My Journey to Mrs. Oklahoma, Search for the Suit

Even as God prepared my heart, I was hesitant to willingly put myself under a microscope for  judgment. I began to make silly requirements that had to be met before I would commit.

Being incredibly modest, wearing a swimsuit in public was something that literally mortified me. In fact, I was the girl that changed in the bathroom stalls for track back in school. I stated that I wouldn't participate unless I found a swimsuit that I just loved and fit me. (That will never happen, right?)

You see, at 4'10" very few things look great on my frame. In fact, I generally can fit into children's sizes, complete with cartoon characters and ruffles. Finding a swimsuit that fit was a challenge in itself, but one that I felt comfortable standing in front of the world was another story. Therefore, I began to browse the internet for pictures.

According to the discussion I had with Ginger over the requirement, I had to find one that was either silver, gold, or white. The one that stuck out to me the most was, of course, black. Therefore, I went to bed that night reassured that this wasn't for me.

Then, my Pinterest addiction won the best of me. As I typed in “gold one-piece swimsuit”, I gawked at the image that came up. A 1990’s Vogue runway image taunted me. Not only was it tasteful, but it was covered in sequins from top to bottom.

Of course, my hunt to purchase the suit was to no avail. And, soon enough I found that my size was sold out in nearly every style I picked. Quite content with myself, I quickly allowed the thought to fade.

Ginger text me to see how my hunt was going. I shared how I couldn't find my size and she continued to encourage me by saying I could get it altered to fit. To me, that wouldn't meet the requirements I had set and it was proof enough that I shouldn't do it. Then, when my husband asked me what I had found I shared the few pictures of suits I had found that I loved. However, I mentioned they weren't my size or they reminded me of my incredibly expensive taste and I knew we couldn't afford them. But, there was one that stuck out.

Despite every phrase I wrote in the search bar, a simple, black one-piece with a shape of its own would appear. Not to mention, after further research in the size guide, it just happened to be the perfect measurements for my little body. Therefore, I toyed with the idea of styling it on my own and recreating the one-of-a-kind sequined suit I couldn’t help but want. Therefore, I bit the bullet and signed up for my first, ever pageant. And, no matter what happened I knew that I had put in the effort to be suited for success!