Pinks Mag 003

PAIGE EVANS
MY STORY
I have always been a shy girl,
but throughout secondary
school it got worse. I started
to get bullied and I developed
anxiety. I struggled to talk to
people, I pretty much only
spoke when spoken to. In
March 2016 my sister Loren
took part in an international
pageant called Galaxy. Whilst
watching her I was so proud,
she was competing in front of
hundreds of people. I said to
my dad ?I could never do
something like that?, when in
fact this was a new start for
me. In July 2016 my dad
persuaded me to send off an
application to the Galaxy,
which included a photo of
myself. In complete shock, a
few weeks later I received an
acceptance email and got the
title of Miss Newcastle Galaxy
2016-2017. I received my sash
a couple of weeks later and
started making appearances,
several of them were
photoshoots. At this point I
was so nervous and shy; I had
never got photos done in a
studio before. I managed to
pluck up the courage to get
photos of myself produced;
this is where it all started to
change for me. During my
reign as Miss Newcastle
Galaxy I raised money for The
Christie Cancer foundation,
volunteered and went along
to various different charity
events. In February 2017 I
held my own charity pageant
in aid of the Christie
foundation; I stood up in front
of the audience and hosted
the full event, this was huge
for me. In March 2017 it came
to the day of the Galaxy, I felt
sick all day with nerves. When
I got first time, I had all kinds
of thoughts going through my
mind, such as: what if I trip?
and I don?t know if I am able
to do this, but I did. I gave the
competition my all and
although I didn?t win, I was so
proud of myself for how well I
did on that stage. I made my
parents proud of me. Since
then, I came 2nd in The A
Pageant Life pageant, 1st
place in Miss Teesside
Elegance and now your Miss
Newcastle National Elite
2017-2018. I am now the
director of Sapphire UK
Pageant, which I am currently
working on making it a
national pageant in its own.
Pageantry has had an amazing
impact on my life and is now
something I never want to
give up doing. I have not only
gained a massive amount of
confidence, I have gained
friends that I will have for life.
Pageantry is like having one
big family, everyone is there to
support each other. To all the
girls out there interested in
pageantry, go for it. It is a life
changing experience and it
has certainly changed mine in
a big way. It is a journey you
will never forget.