That Crown Is More Than A Crown

     A whirl wind of parades, meetings, appearances, speeches, fundraisers, formal affairs, and countless hours of preparation to become Miss North Carolina, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I was crowned back in August of 2016 and earned a $3,000 dollar scholarship to put towards my college education.

         When people tend to look at someone with a crown, typically their eyes scale from the top of my sparkly crown down to my face then my clothes and I’m judged immediately as a snob, unkind, selfish stuck up girl who thinks she is far better than everyone else. But let me stop you right there my friend… “pageant girls” are the exact opposite and being Miss Statesville has allowed me to prove that to people.

Being in the Miss America system is all about being that listening ear for those in need and it’s a way for me to give back to my community that has given me everything I have ever needed. Being Miss Statesville means more to me than anyone can fathom. I have the ability to be on my hands and knees with children and connecting with people in the community and that makes my heart ecstatic. When I unpin my crown from my head people usually get wide eyes and say “no, no, no you don’t need to do that” but, it’s not that I NEED to it’s that I WANT to! There is no point in me having this crown if I can’t share it with the people of Statesville and put it on children’s heads and make them smile ear to ear! As Miss Statesville, I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if a child didn’t have the opportunity to wear my crown because it’s an experience every little girl waits for… and when I have that opportunity to put a real princess crown on her head… there is nothing better. Truly, there is nothing better than the priceless look on a Childs face when they get to meet a princess, it makes my job easy.

Being Miss Statesville is unlike any other job; Normally people separate their work and home life but that’s not what being a title holder consists of. You are constantly in the public eye, constantly posting on Instagram, Facebook, writing thank you letters to people and sponsors and coming up with creative ideas all while being a successful college student. Most of the time when I was in my lectures, I was also scheduling events back at home to attend or talking to Ryan my Executive Director and my Mom about wardrobe and plans. This past year has been the busiest, fastest and absolute best year of my life.

I have grown so much as an individual since receiving/ relinquishing the crown. I’ve had the opportunity to attend formal functions in Statesville and I have had the most amazing time getting to meet and associate with the people of Statesville.

One of my favorite appearances during my reign as Miss Statesville was actually a parade. In the Statesville parade, I did not want to ride in the car, I actually refused to sit in the car because I wanted to be with the people of Statesville shaking hands, hugging people and taking pictures with children and that’s just what I did. It made the parade so much more enjoyable because I was able to talk to people and be personal.

Another experience that I truly adored and will forever remember was when a little girl scout walked up to me and handed me a pin for my sash that was a reindeer made out of pipe cleaners. I bent down and asked her what it was and she told me “We make pins for our vests and trade them within our troop and I want you to have this one.” You can only imagine what I did when she said that and handed me the pin… I cried, and then promised her that I would never take it off of my sash no matter what. To this day I promise you it is still on my sash and it will stay there even at Miss North Carolina when I have to wear my sash on stage. It will be on there (the back side of my sash because we aren’t allowed to have anything on them that is visible) as a simple reminder of why I am on that stage and who I am representing. I wanted to make that little girl so incredibly proud, she was my inspiration and when I am exhausted from being Miss Statesville I look at her Reindeer pin and it reminds me that I am not in this for me, but for the people and children of Statesville.

Someone recently wrote me a letter and in it she said “Just think, you are not here by choice but by God’s own choosing. His hand formed you and made you the person you are. He compares you to no one else. You are one of a kind. You lack nothing that His grace cannot give you. He has allowed you to be here at this time in history to fulfill His special purpose for this generation.” It is reminders like this that remind you of why you are Miss Statesville. I was fortunate enough to become Miss Statesville and God provided this opportunity for me to spread his word through this title. He has done amazing things for me this year and constantly opens up my eyes with this title. God has given me a duty and I will fulfill this duty with grace, love and perseverance.

A crown and sash may be sparkly and stand out but they are the equivalent of someone wearing a hard hat and vest and heading out to work, it allows me to do my job just like them.

Much Love,

Grace Dirig