Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
ORLANDO, Florida — Every year when I was little, my mom, grandma and I looked forward to watching the Miss USA and Miss America pageants on live TV. We would grab popcorn and blankets and root for our favorites as they promenaded across the stage in evening gowns.
OK, it's true, part of what made the Miss America pageant so entertaining was the talent portion, and the secondhand embarrassment we would sometimes get for contestants as they sang in that dramatic, operatic style prevalent in pageants — the kind when they use so much vibrato that you can't tell if they're actually a good singer — or leaped across the stage with pointe shoes but without the same level of grace that you would see while, say, going to a Ballet West performance.
After taking ballet as a teenager, I learned we weren't all made to be ballerinas, and that's OK. And if I ever tried to sing outside of my house, let alone in front of a camera, everyone within a 20-mile radius would probably get the worst migraine of their life.
More than 20 years after those watch parties, much remains the same in the beauty pageant world. But this year, one contestant — Miss Colorado, Madison Marsh — broke from the tradition of singing, dancing, baton twirling or playing the piano and showed audiences her talent and passion in a unique way during the Miss America pageant on Jan. 14.
Marsh, a 22-year-old Air Force officer, performed a monologue about her job, wearing an aviation headset and describing her first solo flight as if she's in the middle of it.
"I am in charge. I am the pilot in command of this aircraft," she said, noting that she's flying at 3,000 feet and "there's no instructor here to check my speed, altitude."
When Marsh recalls getting her pilot's license, the audience breaks into applause.
The inspiring monologue paid off, and Marsh won the Miss America crown. She also set an example for the next generation of little girls, showing that it's OK to break the mold and aim higher — at least, higher than many of us could leap in pointe shoes.
