Thursday, September 29, 2011

More Official Mrs. International Photos

Yay!  I was so excited to see my Mrs. International photo CD in the mail today.  Thank you to Paula Preston for working so hard during pageant week to capture our memories!
 Getting off the bus about to board the boat for the tour of Chicago!
 Me and David during the Evening Gown Competition 
 Us again...David was the perfect escort :)
 Fitness Competition
 This is my favorite Evening Gown Competition shot.
 My announcement as a Top 12 Finalist!  
 Third Runner-up!!  I was SO happy!!! :)
 Happy, happy, HAPPY! 
 Top 5 and Our Husbands
 Mrs. International 2011 Top 5
 David and me at the Cornonation Ball after the Finals of Mrs. International 
My favorite dress of the week...at the Meet and Greet with the Judges

SO MANY GREAT MEMORIES!!

Monday, September 19, 2011

A Bit of Self Reflection

I am a dreamer.  I have always had high expectations for myself, and I have worked hard to reach my goals.  But, as we all know, sometimes life happens.  "Stuff" gets in the way, and sometimes that "stuff" makes us doubt who we are and what we are capable of.  I certainly have doubted myself quite a bit along the way.  I have lost my way more than once, and I have almost given up on my dreams more than once.  But, for as long as I can remember, I have believed in myself, and I have always felt that I deserve to be treated well, especially by myself.  We all deserve to be treated well, and we all deserve the opportunity to reach our potential.

Throughout this past year, I have been blessed with so many meaningful opportunities; opportunities for self growth, self reflection, and most important, I have had opportunities to create positive change for causes close to my heart.  I am lucky, and I know that.  If the whole "genie with three wishes" was a reality, one of my wishes would be that all people (and all animals) would be blessed with the same opportunities in life.  It is easy to forget in the midst of our busy lives that we are significantly blessed, and if not for a simple twist of fate, we would have been born into a completely different situation which would have required us to travel a far more difficult road.  We owe it to this world to do good; to help; to improve our little portion of this world.  That is success in my book.

Be happy and do good,
Mary-Marsha Riley