Pageant Diaries - Ch. 9: They See Me Rollin’
On my last official day of Queen-hood, I got to ride in a convertible for the Greater Sacramento Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce New Year Parade!
All of my convertible-riding excitement couldn’t make up for the fact that I had not. slept. at. all. the night before. As the 2011 Queen, I stepped up to be the 2012 Pageant Director this year, and as such, I spent the entire night before doing last minute prep work for the pageant. All worth it in the end, but boy does this picture bring back memories… of yawns and fears of falling off my seat as I drift off to sleep mid-parade.
They see me rollin’… but I don’t think they hatin’!
The back of my ao dai had a really really beautiful train, but we kept getting scared it would get stuck in the wheel!
Our studly chauffeur!
This is Crystal, one of the coolest chicks I know. She was a contestant in the pageant this year, but spent the days before pageant community-organizing and doing logistics for this parade! What a power woman!
At the end of the parade, they had me stand on this stage as they did the opening ceremony (see me in the white?) for what felt like an eon. By this point, my body was seriously shutting down. My eyelids were heavy as bricks, and I was wobbling because it’s hard to stand in heels when your body is uncontrollably leaning over to collapse in slumber.
Seriously, beauty queens are some of the toughest people I know,
Liza
Pageant Diaries - Ch. 7: Headache
Every girl has her own reason for doing a beauty pageant. Reasons include (but are not limited to):
- Serving the community
- Building self-confidence
- Learning/improving one’s poise, public speaking, etc.
- Meeting new people/making connections
- Free dinners/shows/photoshoots
- Furthering one’s modeling career
Let me just put it out there that my ultimate reason for doing pageants is to serve the community. To me, the crown is like the conch. (We’ve all read Lord of the Flies, right?) If you can attain it, you get a voice in your community. You garner more attention as Miss So-And-So than you would as a regular college student. The connections and the prestige of the title really help in furthering whatever cause you decide to promote.
In the last 1.5 years that I’ve spent vying for that voice, I’ve met many, many beauty queens and titleholders. As I’ve mentioned earlier, I quickly learned that every girl does pageants for a different reason. This did not settle well with me at first. I had a lot of animosity toward pageant girls that spent their terms furthering their modeling portfolio and doing little for their community.
As easy as it would have been to continue disagreeing with their intentions, I forced myself to rise above that and to look inwardly for my own resolution and peace.
Pageantry is part of the beauty industry, after all, and if a queen or princess wants to pursue modeling with little attention to her community, then it is her call. I can’t hate just ‘cause:
- she may not have the skills to implement a service plan.
- community work isn’t her passion.
- modeling isn’t my own passion.
- she’s 5’ freaking 8” or whatever, and I’m Santa’s Little Helper.
Also, if community work was my only aim, I could have sought many other venues. I have to admit that pageantry was intriguing because I wanted to see how far I could get with my looks (lolnotvery). Needless to say, pageantry has been a very humbling experience. You grow up thinking that beauty and brains is an uncommon combination, but one or two pageants will really open up your eyes to the fact that you aren’t the only above-average-looking, 4.0-GPA-getting, totally awesome chick.
At the end of the day, I’m not a preacher nor am I one to judge. All I can do is serve my term according to my own standards, and to inspire by example.
And I leave you with my favorite poem:
If
By Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
Truer words ain’t neva been said,
Liza :)
PAGEANT DIARIES - CH. 6: Waves of Change
On January 22, 2011, I passed on my title as Miss Aó Daì to a very beautiful and deserving Kim Le.
Eight days later on January 30th, 2011, I was crowned Miss Vietnam of Sacramento by the elegant former Queen, Angie Tran.
Another pic with my new lil sis!
But to say that all of this happened within eight days would be wrong. I wouldn’t have been able to pass on my crown with heart if I did not feel attached to the title of Miss Aó Daì. I wouldn’t have truly felt like Miss Aó Daì had it not been for the many opportunities and growth that I’ve experienced over the last year. I wouldn’t take advantage of every opportunity to call Kim my “lil sis” if I didn’t really feel like we are connected by some Miss Aó Daì essence — an experience that I will always cherish and one that she is just beginning to embark upon. (I’m such a badass, ending my sentence with a preposition!)
MVNCI 2010 Court and Jessica Do.
I would not have been crowned Miss Vietnam of Sacramento had it not been for the experience that I’ve attained through the Miss Vietnam of Northern California Intercollegiate and Miss Asian America Pageants. Furthermore, I don’t know how I could’ve done it without the hair, make-up, aó daì, and personal backstage motivational coach provided to my by Jessica Do. I wouldn’t have Jessica if I had not done MVNCI some 1.5 years ago.
Aunties, uncle, and mama!
Lastly, I wouldn’t have been able to feel free to step out of my comfort zone (and Stockton) to experience the world of pageantry/modeling if it weren’t for my eternally encouraging family and friends. Every time I find myself on a stage, I am guaranteed to find my entourage in the audience, screaming their lungs out, holding up obtrusive signs, waving like maniacs, and adorned in “Liza Chu” brand apparel. I can’t help but feel extremely loved. For that, a roof over my head, food on my plate, an education, and a savings account, I consider myself among the luckiest people in the world.
My bác Xuyến from Iowa cried when I was crowned. <3
I had not thought about it too much before, but I am also very glad that I won Miss Vietnam of Sacramento. Sacto is me. It’s my domain. I’m not a Bay Area girl, and it was for the best that I was not crowned Queen in any of my former Bay Area pageants. Nevertheless, I was/am dedicated to my role as Miss Aó Daì and Miss Congeniality, but I would be lying if I said the weekly drives weren’t/aren’t exhausting. As Miss VN Sacramento, I get to serve not only my Vietnamese community, but my Central Valley community. For a homegrown girl like me, that is everything.
My point is: I believe in the grand scheme of things. Had it not been for the seized opportunities and many key players along the way, I wouldn’t be where I am now. And if the point of my life is to constantly learn, grow, and give back, then I am very excited about entering this new stage.
To giving 100%,
Liza
PAGEANT DIARIES - CH. 5: Season’s Greetings
Gift giving is not limited to birthdays and Christmas. Amidst the week-long pageant training for Miss Asian America this Summer, the contestants and I took some time out to exchange gifts!
Nancy and I being extremely dorky!
The gift-giving ceremony was the highlight of pageant week. Before each contestant presented her gifts, she would give a little speech about why she chose it, and how she felt about the pageant experience. It was incredibly touching to realize how close we all grew to each other within one week. I treasure all 19 gifts from my girls around the nation!
One of my favorite gifts from the gift exchange was a Hawaiian mix cd from Melanie (far right). She was the Hawaiian representative and I thought the gift was incredibly thoughtful, personal, and beautiful! One of my favorite songs on the cd is She’s Music to Me by Ekolu.
She’s music to me
She’s all that I want
Life’s been a blessing since she came along
She’s music to me
Like a beat of a song
God knows that I’ve been waiting for so long
Chillaxin’ to Hawaiian tunes and writing political essays (per usual),
Liza
PAGEANT DIARIES - CH. 4: Shoot me!
Being in the pageant circuit provides you with lots of photo shoot opportunities.
Here are the safety guidelines:
- Are you getting paid for the photo shoot? If not, make sure you’re getting full-size digital copies of your photos at least.
- Research the photographer if you don’t already know him/her.
- Bring a friend to the shoot.
- Make a contract for your photographer to sign. We don’t want your photos manipulated and on some questionable website!
Remember that there will be LOTS of opportunities, so you CAN be picky! Don’t trust just anybody!
That being said, I’m really excited for my next photo shoot! The photographer and I are really similar in taste, so I’m loving his inspiration/location selections:
SF Financial District
SF Chinatown alleys
Fort Point
I love the first two locations for how busy and overwhelming they are (shapes, people, color). It’s gonna be fun trying to stand out from all of that. And Fort Point is just beautiful, period!
Off to my last class, then I can begin selecting outfits(!),
Liza
PAGEANT DIARIES - CH. 3: New title!
I’m changing “Memoirs of a Pageant Girl” to “Pageant Diaries” because
- It’s shorter, and
- Judy came up with it, and she’s like, 1 out of my 10 idols
Till next time, follow your dreams,
Liza
MEMOIRS OF A PAGEANT GIRL - CH. 2: Royal duties
Some princesses from the Miss Vietnam of Northern California Intercollegiate Pageant and I volunteered at the Open Air Health Fair.
The health fair provided people without health care free check-ups and flu/whooping cough shots. I love how this program aimed it’s agenda toward minority citizens. This was my first time doing community service outside of my hometown, so it felt good helping out people who are really removed from my community.
We would’ve looked so much more legit if we wore our sashes. Too bad some jerk forgot hers at home and ruined it for everybody. *Guiltyyy*
My shirt is gray because I was a Vietnamese translator. But there were barely any Vietnamese people at the event! Such a shame, because:
a. I KNOW there are Vietnamese people who need this free check-up stuff, and
b. I learned some new terms especially for this job, like “huyết áp” (blood pressure)!
I don’t know why I was trying so hard to hide my water bottle. My inner workings are paranoid and complex.
Boots rock,
Liza
MEMOIRS OF A PAGEANT GIRL - CH. 1: We need a new title
I’m going to start documenting my experiences as a pageant girl because because. :)
Chapter 1. The title needs some work. I’m obviously just biting off of “Memoirs of a Geisha.” I wish “Princess Diaries” wasn’t taken. :(
Can you think of a suitable title for this blog series?
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