In middle school, one of my favorite shows to watch on MTV was Made. If you’re unfamiliar with Made, the show documents the transformation of teenagers or groups into the dream version of themselves with the help of their “Made Coach.” From pageant girls to singers, this show been able to transform everyone into their wildest dream. For these past four months I’ve felt like I’ve been on an episode of Made as I decided to be a part of the annual Zeta Pi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity scholarship pageant, Miss Black and Gold.
Photo taken by Gabby Poux.
Before going into the pageant process, I had no pageant experience at all. My middle school tom-boy self would have cringed at the thought of me being in a pageant. And also, I have never seen a single Miss America or Miss USA pageant in my life. Entering the pageant was a recommendation of my best friend who attends Georgia Tech; she took part in the Miss Black and Gold pageant at her school last year (and won Miss Black, which is second runner up), and encouraged me to do it here at UGA. She told me the pageant is really about celebrating black women, and that it is not for the typical pageant girl. So when applications came out in September, I applied and interviewed for the pageant and got accepted.
Oct. 29, 2017 was the first practice meeting for my pageant sisters and I with our “Made Coaches”: Cierra (our pageant coordinator), Kayla (2014 Miss Black and Gold), Cilicia (2015 Miss Black and Gold), and Morgan (2016 Miss Black and Gold, who I did an interview with). I did not know what to expect at all when going into my practice, but after meeting everyone I knew it would be a challenging but rewarding experience.
Pictured above: Me, my pageant sisters and Cie after one of our practices.
There is a lot of work that goes in to putting on a pageant at such a level as Miss Black and Gold because overall it is a production (put on by the lovely June and July Productions, which is Cie’s company she runs with her friend). There were 5 components of the Miss Black and Gold pageant: there is the opening fanfare, which is the group dance; platform speeches (we pick a platform that we are very passionate about, because if chosen as Miss Black and Gold, we get to carry out a program about our platform through Zeta Pi); swimwear; talent; and evening wear/extraneous questions. We would practice three times a week (Sunday, Monday, and Thursday) and it would be around 7:30pm. Each month we would add something else to our practice. In October to November, we worked on fanfare and platform speeches. In December, we added talent. Lastly, in January, we added swimwear and evening wear/extraneous questions.
Outside of my regular practice time, I practiced every chance I could get. Coming into the pageant, I knew my weak spot would be my platform speech, due to the fact that I have a speaking disorder. I wanted everyone to be able to understand what I was saying and sound elegant at the same time. I would practice in front of everyone I could in order to receive feedback about my speech. Swimwear was my second weak spot because I felt awkward posing in my swimsuit when I was not at the beach. I would watch other school’s pageants on YouTube to get ideas for swimwear walks and would try different things out. It was a combination of my own researching of moves and asking both my fellow pageant sisters and previous girls who were in the pageant before me. I heavily dealt with a lot of emotions on the inside because I would find myself comparing my talent, speech, and walk to my own pageant sisters. I felt like mine was different than the others, and that would get me down sometimes after practice or even more nervous before we did something because I wanted to be just as great as them. But after talking my feelings out with some of my pageant sisters, I was reminded to just put on the best performance for myself.
Photo taken by Edwin LaCroix. Pictured above: Me performing my talent.
Before I knew it, it was pageant day. Each time on stage even though my heart was beating fast and I was nervous from my head to my toes, I put on my smile and it all went away. After I got off stage after each part, I was sad because I wished I had more time out their performing. When we got to extraneous questions, I was very happy with my question as I was able to answer very confidently.
Soon it was time for crowning and I went into it very detached to the idea of me winning the title of Miss Black and Gold. I already had an idea of who I saw placing for Miss Black (2nd runner up), Miss Gold (1st runner up), and Miss Black and Gold. I was just proud because I felt like I gave myself the best performance I could ask for. When they announced my name for Miss People’s Choice, I was very surprised because many of my pageant sisters and Alphas told me the crowd had loved me, but thought honestly nothing more about it. Then before I knew it, Josh (one of the hosts) said, “The title Miss Black goes to…..your Contestant #5, Jayda Hill.” I honestly mentally blacked out after he said my contestant number. I was really flabbergasted that I had actually placed. Never would I have dreamed of this moment happening to me when I first filled out the application. I was so amazed that the judges saw things they liked about me that I did not even see, since I was so fixed on what my pageant sisters had going for them. So overwhelmed with so many emotions, I started to cry on the spot because I was sincerely honored.
Photo by Edwin LaCroix. Pictured above: Me winning Miss Black. Aren’t I such a cute crier?
At the end of the day, it wasn’t about the title or the sudden gain of clout. It was about the relationships I had made with my pageant sisters, the Alphas, the former queens, and Cie. I will forever cherish these past four months of my sophomore year. Again, congratulations to my fellow Miss Gold, Prayer Welwean, and Miss Black and Gold, Keyrell Wingfield.