Miss Capital City, Grace Dirig, 4th Runner Up at Miss North Carolina 2019
Emily Muse, Miss Cleveland 2019
My favorite memory or appearance during my first 90 days was…
The Cleveland Strawberry Festival has been my favorite appearance thus far. Meeting the citizens of the community I am able to represent was incredible. All of the local businesses were so kind by extending invitations to events as well as encouraging my success in Raleigh at Miss North Carolina. I feel truly blessed to be able to represent an area filled with “good southern people” who practice southern hospitality in every aspect of life. They made me feel so at home and I am lucky to represent the greatness of this area.
Something that you should know about my Carolina Princess is…
Abby is a strong young woman who is driven. She doesn’t let any limitations stop her from her goals of success. She inspires me everyday by how kind she is to all people and how open she is to share her story. She uses every moment to meet others and brighten their day with the most contagious smile. Abby is my superstar and I am so thankful I get to experience this year with her!
Something that I want the community to remember about me is…
I want my community to remember me as an authentic woman. I am not afraid to be 100% myself and I am proud of who I am. I am constantly evolving into the best version of myself and I think as a role model and spokeswoman for the Cleveland community I am able to show that embracing your god given attributes is a healthy and incredible practice on the journey to self identity.
Something that I want the community to remember about my platform is…
I want the Cleveland Community to remember how involved I am with arts programs so and supporting both large and small scale performances and events. As a Marching Band Alumni, I understand how incredible I felt when the community recognized the countless hours applied to perfecting my craft. I want to encourage young students to continually develop leadership, time management, organizational, and music proficiency skills. These are all applicable to any aspect of future success and by honing in on sharpening these skills in your toolbox, you are paving your path towards a bright future.
Before I give up my crown, my goal is to…
My goal is to have a personal relationship with the arts programs within Cleveland Community schools. I want to be an ally to speak on the benefits of this curriculum and eventually work with legislature to ensure all students have equal opportunity to experience Arts Curriculum in the school systems.
To me, Miss America is about…
Strength. The strength in self identity is such an important concept in today’s society. From my time within this organization I have learned the power in thinking positively about myself and creating my own path to success to build my self identity into what I want it to be. I am in charge of my own legacy and in the end, I have the final say on my destiny. Miss America is an organization driven by strong women for strong women. We help create strength in others to inspire and make a change.
The best advice I have received while preparing for the state pageant was…
“Take time to focus on yourself.” This week is filled with activities and sisterhood which are incredible but sometimes you lose yourself in it all. By taking time to journal and self reflect on your own progress, you are more in tune with your destiny and realizing this trip to the state pageant isn’t just to get the crown… it’s to create an experience to further develop your success as a titleholder and more importantly, a woman.
My advice to anyone thinking of competing for a title next year is…
Do it. You never know what lies in the cards for you and you won’t know until you try. The moment you open yourself up to this experience you are stronger. You will gain an experience that will develop your train of thought towards creating the best version of you not just for a crown but to lead yourself in the direction of where you want to go and who you want to be.
Anything else we should know about your first 90 days?
I have been lucky to work with the best committee in the state. They told us the first night of practices that we are a family and that is 100% true. They are always available to discuss ideas and help you reach out to the right people to help dreams become a reality. I am constantly in communication with our director and he never shows frustration of me texting too much or asking too many questions because he is genuinely happy to help. Everyone on the committee has a different skill set and they apply it wherever they can that will help. I feel at ease and happy with my fate at Miss North Carolina and with or without the crown, I have seen a change in my confidence in my attributes because of the instilled confidence from my committee/ family.
Want to help make sure Miss Cleveland performs her talent live on ABC11 on June 22nd at 8pm? Remember to vote daily for Emily by visiting http://abc11.com/missnc/ and choosing: Miss Cleveland – Emily Muse and entering your email to vote at the bottom of the page.
Other Miss Clayton, Miss Cleveland & Miss Capital City News
You must be logged in to post a comment.