.