Sparkling Snippets

     They say a picture tells a thousand words, but sometimes a picture doesn’t share the whole story. While onstage, my tan looked flawless but my skin was in the worst shape it had ever been. Here’s the true behind-the-scenes story of my biggest obstacle leading up to nationals.      Back in January, I was working with one of our sponsors, a fitness trainer, to prepare for nationals. He had me start taking probiotic supplements while also switching to a gluten-free, sugar-free diet to help build muscle. A few days into the change, my mom noticed hives on my back while zipping my dress. We didn’t think much of it until a week later when I suddenly had hives covering my neck, chest, back and arms. I had never had an allergic reaction or known allergies so I wasn’t sure what was wrong. I immediately stopped the supplements and diet change, hoping my body would return to normal. After a week, nothing had changed. I then tried over-the-counter allergy medicati...

     Since its founding in 2009, Pinterest has become one of the 15 most popular social media platforms in the world. While its primary users are women ages 25 to 34, Gen Z has learned to use Pinterest to stay ahead of trends. Through boards and various types of pins, users can curate collections of interests ranging from mood boards to recipe ideas and everything in between.      Let’s start with the basic functions of Pinterest. The platform’s two primary features are pins and boards. Pins are pictures or videos with descriptions or links, similar to Instagram posts. Like other social media platforms, pins can be liked, saved, or commented on. One key difference is that pins can be saved to specific boards. Boards serve as a home base where saved pins are organized. They can be public, available to everyone, or private, viewable only by invitation. Each board can be themed and customized to display pins in a specific way, making it the perfect tool for cr...

Behind the Scenes at Nationals Last week, I shared the glamorous side of my nationals experience, so I think it's only fair to share some behind-the-scenes moments. When competing for multiple days, it's easy to get lost in a competitive mindset. I work to find a balance between taking the competition seriously and allowing myself to have fun. Without that balance, you lose the joy behind everything you're doing. While not all of my silly moments were caught on camera, here are a few of my favorite outtakes and the stories behind them. My Newest Accessory I've never worn extensions before, but Katie, my hair and makeup artist, suggested adding them for volume. I didn't have time to get a professional set, so I opted for the next best thing—Amazon extensions. I had to carry my lovely clip-in extensions back and forth to the theater, which was quite a unique look. I definitely had fun posing for pictures with my hair in hand each day. Put a Little Boogie in It On...

     When Snapchat was first released in 2011 as "Picaboo," some of the key features that allowed it to stand out were disappearing posts and geofilters. Over the years, the app has evolved with numerous updates and added features, making it one of the most popular multimedia messaging platforms. Today, two of the most commonly associated features with Snapchat are filters and lenses.      Lenses can be applied before taking a picture or recording a video. One of the first and most iconic Snapchat lenses was the puppy-dog face, which added ears and a nose to a user's face. Many lenses are interactive, responding to facial expressions and movements. For example, with the dog-face lens, opening your mouth triggers an animation where a dog tongue appears. Some lenses remain static, while others change depending on the user's gestures or the environment. Users can create and share custom lenses through Snapchat's Lens Studio, allowing for endless creativity and...

     Two weeks ago, I took a trip to Jackson, Tennessee for the Miss Teen Volunteer America competition where I placed in the Top 10 out of 49 young women. I'm beyond grateful for the experiences I had in Jackson and the connections I made. Here’s a little about my time at Miss Teen Volunteer America!      Thursday morning marked the first phase of competition: the interview. For the interview we had six minutes to share who we are, our goals and how we would serve as a national titleholder. Leading up to it, I wanted to feel centered before entering the room. I took time to breathe and meditate prior to getting my hair and makeup done. This helped me flush away any nerves and stay present. After getting ready and checking in for the interview, I waited in a room until my allotted time. I brought my water bottle, AirPods and journal with me—everything I might need. I turned on my favorite playlist, starting with the Legally Blonde remix, and read through m...

    In all of my preparations for nationals, I've been asked one question repeatedly: Who is Cassandra? What sets you apart from other people? What makes you the right person to hold a national title?      I’ve never been good at talking about myself. I don’t think I’m that spectacular of a person. When people ask what makes me different, I struggle to find an answer because, to me, I’m just ordinary—and, if not, I’m inadequate. My director looked at me after one of my first mock interviews and told me how shocked she was that I could answer any question, ranging from politics to personality. But the moment I was asked about my skills, I couldn’t come up with an answer. I had to do a lot of soul-searching and self-exploration to find what sets me apart. It’s forced me to really shine a light on my weaknesses, which was easy, but also my strengths, which was harder. In doing so, though, I’ve started to find not only who I am, but what I bring to the world. I...

     Between our Meta assignment for my social media class and the Countdown to the Crown posts leading up to nationals, I’ve had to learn how to plan social media posts in advance. Whether it’s creating Reels or regular posts, I’ve had to hone the art of creativity in my posts. Nobody wants to see the same template on their feed, so diversity is key to keeping your audience interested.      One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in social media content creation is varying my regular posts. It’s so easy to use the same images repeatedly because they spread the right message. If you continuously use the same photos, your followers will start to assume that’s all you post. To combat this urge, I’ve leaned on editing platforms like Canva to create picture posts that allow me to create something new. There are pre-designed templates for posts or stories that I can easily change the colors, add a photo, or write a small phrase and use in a few minutes. I find ...