When Miraclle Shields of Wilmington competed in the Delaware Miss Teen Pageant earlier this year, she noticed something strange: Many of the girls didn’t want to be there.
“Some just didn’t have the same confidence as others,” says the St. Elizabeth’s grad. “They weren’t there because they wanted to be. Their parents wanted it.”
That was Shields’ first pageant, she says, and it’s probably her last—as a contestant. Shields’ first Mizz. Natural Pageant is tentatively slated to happen in Wilmington this summer—though she’s in the planning stages now. She organized the event so girls 13 to 18 can show their energy, creativity and inner beauty. “People aren’t comfortable with who they are anymore,” she says. “We’re working to get girls to feel more confident.”
Based on an essay about what inner beauty means and a resume of their accomplishments, activities and volunteer work, 50 teens will be selected to compete. Physical beauty is not part of the scoresheet.
“All girls need to realize that they are beautiful and are ‘that girl’ that they see on TV every day,” she says.
Shields, who is studying at the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising in Manhattan with the goal of opening her own boutique, hopes the pageant will eventually grow and reach larger audiences.
Says Shields: “It’s just a way to congratulate girls for doing something positive.” (mizznaturalpageant.com)
