Some random rambling...

Happy weekend everyone! The first official week of school, even though we only really had two days of classes, is complete. I really like all of my classes and I think, based on the syllabi and first impressions, that my course load will be well balanced; some courses are going to challenge me while others will serve as 'easy A's' and 'refresher' courses. My biggest disappointment so far has been that because I am a junior and in higher level courses, the professors don't feel it necessary to have us introduce ourselves. The way that this usually goes is the professor gives us a formula for our introduction: Name, year, major, hometown, and FUN FACT. Normally, I can never think of a fun fact, but this year, I really wanted to be able to say, "My fun fact is that I am Miss Thousand Islands 2011!" Oh well!

Now, as I'm sure many of you have heard, Miss Thousand Islands 2010 Kristina Ferris's crown has been stolen. It was one of many items stolen in a burglary spree in her neighborhood. I wanted to take the time to first of all express my devastation for Kristina and the loss of her crown. Although the crown is 'just a thing', it is truly so much more than sparkly rhinestones. Not only does the crown stand for Style, Success, Scholarship, and Service (the Four Points of the Crown), but it also represents a titleholder's year of service and all of their accomplishments. As Kristina has stated in interviews with the media, the crown is not really worth much money, so to anyone but her, it is not very valuable. I am hopeful that the crown, along with the other possessions stolen in the string of burglaries, will be returned to their rightful owners.

To completely jump topics to something more positive, I am very excited to announce my first appearance as Miss Thousand Islands! I will be attending the Miss Italia 2010 pageant in Watertown, NY on September 10. The Miss Italia pageant is a part of the Bravo Italiano Festival that is held in Watertown every year. I have never been to the festival or the pageant before, and I am really looking forward to seeing a non-Miss America pageant. I hope to see you there! Although the winner of this pageant will not be a part of the MAO pageant family, I am excited to welcome in a new pageant sister to the Thousand Islands and Watertown area pageant family! OH...I'd also like to congratulate Allison Carlos, Miss Forest Queen 2011! Miss Forest Queen is a festival pageant, but she will be competing in Miss New York 2011 with me! Welcome to MNY Class of 2011, Alli! :-)

Before I go, I'd also like to give a quick shout out to Alison Stroming, Miss New York's Outstanding Teen who is competing in Miss America's Outstanding Teen pageant tonight in Orlando. She has been competing all week and won a preliminary talent award! I was lucky enough to meet Alison during Miss Thousand Islands and she is very deserving of this crown! Tonight is the big night, so send thoughts her way!

That's all for now!

Morgan