Thursday, January 5, 2012

Miss Michigan Has JRA

I have pretty mixed feelings about beauty pageants. Actually, I totally take that back. For little girls - like in Toddlers and Tiaras - I tend to think it's pretty much horrifying. That's why I'm all for Olive, the only real little girl in Little Miss Sunshine.

I'm pretty sure enforcing a stereotypical view of "beauty" isn't doing girls/women anywhere any favors. But, that being said, as girls get older at least there is a talent portion and opportunities for public speaking and scholarships, etc. The girls who make it to the top also have an opportunity to use their position as a platform to make a difference on issues that matter.

Which is why I was pleasantly surprised to read about Elizabeth Wertenberger, who was recently crowned Miss Michigan. She was diagnosed with JA at age 13, and told by her doctors that she would eventually lose her ability to walk. Now she is using her Miss America Pageant platform to raise awareness for arthritis and other chronic illnesses that affect children. She also wants to bring hope to suffering kids. And, my doubts about beauty pageants aside, I think that's pretty cool.

You can watch a video of Miss Michigan and vote for her to win Miss America here.

UPDATE: As one of you mentioned in the comments, Elizabeth was also featured in Arthritis Today. You can see that article here

2 comments:

Mandy said...

I saw this in The Arthritis Today magazine as well. How are you feeling?

~Mariah~ said...

MANDY: I think it's very cool that the Arthritis Foundation is helping her spread the word too. I'm feeling pretty ok - still struggling with that SI joint but finally making a little progress, I think. Thanks so much for checking in on me!! ~;o)