As I sit here writing what will be my final posting as Miss Rodeo Wyoming, on my last day as Miss Rodeo Wyoming, I am overwhelmed by the finality of it all. As I look back on this past year I contemplate how it has affected me, or has it effected me? Am I a better spokesperson? role model? cowgirl? friend? professional? and ultimately person for this journey and path I have ventured down?
As I sat at dinner last night with friends and mentors of mine discussing the ups and downs of being Miss Rodeo Wyoming and how it seems nearly all Miss Rodeo Wyoming's feel upon completion of their year-- broken. I look back on the great times, memories, and experiences I have garnered. I look back to the friendships I have made and the phenomenal people I have meet. As I look back on these great things that came about as a product of my time under the charm and spell of the Jade crown this past year... I wonder why and how is it we feel broken?
I have always been told ‘…as one door closes, another door opens…’. As I look back on this past year and the chapter in my life devoted to it drawing to a close, I can't help but glance forward. Wondering what is the next chapter, what is the open door waiting for me to step forward and begin writing that next chapter?
My mantra while competing for the title of Miss Rodeo Wyoming was: ‘Let It Be’. That spring while debating whether or not to throw in my bid for a shot at the title I finally decided—If you never give fate a shot, you will never know what hand she might have dealt. So, I submitted my application and gave fate a chance to intervene. I competed for the title with complete peace that whatever the outcome, it was what was meant to be.
So, here I am a year of ups and downs later, knowing it was meant to be. It was all meant to be. As I sit here feeling shaken, cracked, and perhaps broken from the hardships, trial, and tribulations.
I know it was perhaps part of the experience for a reason. We have all heard the expression 'without darkness we could not appreciate light'. Perhaps this is why-- to make the good experiences sustain a greater impact, or become more memorable by contrast. Or perhaps, it was to serve as a source of motivation. Motivation for myself and others who have felt and experienced the same emotions, to make a stand. To stand for the change we believe in and want to see. The change that must be seen to allow the title to not only continue but also stand for the grandeur it should.
As I look forward I know part of this journey into my next chapter will be to help future Miss Rodeo Wyoming's in their year. I am overwhelmingly grateful to the previous Miss Rodeo's that have reached out to me. Reached out with words of experience, wisdom, and encouragement. They, along with so many others helped build me up and keep 'my cup full' so that I could give more of myself to build up and inspire others.
As I look back on my year as Miss Rodeo Wyoming I am grateful for the good, and even for the bad. I am even grateful for this broken feeling I am left with in the pit of my stomach. I am grateful because I know it is a temporary feeling. One I was given to inspire, drive, and ignite me. As I accept the good, with the bad, and on this New Years Eve I resolve towards a more resilient self. I am given peace. A deep peace knowing that it was all meant to be and will soon serve as a solitary chapter in the story of my life because it effected and affected me in ways I may never fully understand or comprehend. I resolve to believe in some (or perhaps many) ways I am better spokesperson, role model, cowgirl, friend, professional, and ultimately person for this journey and path I have ventured down.
Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2013
Holly L. M. Kennedy
