Miss Sexiest

I am truly so blessed. Last Sunday, Wanda and Amanda Mason (Miss Greater Gotham) threw me such a beautiful send off party at the penthouse of the Olivia, overlooking all of Manhattan. The room was dripping in purple, my favorite color, from the table clothes, to the cake, to the floral arrangements and the gerber daisies laced throughout the gorgeous food. Many Miss New York sisters from 09-10 and new girls for 2011 were there along with Miss New York board members and local committees, my friends from a variety of places: the Upper East Side/Ball State transplants, Indiana, roommates, boyfriend and one more - my mom. She flew in for the party and to help me shop for my interview dress. Tradition, in a send off, would be to share your wardrobe. However, at the time, I did not have any of my wardrobe actually in my hands. But instead, I shared some hints of my best description, played my awesome talent song and shared my It Gets Better video for the first time. It was amazing to see the response from people.

- < - Now, however, I just received my talent outfit, finished, I bought my interview dress in the next few days, my evening gown arrived this week!!! just have to take it to alterations where I'll pick up the rest of my wardrobe - > -

I felt so loved and, like I said, blessed to have the support of you all. One of my favorite pictures is all the girls around the cake. You're all going to Miss America with me, and I hope you know that. There is a part of each of you that has inspired, motivated, and changed me. I can't wait to hang my banner in my hotel room in Vegas and be reminded of you all.

More photos in my December Events album on my Photo Gallery

And my iPhoto is working again, so revisit some of the previous blogs for photos!

Back in October, I received the Douglas Jones Leadership Award from the Empire State Pride Agenda. Blog and Pics HERE. Well, they just released the video of my acceptance speech as well as the other speeches by Ross Levi, Executive Director of the Pride Agenda, Governor David Paterson, Senator Chuck Schumer and more.

This was such an incredible evening and a monumental moment for me, personally. I'm so proud and honored to share it with you.

Monday I went to Hunter HS in Manhattan at the invitation of Dan SanGermano whom I met at a Prop 8 celebration with Broadway Impact a few months ago. After a small lunch with the members of the Gay/Straight Alliance over great conversation about media impact on society, depiction of the gay community and bullying, ok AND Glee, I spoke to three auditoriums full of respectful, interested and challenging students. In preparation for my visit, they had prepared some tough questions! It was so cool to see the kids ask such pertinent and thought-provoking questions, some just so that others may hear the answers. I was often that kid. Because of my love for discussion, I often play devil's advocate just to examine all sides of the issue at hand. That's what these kids really did.

Then Wednesday, I went to Long Island to Jericho Middle Schools where the school climate truly is changing, based on the guidance of their teachers, principal and superintendent, all of whom were present and in addition, parents from the PTA as well. It seems like every time I go to a school I say "This is the best experience I have had." I don't know if anything will top ACCION Academy from this spring, but wow Jericho is fighting for the top spot!! Their school motto is about reaching your personal best, and all leadership challenge the students to remember that your personal best is influenced and enriched by the acceptance of diversity in your surroundings. Without knowing what their missions or mottos were or their current focuses, I directly overlapped with the curriculum they are concentrating on in the school: be respectful and accepting, not just tolerant of others and their unique qualities; be the best you; be a leader; don't be a bystander - see something, say something. At this middle school, they have an elective for 7th and 8th graders entitled "Seedlings." It is a diversity elective themed in privilege - privilege of being born white, male, Christian, straight, and more. I just think it is fascinating to see a school with an elective like this; it shows the initiative of the teachers to create that kind of environment. You can read Principal Gately's blog HERE.

Friday rounded out the week again on Long Island, this time at the Holocaust Museum. I sat on a panel including assemblypersons, a judge, Holocaust survivors and a youth representative to talk about bullying. I was the eighth and final person to speak on the panel, and I found it very interesting and compelling that in discussing bullying as a broad topic, six of the speakers addresses bullying in the current state of our society as a direct result of sexual orientation and gender identity. They did not know my platform; I had not yet opened that subject. It just goes to show that this fight is not one for special group or minority only, but the message of respect, acceptance and equality is current and universal, and obviously necessary to spread in this environment.

And on top of all of these experiences, Hannah Kiefer set up a tough interview at UBS Financial, all of these videos were released - ItGetsBetter, Miss America voting, and ESPA acceptance speech all in other blogs - AND my evening gown arrived from Regalia!!! What a cool, cool week.

In previous blogs, I have shared multiple "It Gets Better" videos that have been inspirational to me. Many people have asked if I had made a video. Well I have. But it's more than me. With celebration, excitement and honor, I represent a "first" in the Miss America Organzation. But with respect and admiration for my peers in the MAO Class of 2011, I wanted to share this project with the many other women across the United States who believe in this universal message of equality, dignity and respect as we, together, take a stand against bullying.

I received so many emails of support but with such busy schedules as state titleholders, there were many girls unable to send a video. However, I want to recognize their support (and the door is always open to add to the video!).

Miss Arkansas Alyse Eady
Miss California Arianna Afsar

Miss Florida Jaclyn Raulerson

Miss Georgia Christina McCauley

Miss Iowa Pauli Mayfield

Miss Louisiana Kelsi Crain

Miss Michigan Katie LaRoche

Miss Puerto Rico Mariselle Morales

Miss Rhode Island Deborah Saint-Vil

Miss Tennessee Nicole Jordan

Miss Vermont Caroline Bright

Miss Virginia Caitlin Uze

In the video:

Miss District of Columbia Stephanie Williams

Miss Illinois Whitney Thorpe-Klinsky

Miss Indiana Gabrielle Reed

Miss Nevada Cris Crotz

Miss New Hampshire Krystal Muccioli

Miss Oklahoma Emoly West

Miss Wisconsin Kimberly Sawyer

Miss Wyoming Alicia Grove

You, too, can take the pledge to stop bullying and spread a message of hope that "It Gets Better."
Click here to take the pledge.

Last week I was in Atlanta where I had my talent costume made by Jody Pelletier who is seriously a rockstar. When I showed up in the morning, she had 2 talent costumes made from the ideas we had thrown around and by the time I came back at 10:30pm, she had a new one, the real one, made! In my adventures with Faith in Atlanta, I also visited our dental sponsor, Dr. Goldstein, for some teeth contouring and whitening and a makeup lesson with Nyssa at the TV station - what special treatment for Miss NY!

We also went to Kennesaw State University where I spoke to their Pride Alliance at a reception they had thrown just for me. The back story: Mary Frances had written me after I won Miss NY having read my article in The Advocate. She told me that she had competed in pageants in Georgia and was never able to stand up for equality - stand up for herself, as a lesbian. After back and forth, meaningful conversation, it was so incredible to actually meet her in person and bring this new friendship full circle. She threw a beautiful reception for me, attended by the Chief Diversity Officer of the University, dean, professors and many students who all gave up their time during finals. It was such a wonderful experience to see the broad reach and influence that social media and the internet can provide. As always, a great trip to the Ossmanns. :)

Upon my return to NYC on Fridy, I went to Toys for Tots with Kenny Mack, Wanda and Amanda Mason (Miss Greater Gotham) and 500 fabulous, attractive and well-dressed men at Chelsea Piers! It was a blast, full of holiday cheer and a huuuuge mountain of gifts. Of course, a highlight of my night was running into Thomas Roberts as well as seeing Andy Cohen again and meeting Lance Bass. Mr. Brazil was alright too. Hehe great evening! And I was grateful to get a few minutes on stage to talk about Miss America and my platform.

For the past few years, what has stopped the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is the fear that openly gay military service members will disrupt unity cohesion and combat operations. After the order of multiple surveys to anticipate the real response of our service, 70% of current military personnel (under age 30) do not think that gays being allowed to serve openly in the military (the repeal of DADT) would have a negative effect. As for the general population, Pew Research Center said 58% of Americans favor allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military, with 27 percent opposed.

DADT is wrong and immoral because it forces gays to lie – hiding their sexual orientation -- in order to serve their country. If someone is willing to die for our country, they should be able to live confidently and freely as they truly are.

Eric Alva – who risked life and limb for his country but was forced to hide his identity as a gay man – put it best the other day: "My fellow troops have spoken. Generals have spoken... The American people have spoken. From this point forward, any delay is nothing more than discrimination and partisan politics."

More than 14,000 gay service members have been discharged since 1994, including 428 last year. It needs to stop. And you can help. Contact your senator TODAY (CLICK HERE) as the vote is slated for Tuesday morning during the lame duck session.

My friends are writing a play. Share your story.

LET'S TALK ABOUT BULLYING

We are anonymously collecting stories from across the NYC area: stories about being the victim of bullying, how you may have perpetuated it, witnessed it, are taking steps to stop it, and everything in between. We want to hear YOUR stories. Collected stories will be turned into monologues and pieced together for a night of live, honest theatre in an new, original play we're calling "Let's Talk About Bullying". Donations made from the play will be donated to a TBD organization that works with troubled and bullied teenagers.

We encourage everyone to submit your experiences- all replies will be ANONYMOUS so identities are protected. We're in this together. Let's end the vicious trend of teenage bullying. Through our efforts, we can hear stories that let us know IT GETS BETTER.

We're three NYC theatre artists: Actor Josh Jeffers, Actor/Activist Jacyln Hennell and Playwright Andrew Kramer, who believe in changing minds through the power of live theatre.

Join us in telling these stories.

To share your story: Visit Jaclyn's blog by CLICKING HERE and follow the directions on her page by providing a comment with your story. (remember, NO name necessary and be SURE TO CHOOSE ANONYMOUS so comments are anonymously submitted) with your age, gender, and location and most importantly, your story. All stories will be read and formatted into stage monologues for our original play, LET'S TALK ABOUT BULLYING, to be performed in Late December in NYC. DUE TO TIME CONSTRAINTS, STORIES ACCEPTED UNTIL FRIDAY DEC. 3RD @ 5:00pm.