I had the opportunity to talk with a beautiful and young lady who is Ms. Nevada United States for 2014, Brittany Williams.
She has an amazing story behind the crown. She is from Clifton Forge, VA and now she is living in Las Vegas since 2008.
Why did you move to Vegas?
I moved about a month after college graduation to be an intern at Caesars Palace in hotel operations. I thought Vegas would be a great place to experience coming from a small town and it would be great for the resume. I didn’t expect that I would stay here for so long.
Who is Brittany Williams?
As interesting as my life can be sometimes, I am pretty simple. I come from a small town and a middle class family that instilled a hard work ethic and character in me. Around 7 or 8 I began turning into a tomboy and only wanted to run around with the boys and play basketball, hockey, and baseball. Although I do glam it up a lot, that is a part of me will never go away. My sports background has lead into my passion for fitness and wellness, which is a great characteristic to have being in pageantry and modeling. My tomboy ways were actually part of the catalyst for me beginning to compete in pageants, and I am glad that I did. I was shy and insecure. Over the past few years, I have taken my variety of experiences to come out of that box and explore all of the possibilities and love life.
Goals?
Over the past few years, I have found what I think my true purpose is in life. That is to use my personal experiences and stories to inspire and instill confidence in young women in an effort for them to embrace and love themselves from the inside out, no matter if you are a beauty queen or model. I hid my insecurity and low self-esteem very well for a long time. I had to face it when I competed in my first big pageant- Miss Virginia USA, my senior year of college. When I didn’t win, I went through a spiral of depression for a while, which forced me to figure out what was wrong and deal with what was going on inside of me. From there I was able to understand and then make positive changes to become a happy and confident woman. I do know that an astounding large number of women and girls don’t feel “good enough” or that they add up, and a lot of it comes from the way they see themselves when they look in the mirror and want to compare themselves to other people. Building my brand and business in an effort to change women’s lives and the way they feel about themselves is my main goal.
Other than that, being a competitor and loving the stage, another short term goal is to win the Fitness America competition in the winter.
How is your beauty routine?
I don’t consider it a routine, but a way of life. Taking care of your body from the inside, makes it easy to make care of the outside. I workout, drink mostly water and green tea (unsweetened, which is difficult to do when I go back home to the south), I recently began meditating multiple times a day and I can say that has been a huge thing in my life to eliminate stress and negativity. I work every day on being happy, appreciating the small things and not taking things too seriously. Of all that I do to stay “beautiful”, working on the mental is most important.
Why did you join the beauty contest?
My original decision to try pageants almost 10 years ago was based upon the fact that I secretly needed some outside “thing” to make me feel better about the girl who was looking in the mirror. Makeup, pretty clothes and a crown would surely do the trick. When I didn’t win the crown the first time, I was forced to do some soul searching. After a couple of years of “figuring it out” then going back to pageants with a different outlook; I wasn’t going to win the crown to feel better. I was going to feel fabulous and be fabulous in order to win the crown. From there began to share my experience in hopes of being an example. That became my mission. I won Miss United States 2008 when I finally felt comfortable in my own skin. I am the current Ms. Nevada United States and was hoping to be Ms. United States 2014. Although I didn’t win (I was 3rd runner up), I still have ample opportunity and a great platform to get my message across.
How was your experience with the beauty contest?
My experience was wonderful. I love pageants, especially the United States system because you will see such diversity on the stage. Beauty comes in all shapes, sizes and colors. There is such a sisterhood and family feel. People imagine cattiness and crazy fights, but that is just not how we roll. I love the stage and the whole process of pageants. There is this crazy excitement and energy from the stage that is unlike anything else.
The national contest was in Washington, DC. How was your experience?
The only thing better than being at Ms. United States is that it was actually held in DC. I was born and raised in Virginia. I went to college not far from DC. It’s home. I would have been awesome to win there. But I did. It was like the whole crowd was for me. I had so much support and was able to see friends and family that I hadn’t seen in a while. It was the best.
How is your responsibility with the crown?
As Ms. Nevada United States, I am responsible for upholding the values of the pageant, supporting the community and working with my platform. My self-inflicted responsibility is to be the face of living a healthy well rounded lifestyle. Loving life, and loving myself from the inside out.
Why do you think you won the crown?
I think I won because I have totally become comfortable with the woman I am and I am ok with being authentic, even if it isn’t exactly the way “they say” it is supposed to be done. I think back to the beginning on my pageant career, when I wasn’t sure or comfortable with myself. Not to say that anyone else isn’t or wasn’t comfortable and being themselves, I am speaking about my personal journey and the energy that I feel and project based upon my experiences and mental attitude that I have created for myself.
I understand you have been involved in beauty pageants before. Why and how?
As, I mentioned before, I began my pageant career in college without a clue. I just knew I needed something to “fix” me. I thank pageants for forcing me to see that it really is more than what meets the eye. I have competed in a few different systems over the years, all with different experiences, lessons and outcomes. It’s not always just about getting crowns and being in the spotlight. It’s about personal development, finding your passions, and learning how to maintain grace under fire.
Advice for girls involve in fashion industry?
Fashion is great, but it can easily dictate how we should look, feel and act. Embrace fashion, but never let it question how you feel about yourself. Know thyself and know the place of fashion in your world because it is all about you not what you wear.
What are you going to do after you finish as a queen?
I am never finished as Queen 🙂 But when I do crown my successor, I will stay involved in the United States system as a coach and mentor, continue my charity work and working on my mission of creating a generation of confident and strong young women.
Facebook: Brittany The Queen B Williams
Instragram: @B.Fabyoulous
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