Has it really almost been four
weeks? According to the calendar, yes. According to my level
of excitement, not at all. One would think after four weeks have passed,
the excitement of being Miss Georgia would settle down. Fortunately, this is
not the case for me. I am still enjoying every minute, and am just as thankful
tonight as I was on the Saturday night I became Miss Georgia 2012!
I have been busy, very busy. Anyone
would tell you that I am an extreme "go-getter," and once I am given
a bigger platform in life, I run full speed with it. With this post, I want to
update everyone on the places I have gone, bring some clarity to my platform, give
you some insight into what I will be doing this year and my preparation plans
for Miss America.
In the past four weeks I have
driven 1,600 miles, gone through four or five full gas tanks (my KIA has a
17 gallon tank!), sent more e-mails than I can count, and the list
goes on. Right after I won, I was able
to attend a really interesting and insightful meeting at Turner Broadcasting,
thanks to Kellie Appel from the Capital City board. The seminar was titled Media Literacy: Unraveling the Power of
Portrayal. Jennifer Pozner (Media critic, author, founder/executive
director of Women in Media & News) was the keynote speaker. It was fascinating and gave me much to
consider as I represent our state. I
also had a fun afternoon tea at the St. Regis hotel in Atlanta with Amy and
Erin Haney, Kellie Appel, and my mom. The event promoted the American Heart
Association, so it was neat to be there and witness how they changed
their menus to support such a great organization; I of course wore a
red dress as well! I then had a board meeting in Columbus the week after
Miss Georgia, before which I went to Bonefish Grill with my Miss Georgia Princess,
Tori, Ella, and Anna Claire. Ella is a five year old girl who has Leukemia
(whom I met through Tori), and Anna Claire is Ella’s nine year old sister.
Bonefish Grill was a sponsor for all the Miss Georgia contestants during the
week, so when I went there with my crown and banner on, they graciously gave me
a free meal. It was such a nice surprise!! A few days later, I made a
visit to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and spent some special time with
Christopher, a little boy who has a brain tumor. These past four
weeks have been a lot about planning, and my schedule has already
filled up for August. I am excited to be going to the Miss Warner Robins
pageant on Saturday, then to Dairy Queen in Columbus next Thursday for Miracle
Treat Day, a nationwide promotion to benefit the children being treated at
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. All of my newly-crowned Miss
America sisters will be participating in their states as well. I can’t wait to meet them all when we spend a
week together in August at the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Pageant in
Orlando.
For those who do not know, my
platform is the Sibling Support Project, a national program that strives “to increase the peer support and information
opportunities for brothers and sisters of people with special needs and to
increase parents' and providers' understanding of sibling issues.” In just the past three months, the
organization and its work have been featured in the New York Times; CNN; and
NPR. The Sibling Support Project is important to me because the youngest of my
older brothers suffers from a few different disabilities. Robin, 21 years old,
is deaf and has cerebral palsy, brain damage, epilepsy, and OCD. We have always
been extremely close growing up, and our relationship only strengthened when
I moved back home from Houston, Texas. It was not
only challenging living on my own at age 15, it was difficult living
without Robin. He has unknowingly taught me lessons no one ever could
have: unconditional love, patience, resilience, and the
importance of laughter and humor. We often say in the Jordan house,
"sometimes all you have is laughter to get you through!"
All
of that aside, I have truly seen the need and want for sibling support. I am
forever thankful that acceptance of special needs people has improved, and I
want to help their siblings as well. Many people may not realize this, but the
siblings will be the disabled person's lifelong friend, due to chronological
aging... not the parents. We are the ones who often worry about how our
disabled brother or sister will receive care and fit into our lives over
the decades ahead. I have really valued my partnership with the
Sibling Support Project, and I am so thrilled to expand my work with the
organization. This past month I have already been in close contact with the
head of the Georgia Sibling Support Project, and we are planning some great
things: more ways to integrate my platform with the Miss America Organization,
as well as with Children's Miracle Network. More details to come in a few
weeks!! For now though, I will say I have been busy writing proposals, creating
distribution lists, and making sure I stay on top of everything. I think you
all will really like the opportunities that are becoming available. :-)
With
the Children's Miracle Network, I am already so immersed in the organization, I
am grateful to be able to do even more. My career path is to become a Pediatric
Oncology Nurse Practitioner. This dream was quickly solidified when I met
precious little Tori. (journeywithtori.blogspot.com) Instead of continuing on as a weekly college
volunteer, I will now visit the hospitals throughout the state (including my
regular visits to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta) as Miss Georgia. It was
such a thrilling experience when I went two weeks ago. The children always
appreciate and enjoy any "young" person who comes to play with them,
but if you have a crown on and a sash that says "Miss Georgia," that
excitement doubles! I have a visit planned to Columbus Regional Hospital next
week, and another CHOA visit in the weeks following. My goal before Miss
America is to visit all CMN hospitals in Georgia... preferably more
than once. ;-)
Miss
America preparation has begun... and I LOVE it. We have been discussing
wardrobe, talent music and choreography, interview preparation, staying
fit, paperwork, etc. It has already been fun discussing these things, and I
look forward to seeing what we all decide. Luckily we have some time but I feel
great participating in the process.
There
are some great opportunities that have come about since I got this job. Some
include going to schools around Georgia to speak with students who have a
special needs sibling; working closely and collaborating with the director of
the Sibling Support Project (even more so than I did before!); planning fundraisers
for my platform and CMNH; and visiting CMNH quite often. Now, I have a very unexpected, but extremely
exciting opportunity. I have been invited by the Center for Disease Control
(CDC) here in Atlanta to become involved with their Developmental Disabilities
Branch. When I have my first visit in August, we will discuss the CDC’s work on
developmental disabilities, both in Georgia and across the United States; meet
trailblazers in the field of developmental disabilities; and go on a tour of
the CDC. I could not be more thrilled about this significant new partnership to
help raise awareness of developmental disabilities and the needs of children
and families in Georgia.
The
other thing I wanted to address in this blog was "me." I am somewhat
new to pageants, and I feel that many people do not really know me. Because of
this, here are some fun facts (some random, some serious):
- I
love writing, obviously.
- I
have amazing parents, two older brothers (21 and 23 years old), and two dogs.
- I
am the only girl in my family (other than my mom, grandma, and aunt. No girl
cousins!)
- I
never thought I would compete in pageants, but am so thankful I was lead to do so.
- I did
not have typical college plans because my ballet career was moving so quickly.
However, God had different plans! After two major surgeries on my ankles, and
three other injuries to my feet, I made a difficult and life-changing decision
to step off the ballet route and pursue my childhood dream of becoming a nurse.
Because we had not been saving for college, I attended Georgia Perimeter
College for two years to save money. I was accepted and registered to
begin my junior year at Georgia State University the week after Miss Georgia,
but now that will be deferred for a year! I am SO thankful for the scholarship
money I have won... that has lifted a heavy burden off both my shoulders and my
parents’ shoulders. Thanks be to God!
- I
drink a gallon of water or more a day, not joking.
- I
am a "sugarholic."
- I believe
my strengths are my compassion for others, responsibility, and
the ability to connect with many different people. I love talking with others
and building relationships... hints to why interview is my favorite part of
competition!
- My
weaknesses include a sense of perfectionism and insecurities that I struggled
with as a teenager in the "ballet world."
- My
lucky number is 379... actually, they are 3, 7, and 9, but
for convenience, I just combined them :-)
- I
will never leave the house without a pair of earrings on.
- While
I love dressing up, fixing my hair, and doing my makeup, I like just as much to
wear sweats, no makeup, and a ball cap.
- I
am such a clean and organized person anywhere outside of my own bedroom at
home. Even in my bedroom in Houston, I was a "clean freak," but in my
bedroom in Georgia, that seems to change!
- I
love football, and am getting into the whole baseball thing (go Braves!)
- I
am fluent in sign language.
That’s
the update for now! My next post will be all about my wonderful and generous
sponsors that I have been blessed with this year.
-Love
in Christ,
Leighton
Jordan
