Next.....

The staff and contestants arrived at 8am to get the day underway. After a briefing, we had rehearsals. That is when I spotted the dreaded (cue horror film music) stairs. There were 13 of them and this year we were all heading down them under the glare of the spotlight. Say what??? Dear God, please allow me to survive with heels in tact. The teens who were part of Illinois All-American just flew down them. They must not grasp that were are all mere mortals. The rest of us tried feverishly to figure out a way to create a state costume too big to handle the stairway entrance. I spent the better half of the morning going up and down and up and down those stairs. For a laugh, I almost called my mom to let her know. She will tell you about my relationship with stairs. "You can balance on a 4" beam, be captain of the cheer squad, but you cannot get down a set of stairs;)" Ha!But we were kept too busy to phone home. Interviews were...unexpected. We were grilled. I was asked about the BP spill, another was questioned about the "No Child Left Behind Act," and another delegate was asked about about foreign investments. So it was no surprise that I swear there was sweat dripping as I "calmly," walked out of the panel interview in search of a mop. The directors kept us well fed and busy until the prelims and finals. It was showtime!!!