My favorite part of the entire week was being able to meet new friends like Paige (Jr. Miss SC), Rylie (Jr. Miss FL & the NEW Jr. Teen United States-World!), Alannakai (Jr. Miss HI), and Allie (Jr. Miss United States-World 2010)! Being spray tanned for the first time was…interesting. I have to admit though that it made me look GREAT on stage. I also really enjoyed being able to hang out with the best sister queens ever; Victoria Korthuis, Teen Colorado-World and Jessica Hartman, Miss Colorado Intercontinental and your NEW Miss United States Intercontinental!
I think my family might have enjoyed competition week just as much as I did. My dad and little brother enjoyed going to an Astros game, Dave & Busters, the movies, the mall and swimming as often as possible. I know my mom loved hanging out by the pool with Tori’s mom while we were in rehearsals, and seemed to have her own group of “pageant moms” to visit with each morning while they waited for us to get done with hair & makeup at 6:00 am.
I enjoyed each phase of competition including interview, evening gown and casual wear. Interview was AMAZING and so much fun!!! I love being able to show my personality and I loved knowing that one of the judges is been on food network, because I LOVE the food network and even had that included on my bio sheet. For evening gown, I loved how beautiful I felt when I walked on stage. It’s the one phase of competition that I love 100%! Casual wear, where do I start? I loved everyone’s outfits, they were all so cute. The best part though is being able to just be yourself and enjoy the stage time you have!
The only thing that I DIDN’T enjoy throughout the week was getting up at 5:30 am for hair and makeup, but it was all worth it when I saw how amazing I looked thanks to my hair & makeup artists Austin Ryde and Michael Bondi!
Although I didn’t place in the Top 5, I’m extremely proud of how I represented CO and am excited at my year ahead. The judges did an EXCELLENT job in selecting Rylie Spicker of FL as the new Jr. Teen United States-World. Not only was she crowned the new queen, but she was also selected as Miss Congeniality by all of the Jr. Teen contestants and I had lovingly been referring to her as my “little sister” all week. After supporting my wonderful sister queen Tori in the Teen United States-World competition where she placed in the Top 20, I enjoyed wrapping up competition week by swimming till 12 am with some of my pageant buddies!
The next day as everyone else was packing up and heading home, I enjoyed some one on one time with my wonderful new friend Alana (Jr. Miss HI) as our families went to the mall together and we bungee jumped and ice skated. Afterwards, my family was fortunate enough to stay for a few extra days of family vacation time and celebrating the 4th of July in Houston. It was nice to unwind with my first trip ever to the ocean when we went to the beach in Galveston!
I have SO many people to thank and barely know where to begin. A BIG thank you to Christina, for all of the advice, encouragement and coaching. Tori and Jessica, thank you both for being the BEST big sister queens ever! Mom, thanks for supporting me every step of the way, even when we did get on each other’s last nerve. Dad and Robbie, thanks for putting up with my early morning schedule while you were trying to sleep. Michael and Austin, thanks for doing such a fantastic job on my hair and makeup, you always made sure I shined on stage! Jennifer, thank you so much for flying out to support and cheer for us CO girls. Tricia & Russell, thank you for being what my mom refers to as “Ashley fans” and always encouraging me throughout the competition. Thank you to all of my sponsors and supporters who have donated support either financially or emotionally since I was crowned Jr. Miss Colorado-World. Lastly, to Gaspar and ALL of the staff at nationals, thank you for running an amazing pageant. I had so much fun and would go through it all again in a heartbeat!
Well, as I board my plane it’s now time to say good- bye to Jr. Teen United States-World nationals in Houston, Texas as I head back to non- humid Colorado and embrace my remaining year as QUEEN!
With love,
Ashley Berry
Jr. Miss Colorado-World
