It's Go Time! Man, what an experience! I have to start at the beginning because I want to remember all the feels from this weekend. And there were a lot of feels, so my apologies for the length of this post if you are choosing to follow along!
I posted a little already about Friday, but that was in the morning when I was still busy and had things to do. Fast-forward to about noon when it was time to get ready so I could get to check-in's and get my tan...Now's when I start to freak out a little. Well, maybe more than a little! I was in a panic because I don't really have any loose-fitting clothes to wear for my spray tan. I was in a panic because I told the tanning girl that I could be down there around 3:00. I was in a panic because I wanted to still look presentable when I met the promoters, but back to panic number 1 over the clothing choice. I was in a panic trying to straighten my hair so that Beckie didn't haven't to spend so much time on it Saturday morning. Looking back it was all little stuff, but it was stuff that was big to me in that moment.
Everything finally came together and I made it down to check-in's and tan just a little after 3:00 (stupid Atlanta traffic!), and checked in to the hotel (the Westin!!) a little bit later. Once in the hotel it was time to relax, read a book, rest...Anything to stay off my feet but still try to keep my mind from wandering. I managed to do pretty well thanks to a good book, and Beckie and Savanah showing up to keep me company for the night and to be my beauty team the next morning. There wasn't much sleeping going on for the night. I had a hard time falling asleep and when I would start to doze off I'd dream about the competition and end up waking right back up. Good thing I was running on adrenaline the next day anyway!!
Saturday AM: It is up and at 'em bright and early at 5am! But since I had straightened my hair the day before it was more like "Hit the snooze for 10 more minutes!" Some habits are hard to break.
We got right to it and started with hair, then makeup. I could've gotten by with doing my own hair, but I am SO thankful I had Beckie (and Savanah) around to help with my makeup! There is no way I could've accomplished the look they were going for on my own It was beautiful.
I think I was quiet most of the morning, just trying to get my oatmeal and eggs in. That was the best tasting food I'd had almost all week! Plus my mind was still in so many places that I didn't really know what to say. I just wanted everything to be ready so that I could get to the competitors meeting on time. And of course I ended up running a little behind my time schedule, so there was a mini meltdown about that. But no tears were shed, and I arrived on time so it was good.
On Friday I had met one of the figure competitors who was also brand new to this, so I immediately started looking for her. She and I bonded throughout the day trying to navigate through this experience. The morning felt fairly rushed at times, and somewhat unorganized at others. The show was supposed to start at 10am, with tanning touch-ups beginning at 9. When the tanning people were just arriving at 9:30, it made for quite an anxious little bit until they told us they were pushing the start of the show back a little bit. Not sure what the audience thought about that, but I wasn't complaining! Once tanning was done, it was hurry, hurry, hurry to do final touches (jewelry, suit glue, new lipstick) and get in place. Looking back, I didn't take the appropriate amount of time to warm up, and I will definitely do that differently next time.
Once we lined up, we were called out on stage for our individual T-walk. I was the third in line, and as it got closer and closer to me I could feel the nerves piling up. I tried so hard to just listen to the music and relax, but the minute my number was called it was like I went blank. Well, blank as in I don't remember a whole lot about it! I could hear my workout buddy in the audience cheering me on, and my family over in the corner, but I don't remember much more than that. I think I hit all my points and turns and poses, but I could be wrong. Comparisons came next, where all us girls were lined up side by side for the judges to do their thing. Talk about nerve-wracking! Them judging the back gave me a little bit of time to breathe and relax, but it still didn't seem long enough. Before I knew it, it was "turn and walk to the front" so I had to put that smile back on and go again. Comparisons felt like they took forever; I could literally feel myself shaking with nerves and could feel my smile quivering too. I was so relieved when we got to walk off that stage and I could go put my flip flops on and sit with my people because that meant I was done and it was time to eat!!
...to be continued
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