What I've Been Keeping Busy With!

Hey Hey!
I'm especially enjoying today for several reason.. it's the start of March (my b-day is the 22nd ) and we are that much closer to spring and warm weather!! I'm still enjoying my reign as the Miss Missouri Teen USA everyday is a blessing and it's already been a life changing journey and it's still early. The Youth Empowerment speech went great, I think the young girls responded really well the to message, after i spoke with them we wrote down our goals and daily things we can do to achieve our dreams. Last weekend i traveled to Kansas City to take part in a book blast thought Radio Disney which was indeed a blast :). The Kansas Teen USA was there as well and it was the first time we have done anything together and we got along great Olivia is such a sweetheart! There were so many cute kids at the book blast, the question i got the most was " what Disney princess are you?" lol to say the least the kids were enamored by our crowns and banners. We each read a story to the children, they all wanted to be in our laps. I got the honor to meet the Mayor of Kansas City at the book blast which was very neat! I have been scheduling a lot of appearances and volunteer activities lately to give you a short preview I'll be helping out at Camp Barnabas and several other local organizations. This past weekend I helped out at another Radio Disney event, but this time i was in Saint Louis and read a grand total of 5 books to the children through out the day. It was a great time!! If i could figure out how to upload pictures of the events on my blog i would, until then lol they will be up soon on the Vanbros website www.missmissouriusa.com Once again thank you so much for the support!!

p.s Make it your goal today to make atleast one person smile :))))

xoxo
Erica Sturdefant

Girls Empowerment Function!

Happy weekend everyone!! I can not believe it is already February ...2010 is moving quickly! Today I'm speaking at a girls empowerment group at a local middle school here in Springfield. I plan to talk about pursuing dreams and keeping positive attitudes along the way. Young girls have so many pressures to be perfect, I want to express to them there is no set criteria for "perfect." Life is not about being the skinniest or the prettiest, those are not goals that will keep you happy. There is so much more to life than that and I want to help the girls see that, they need to know they can do anything they put there minds to. I'm living proof!! I want the girls to set healthy goals for themselves and develop a fire burning passion for their goals. When you believe in yourself and have goals,I truly believe it will help prevent falling into drinking,drugs, and all the other negative influences teens face. The key to my success is my attitude.
“How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself. So always think positively.”

I will keep you updated on how it goes and will post pictures asap!! I have several other upcoming events im very much looking forward to. On the 19th of this month i will helping out at a book blast in Kansas City to promote child literacy, Kansas Teen USA will be joining me. I am so grateful so all these wonderful opportunities that have allowed me to reach out to others. Have a fun and safe weekend!

LOVE,

Erica Sturdefant

Finally Up and Running!

Hello!!

First thing thank you for taking the time to read my blog! I won my title at the beginning of November and i still feel like it is sinking in, every morning i wake up and have to remind myself it's not just a dream anymore i really did accomplish my goal! It is such a surreal feeling and it's taking some time to get used to. I am in the process of moving back home (Springfield) from Kansas City where I've been living since August in the cutest little apartment on the plaza. I really want to be able to focus and prepare for Teen USA and I'll have the support of all my family and friends back home :). Needless to say i have been very busy! I went to Houston with Sassy Chic Boutique for the Texas pageant expo and had a blast i got to play dress up all weekend, i felt like a life size barbie. While at the expo i got the honor to met the Texas Teen and Arizona Teen as well as the Utah and Arizona Miss they were all such sweet girls and made me even more excited for Teen USA. The drive to Texas was an adventure in itself it was supposed to take 12 hours and it ended up taking 20 lonnnggg story short we missed and exit :) oops. This week has been very productive I've been setting up a lot of appearances so I'm very excited to get to do those. Springfield has had a glimpse of spring the past few days and I've absolutely LOVED it, I've taken every opportunity to be outdoors, i love running outside. Now that things are slowing down i will be putting new details often of my reign as Missouri Teen USA!!!!! Thank you all so much :)))