We all watched The Golden Globes last night, yes? Tina and Amy were fantastic in my opinion and my favorite presenters were Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell. My favorite dress was Kerry Washington in Miu Miu and my favorite above the neck look was Jessica Chastain… So yes, award season is officially off to a running start as of last night. Yay!
But did anyone watch the 2013 Miss America Pageant Competition on Saturday night? Sally and I did. Even if you didn’t watch, you’ve probably been hearing about the talent performance by Miss Washington. Her rendition of “My Wish for You” by Rascal Flatts was really… interesting.
I am really pretty clueless when it comes to pageants and such but I had my mouth hanging open during each talent performance. Piano playing, baton twirling, tap dance, modern dance, and singing. Something about it just seemed so weird. It might have been the 92nd annual Miss America contest but I would say those talents are anything but modern when it comes to thinking of a modern day woman. I don’t know what I was expecting but it’s 2013 – surely we could have pushed the boundaries a little bit more. Miss Washington’s talent clearly wasn’t singing. But what else was she suppose to do in such a short amount of time, on a stage, in front of thousands of viewers and who knows how many watching on TV?
Not really sure where I am going with this and the last thing I want is to offend anyone who knows much more about these competitions than I do. If anything, it made me think about my own “talents” and the talents I wish I had.
My talents (in no particular order): organizing (closets, kitchens, clutter and the like); getting knots out of dainty necklaces; painting my own nails; taking good notes with good handwriting; making a bed; folding laundry; making lists; hanging wall art (<do I sound like a domestic goddess or what>); being chatty when I meet new people; scouting out free food; taking naps; cutting paper with scissors. *Please note: none of these talents can be done on a stage.
Talents I wish I had: natural photography skills and editing know-how; signing (nothing professional, but enough of a voice that I can sing lullabies to my future children and not sound like a wounded cat); dancing (I had big dreams to be on my High School’s dance team – epic fail); public speaking (I’m actually getting better at this! But sometimes I still break out in hives and my voice changes into this girly, shaking version that freaks me out); making playlists; holding my alcohol.
So now you know – I can color coordinate your closet but I can’t make you a playlists of killer music or sing along to one either. We all have our things, I just wish that the Miss America contestants would have really shocked me with something like incredibly fast HTML coding, mixing paint colors perfectly with only primary colors, or talking in voices/doing impressions. Maybe next year! Dare to share your best talent and most wanted talent with me?! You know where to leave it… And you know I’ll be reading.
I also loved Kerry Washington in Miu Miu! She was on my Top 5 favorites from the Golden Globes on my blog today. A great look! Hope you all had a great weekend.
XO, Stefanie
Life on the Squares
Talents we wish we had has always been a huge topic of conversation in my parents house. I have a tie. My top one would be the ability to dance, and not just one specific type, all forms of dance! My other dream talent is a strange one and very specific. While I don't desire to have an incredible singing voice all the time, if I could sing one song, in one place, once in my life and do it PERFECTLY it would be the Star Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl. Weird, I know.
Isn't it funny how usually we focus on the talents we don't have, rather than the ones we do? I was really pleased to see you list the talents you know you are blessed with before the ones you long for, very refreshing.
Great Toast Talk, as always, and Happy Monday to you both!
I wish I had your organizing talents. My talent would be baking a cake from scratch. Not fancy but a lot people can't do it.
One of my friends from college is Miss DC… unfortunately, she did not make it to the talent round, but her talent is roller skating. She is pretty awesome at it! I think she looked and sounded great — sad to not have seen her performance!
My best talent hands down is frosting cupcakes, so I doubt I would have made it very far. I want to see a Miss America whose talent is dividing the bill when a group larger than 6 goes out to dinner in less than two minutes. She'd have my vote for sure.
oh my gosh, I couldn't agree more. Miss Washington's "song" was horrendous. I loved the tap dancing (esp Miss NY!) but it all seemed kind of outdated…idk. Also, loved Kerry Washington, Jennifer Garner and Kate Hudson at the Globes.
I would hardly call dance, piano, and vocal music outdated. I know lots of "modern" women that actively work on those talents.
I totally watched the Miss America "Competition" and may or may not have cringed just a smidge when Miss Washington performed her talent… So would have preferred seeing someone master the art of online shopping or seen a reenactment of Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality. But her hair was awesome, so that counts for something, right?
xo
Oh my gosh, I totally get the really high-pitched voice too! I hateeee talking on the phone to people I don't know (which made the two months I spent as a telemarketer when I first moved to Aus reaaaallyyy interesting), and I always get… baby voice or something. My boyfriend heard me once and would NOT let it go. It's awful. I also do it when I speak to shopkeepers… ugh.
My talent, which is in no way related to my job, but I'm really good at teaching people to snowboard. I did it for 10 years as a side job, and my track record is pretty spot on haha. But again, like you, I'd probably rather be great at photography or something!
Would you have preferred her to have packed a suitcase like on Parks and Rec? But seriously though, baton twirling should be off of the list. What is this, 1952?!
Kristina
Kristina does the Internets
I am always in awe of the talent portion. Insane!
We have many of the same talents! I am the organizing queen, LOVE to make beds and fold laundry (I am OCD about both), I can paint my nails like a pro…also, vacuuming. Haha!
My handwriting can change at the drop of a hat to whatever I want it to be, which I'd be down to do on stage I suppose!
Something I wish I was better at was running and getting stains out…
xoxo
Shelby
The Southernista
I am a 21 year old student at UT Austin, and I have played the piano since I was 5. If such talents were extinct you would miss out on the joys of the little things you didn't realize music brings- did you ever think about movie scores? If people stopped playing instruments those wouldn't happen.
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I also have a passion for musical theater! Without it, a trip to NYC would be sans Broadway, and the Met Opera would cease to exist. Although not everyone sees these as "modern" pursuits, I think oftentimes feminism can extend beyond being a doctor and a mother at the same time. It means being whoever you want to be as a woman and pursuing your dreams- whether it is writing a blog, teaching, or performing. Just food for thought
Incredibly fast HTML coding – yes! I love that, and would certainly vote for that contestant to win! For me, I think the most offensively backwards part of Miss America is the swimsuit contest…and the fact that that's all they put in the commercials in order to draw viewers. As long as the swimsuit competition is a part of the pageant/competition, I find it hard to believe that anything about the whole deal will be "modern."
Natalie
Name's Not Ashley