five years later…

the weekend after thanksgiving will always be particularly special for me. as i’ve mentioned quite a few times, i’m a proud member of job’s daughters international, a youth organization meant to raise young girls into empowered women. the organization has strong ties to freemasonry, and i grew up in this world because my father is a freemason, and my brothers were all demolay. i was fortunate to be an honored queen for my bethel twice, make countless friends, and attend so many fun events. but since the organization is for youth, the age ranges between ten to twenty, and i realized at nineteen that i wanted one more year to realize all the goals i had for myself as a daughter. so two months before my birthday, i went to the annual pageant and worked hard to win the title of miss virginia job’s daughter. this granted me one more year in the order, serving under the title.

this year’s pageant marked five years since i was crowned. it was really exciting to get all dressed up again and go on stage with all the other women who have served before and after me.

of course the point of the pageant is to select the next in line, and so the tradition of passing the crown has become one of my favorites.

after the pageant, all the former misses of virginia got together for a picture.  it’s amazing how much has changed in these years.

when i was miss, i was blessed to have a miss congeniality who complemented me perfectly. kaitlynn, my forever friend, and i served together and of course had to take our annual pageant picture. i was so happy to take pictures with her again.

during our year, we traveled with a pair of adults that we loved very dearly. since the last pageant, our wonderful mom amanda passed away. dad don, kaitlynn, and i posed with her name badge that she wore so often to remember the guardian angel in heaven that we miss so much.

the day after pageant there’s always a meeting to honor our international visitors. during this meeting, they held a majority ceremony, which is a special service for those girls who have become alumna. i’m four years late for that ceremony, so it was very exciting to finally receive it.

after the ceremony, we took more pictures. i was so happy to be with people that i haven’t seen in so long.

and here it is, my official certificate and the nosegay parting gift as a thanks for the years i served as a girl.

being around all the people from job’s daughters really motivated me to return and start giving back as an adult. i can’t wait to chaperone and spend time helping young girls grow the same way i was helped. ❤