Last October I begun receiving e-mails regarding a program then called, America's Junior Miss. The e-mails said that I had shown interest in competing for this scholarship program and included the details for the date, time, and requirements for the At- Large Program. This e-mail came as a shock to me because I did not remember applying for this. I am not the type of person to take risks and do competitions but I decided, why not? I'll try it and have an experience to remember for my senior year. As I walked into the University of Miami on October 31st, I knew this was going to be an experience of a lifetime. The say began with meeting all the girls and later evolved to learning the workout routine, self-expression, and practicing our talents. I had never done a dance solo before or an interview and I was beyond nervous. To be honest I had never done anything like this before. But I decided to try my best and have fun. That day I left with 6 new friends. We became the best of friends and I just had this feeling of accomplishment fill me up inside. I knew that even if I didn't make it to states, this experience had changed my life and allowed me to meet new and incredible people.
November came around and I still hadn't heard from AJM, but then one day out of the blue the e-mail appeared. As I looked at the screen my heart began to race and pound in my heart. I quickly yelled for my mom, too scared to open it alone. And when she finally entered the room and I clicked on the e-mail my heart started beating even faster. I had made it to states. There was my name and title, Melissa Vazquez South Miami-Dade's Junior Miss. I was so excited I posted it everywhere I could. My whole school soon knew as I was in the local newspaper and it was announced on the school announcements. But with all this excitement I had no clue what was to come that January.
January finally came around. I had done all my shopping, packed all my bags, contacted my new roommate and host family. It was all done. My family and I get in the car and I was on my way to what I would later find to be a life changing experience. As I arrived to city hall I see all the girls dressed in white and khaki with all their luggage and families. I was so nervous and scared that I wouldn't make any friends, that this would be a bad experience, the works. But as soon as I walked into the room I was presented with my metal and we all felt like celebrities. Everyone around us kept taking pictures. And soon it was time to say goodbye to our parents for the next week. As they left the girls and I continued taking pictures and getting to know each other. And then it was off to work. We all changed and began learning our workout routine. By lunch we were all laughing, giggling, taking pictures and becoming the best of friends. When I finally got to my host parents house I was a little scared. I didn't know what to expect. But I was soon greeted by the cutest little boy, Dylan. He grabbed me and my roommate, Julie and took us up stairs. When we got there we each had a sign on our door with out names and title. As we opened the doors our jaws dropped. Our mom, Deidre Fontenont, had decorated our whole bed with gifts. Minnie mouse plush toys, notebooks, water bottles, tote bags, and much more. We were speechless, we both thanked and hugged her and Dylan. She did everything for us, chocolate fondue, breakfest at a Disney hotel with the characters, making cookies, we even all played Just Dance on the wii together. They really made us feel like a part of their family. As the week progressed our friendships grew stronger, with the girls and with our host families. Distinguished Young Women was a lot of work, learning the workout, production number, self-expression and all but it was also so much fun. The girls, or better my sisters, would laugh, help each other, we even altered sweet home alabama to sweet home winter garden and performed it everywhere we went. Making instrument noises and all. We were all so comfortable with each other. Everyday we would visit a church and they would be the sweetest ladies that would prepare lunch for us. We were so previledged in that town for that week. We were able to do so much. We got to go bowling and have a backstage tour, we went though Winter Garden and had a tour of the town, theater, and greenhouse. But the most fun was Animal Kingdom. We were all so excited, decked out with our matching Reach shirts and Distinguished Young Women pink backpacks and metals. Everywhere we walked people starred at us and asked us who we were. Some had even heard of us. The best part of that day was when we got to go through backstage Disney. Seeing the animals, feeding area, kitchen, we even got to go into the operation room and work with the tools, seeing real x-rays and shooting a tranquilizer dart. By the time dress rehearsals finally came around we were all so excited that no one even saw this as a competition anymore. We were all sharing everything we owned, offering to help with wardrobe and make up even if it meant sacrificing your preparation time. We were sisters. When the big night came around we were all sad, because we knew it was all coming to an end and we would have to soon say goodbye. Earlieer that afternoon we were asked to vote between each other for who we thought deserved the Spirt of Distinguished Young Women Award. But we did not see what was to come. We had all become so close that the results came into a three way tie, one of them included me. We were all so amazed that we had done that and we were told to vote again but chose between the three. Once again the votes were submitted. As we were all preparing in our dressing rooms Ms. Amanda and Ms. Angela came in crying with tears in their eyes. They said they could not believe it and that they felt so happy and proud that we were so close. The results came into a two way tie. We had to vote once more and the results would be read later that night. As the competition began we were all a ball of nerves, happily cheering, jumping, gittering, and calming each other down. Each time it came to be one of our talents, we'd all rush to try watch or listen in through the speakers in our room as they answered their on the spot interview questions. Finally it was time for our production number. We were all looking forward to this so much because it was not judged, just for fun and one last thing we could do together. And it went by flawlessly.
The moment had come that we had all been waiting for. The awards were called and given out. My name had been called, I had won the Spirit of Distinguished Young Women award. And as they continued to call out names we all knew the moment was coming, the Distinguished Young Woman for 2011 was about to be called. As soon as Caitlin's name was called we all smiled, looked at each other and said, “She's perfect, she deserves it, we knew it”. We darted on to her all crying because it was over and looked towards Ms. Angela and for one last time sang our Sweet Home Winter Garden in front of the audience.
Distinguished Young Women was an experience of a lifetime, one that I will never forget or regret. I feel so proud to be a DYW Alumni and have been a part of this amazing program. I have made speeches at my high school and talked to the counselors about this program, pushing it and allowing other girls to hear about this program. Every girl deserves to hear about this amazing opportunity and take advantage of it. This program changed my life. I made friends, better yet, sisters and memories that will last me a lifetime and I will cherish each and every one of them forever. I am so happy that I can continue to be a part of it being in charge of the Class of 2011 Alumni. And I will continue to be a part of this program as long as I can, in anyway that I can.
- Melissa Vazquez, South Miami- Dade's Distinguished Young Woman 2011
