Something happened to me my second year at Ricks College that I frequently forget about. It started one day in April when my roommate Toni and I saw an advertisement in the school paper asking girls to audition to be on the Homecoming Court for the following year. I looked at her and said "Wouldn't it be hilarious to say that we tried out to be on the Homecoming Court?" Our friend overheard the conversation and encouraged us to do it. I mean...I don't have anything against pageant girls, but I'm just not one of them; so I thought it would be funny.
We went to the meeting a few days later to get more information. All the girls there (but me, of course) were well dressed and looked like they could have been in a beauty contest that evening. We were told that if we wanted to audition we had to be either sponsored by a student organization or 500 students had to sign a petition to nominate us. Auditions would be held in September, so we had all summer to practice our talents. I hadn't been super involved at school until that point, so I had no chance of being sponsored by a student organization. Toni and I knocked on every door in every apartment complex on our street until we had well over 500 signatures each so that we could leave for the summer without worrying about it.
I had plans to learn how to clog so that my audition would be funny, if nothing else. That summer I worked in downtown Charlotte and I spent all my free time doing everything but learn how to clog. My grandiose plans to become a professional clogger in two months were foiled. I got back to Idaho at the end of August and realized that our "try outs" were the following week. Lucky for me, I have a backup talent. I've actually played the violin since the age of 5, so I picked up my violin and practiced a song that I'd known for years. My roommate in the meanwhile started throwing together a song to sing. Neither one of us was prepared. At all.
The day to audition came. We threw on some dresses and headed to campus. We both did moderately well on our auditions and had a great laugh about it. The next morning, the results would be posted in the student center, so I told my roommate that I'd check the list on my way to class. I walked up to the list and there it was. My name. At the bottom. I was so excited that I was on the list of people who didn't make it; especially because that meant that my roommate would be in the pageant. Then I did a double take. Oh wait. "That list is the people who will be in the homecoming pageant. Crap!"
The next few weeks I was involved in dance rehearsals and interviews, parades, photo shoots, etc. I wasn't the only one shocked by this. There were posters all over campus with my mug right on them, so I had multiple teachers bring the posters into class to announce to the class that I was on the homecoming court. I was mortified. Really, this was supposed to be a joke.
We went to the meeting a few days later to get more information. All the girls there (but me, of course) were well dressed and looked like they could have been in a beauty contest that evening. We were told that if we wanted to audition we had to be either sponsored by a student organization or 500 students had to sign a petition to nominate us. Auditions would be held in September, so we had all summer to practice our talents. I hadn't been super involved at school until that point, so I had no chance of being sponsored by a student organization. Toni and I knocked on every door in every apartment complex on our street until we had well over 500 signatures each so that we could leave for the summer without worrying about it.
I had plans to learn how to clog so that my audition would be funny, if nothing else. That summer I worked in downtown Charlotte and I spent all my free time doing everything but learn how to clog. My grandiose plans to become a professional clogger in two months were foiled. I got back to Idaho at the end of August and realized that our "try outs" were the following week. Lucky for me, I have a backup talent. I've actually played the violin since the age of 5, so I picked up my violin and practiced a song that I'd known for years. My roommate in the meanwhile started throwing together a song to sing. Neither one of us was prepared. At all.
The day to audition came. We threw on some dresses and headed to campus. We both did moderately well on our auditions and had a great laugh about it. The next morning, the results would be posted in the student center, so I told my roommate that I'd check the list on my way to class. I walked up to the list and there it was. My name. At the bottom. I was so excited that I was on the list of people who didn't make it; especially because that meant that my roommate would be in the pageant. Then I did a double take. Oh wait. "That list is the people who will be in the homecoming pageant. Crap!"
The next few weeks I was involved in dance rehearsals and interviews, parades, photo shoots, etc. I wasn't the only one shocked by this. There were posters all over campus with my mug right on them, so I had multiple teachers bring the posters into class to announce to the class that I was on the homecoming court. I was mortified. Really, this was supposed to be a joke.
And here's what you've really been waiting for. Drumroll please...............
We wore these awesome (and hott!) outfits during the Opening number. But it got better. We did a quick change on the side of the stage and ran back out in the outfits below to dance to some N*Sync song. Yeah, it's time to be jealous of my mad dance skillz. I also had mad violin playing skillz and my question/answer session was WAY better than our girlfriend from South Carolina. 
And here's the Homecoming Queen herself, Christine. She won Miss Congeniality too based on the court's votes, so we were all really happy for her. Seriously. No "Drop Dead Gorgeous" Mishaps here, kids. This is Rexburg, Idaho, after all.
And ironically enough, it was 6 years ago today that I participated in the very last Miss Ricks Homecoming Pageant. Ricks College turned into BYU-Idaho the next year and the sports program was dissolved. All that = no more homecoming queens or pageants. Just so you know, the poster with my mug on it is still hanging up in the closet of my old bedroom at my parent's house in Utah.
Ok start being jealous.
1 comment:
Did Brian go and see you dance to N Sync? I very well could have been there as well, but it's been so long that I just don't remember all of the events I attended while at college.
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