The Butterfly Transformation Drew Barrymore once said, “Everyone is like a butterfly, they start out ugly and awkward and then morph into beautiful graceful butterflies that everyone loves.” I was once that ugly and awkward butterfly. During the summer of 2010, I experienced my first World’s beauty pageant. This one five day event made me feel completely out of place as if I did not belong, yet it changed my life forever by teaching me lifelong lessons and transforming me into the person I am today. My transformation began when I won the Our Little Miss’ Louisiana Ideal Miss title. This was a huge accomplishment for me and I was extremely enthusiastic, but that enthusiasm died shortly after when I found out that I had to compete for the Our Little Miss’ World’s Ideal Miss title in Nashville, Tennessee. I was not prepared for such a large competition. I was overweight, ungraceful, and did not have a talent. During the time between the state and world’s pageants, I worked extremely hard. I tried to drop a few pounds, practice my modeling, and learn a whole new talent. I hoped that my hard work would be perceived in the competition to follow. When I arrived to the hotel that I was competing at, I was utterly shocked and overwhelmed. There were more girls there than I had ever expected. As I checked in, I found out that I would be competing against over forty girls in my age group; I was scared for my life. The first competition was interview. Interview was always my strong suit, so I was confident that I would do well and astonish the judges. I was correct; the judges were amazed with my speaking. The next competition was sportswear. In this competition, a peppy walk is required and I had not yet mastered the walk. I felt completely awkward as I walked across the stage. When I got back to holding room with the other girls, they gave me looks as if I were a misfit. At that moment I knew I was not meant to be there. The third competition was talent. I just learned my new talent and was extremely unconfident. As I awaited my turn in the holding room, I watched the other girls practice. They seemed so confident and poised, which made me feel worse. I went on stage and sang and made the worst mistake; I coughed in the middle of my song. The girls laughed at me when I went back to the holding room. I was the definition of embarrassed. The last