i'm sorry, but what the hell did you just say?

because i thought, texan girl on america's next top model, that you said that if things didn't go well for you on the show that you would go back to pageants, and i could swear that after that you said that your reasoning was that pageants really help you develop more as a woman, whereas modeling is just a career.

i thought that was what i heard you say--but i wanted to give you a chance to explain that i completely misheard you before i shook you to within an inch of your life.

one ms. jennifer hilde has written a thorough and informative piece on ways in which a young woman might develop through pageantry. let me offer you some of the more blindingly radiant trinkets of wisdom:

"My first platform was 'Empowering Youth through Faith- Based Values' to talk with students about knowing what they believe and living their faith on a daily basis. But I was misunderstood with that platform. People asked me, 'Jennifer, what about Muslims? Should they live their faith-based values?' After I’d thought and prayed about it, I changed my platform to character education."

"Because I didn’t win the Miss Minnesota title, that summer I went to Zambia, Africa, for a missions trip. While there, I sensed the Lord asking me, 'Jennifer, would you rather be spending your money preparing for Miss America or for AIDS orphans in Africa?' I don’t know why this wasn’t clear in the first place, but there’s no comparison to spending $5,000 on AIDS orphans versus preparing for Miss America. It’s incredible to me that when I was focused on the Lord, He changed my heart and my desires to His heart and His plan.

"With the nudge from my family and a desire to share my faith, I entered a third local pageant in February."

that is the exact wording in the second quote; no rearrangements, no omissions. glory to the lord, indeed, that he helped pageantry shape this girl in such a wonderful way. she now also has the willpower to avoid sweets and to force herself to read newspapers in order to be up on current events in case someone asks her about them in a pageant interview. now, maybe a career in modeling won't force you to check in with cnn or visit a mission in zambia, but it could probably convince you to turn your back on that mission in order to create more time for talking to yourself in front of a mirror. so prance for the pretty sashes if it turns you on, ladies, but don't bad-mouth the girls who are prancing for the tens of millions of dollars. they work every bit as hard as you do.