Miss USA Retreat

Well this weekend was one big adventure to say the least!  Friday I packed my bags and headed to the airport for a whirlwind weekend in Virginia!  I was off to Standout Productions Retreat with 23 of my Miss USA Class of 2010 sisters.  Standout Productions is an amazing leadership retreat put on by former Miss USA Chelsea Cooley and fitness trainer and public speaker AT Dunn.  Chelsea and AT put on this annual retreat for current titleholders as a way to, not only get us ready for nationals, but allow us to meet each other before the big event.
   I wasn't really sure what to expect from this weekend but I new I was really excited about meeting some of the girls!  I should probably knock on wood before I say this, but people always ask me if pageant girls are mean or catty and I have truly had the complete opposite experience!  In my years of competing in the Miss USA system I have met some of my very best friends!  The girls I meet are just normal girls like me, girls who went to college, enjoy sports, and are fun, adventurous and truly just looking to reach their dreams and career goals.  Ashley, Miss Connecticut, and I headed to the airport so excited to meet some new girls who we would share our Miss USA journey with!  One of the first girls I met was Miss Alabama  and I knew we would be instant friends, she is sooo spunky and genuine and as we always joke us two blondes somehow always end up next to each other in every picture :)  She taught me how to say ya'll and introduced me to southern foods such as fried okra and gritts for the first time :)  I also got to know Wisconsin, North Carolina and Mississippi as they were my cabinmates for the weekend.  They were all so amazing and sweet and almost too much so because we stayed up into the late hours chatting :)  I got to catch up with other girls I am already friends with and absolutely adore such as Delaware, Rhode Island and my roomie at Miss USA Miss Pennsylvania.  All the girls I met were truly so sweet, fun and are just as excited as me to head to Miss USA in a few months.

   Throughout the weekend we listened to inspirational seminars, practiced our interviewing skills, walking skills and talked about how to stay mentally strong throughout the long Miss USA journey.  Beyond that I tried a lot of new things and have to say I had to be pretty brave :) In just three short days we went rollerskating, ziplining through the forrest, paintballing, horsebackriding, snowboarding, climbed to the top of a telephone pole and took our leap of faith onto a trapeze hanging in the middle of the forrest, snowboarding and some girls even flew planes!!!!  While many of these things took me out of my comfort zone and took a lot of trust and support from my new friends, this weekend taught me so many things.  I conquered some of my biggest fears and learned that sometimes you just have to go for it!  It truly is mind over matter and by trusting yourself and your friends around you you can conquer pretty much anything!
  This weekend was truly one of the most inspirational weekends I have ever had and was truly life changing.  I met some amazing people who I know will not only be apart of my Miss USA journey but part of my life for many years to come.  Thank you to Standout Productions for everything you did for us, it is these adventures that make being Miss Massachusetts USA the journey of a lifetime!

Lacey
xoxoxo