Blog

The first week I got back I went to the San Diego Rotarian luncheon my first week back after Miss America. The event was recognizing Heroes who made a difference. The heroes included Steven Kane, Carlos Partida and Mario Contreras, three construction workers who chased down and tackled a gunman who was firing at children at Kelly Elementary School in Carlsbad. It was outstanding to hear all of their stories, they truly are heroes. Next week was the NADA conference. I flew to San Francisco and stayed in the beautiful St. Regis hotel. I was able to meet owners of Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Kia. I was trying to convince them to give me a spare car, but it didn't really work out. I had a lot of fun in my short day in San Francisco, but then I was off to Orange County the same day.

That day was the Miss Fullerton Pageant. Doug and Kathi Hikawa are some of my favorite people in this organization. They put together a beautiful video on my Miss America experience before the show started. It was very special. The two titleholders Carly Valdes and Alyssa Alex are truly remarkable and I can't wait to see them succeed at Miss California.

The next week I was off to Northern California for three days visiting various Veterans hospitals. I have never been touched in this way. All of the veterans were so enthusiastic and willing to share their story. I truly enjoyed every second of this trip. Paul Sanfilipo and Linda Otriveras were my traveling companions for the week! We had a blast. The following week was Miss Placentia. It was wonderful to see and stay with the Baldwins once again; they are truly generous people. Congrats to Jordan Krinke a MCOT alum, Whitney Thomas the shoe queen, Jinnie Rhee, and Anneliese Klages. The Monday following the pageant, I was off to Santa Barbara where I attended the convention for the American Pistachios. This convention announced that they are becoming the official snack sponsor of Miss California and the Men's and Women's US Waterpolo team. I was able to speak about how excited we are about this partnership at the convention along with two members from the Waterpolo Team.




That weekend I drove up to Tulare with Patrick and Sharon Nordes. The town was very small but I had a blast with the host family. It was so cute because we both were starving after rehearsal so we decided to make a quick stop to In n Out. The entire car ride, I kept on informing her on social networking and how important it was for her to keep up to date! The theater was beautiful and I am thrilled for the two titleholders: Sabrina Ziegler and Jazelle Verduzco.

The last day of February I went to NBC to help promote IHOP day, March 1, across the city of San Diego. Lurece and I had a blast at 6 in the morning!! Every donation that was made went to support CMN, the national platform of Miss America. March 1st was National Pancake Day where I was able to make the most fabulous pancakes. Saundra Combs, Miss Hollywood, joined me on this day to make a mickey mouse pancake. We ate chocolate chip pancakes made by the chef himself of IHOP. It was a lot of fun to visit, welcome and serve the guests of IHOP donating to CMN.

That weekend i went to the 4S Ranch Little League opening ceremony. They had me sing two songs as part of the opening presentation. Seeing the adorable kids get ready for the big game was a blast. It was an honor to have 17-year MLB veteran Dave Stewart as the keynote speaker.

On March 17th, Miss Azusa, Lauren Brady, and I got the royal treatment at Disneyland. It was so much fun to go to Disneyland and take pictures with our crowns in front of the main entrance.

That weekend was Miss San Diego. Kati and Joe, Pey-shiaun, and Alexandra did a fabulous job of putting on a smooth and wonderful show. It was so strange to think that my last pageant was my local pageant I won to compete for Miss California. Everything is coming around in a circle and it makes me sad to think that my time to pass the crown on will be coming up very soon. One of my dear friends, Shelby MacDonald received a title along with Marina Insera, Ryan Obsorne, Lauren Smolka, and Danamarie NcNicholl-Carter.

The following week was my trip to Washington DC with the top 12 contestants of Miss America. I arrived at 9am on March 27th where I went with my host family to tour the museums in the mall of DC. It was a bit chilly but nonetheless a beautiful day. That night we had a Mexican feast at the home of Miss DC's executive director, Teri Galvez. During this trip, we had a photo shoot with be gorgeous Cherry Blossoms, Visited the Veterans Hospital, attended a private tour of the Capital, and dined at the Croatian Embassy. It was so wonderful to be able to catch up with my Miss America sisters.

The day I got back was my first day back at UCLA for spring quarter. My schedule consists of music theory, asian music history, astronomy and differential equations: 18 units. That weekend was another full day, I went to the open house of my pilates studio, Core Arts Pilates, in West Hollywood. It was wonderful to see their LA studio in top shape for new clients.

That night I drove down to San Diego to attend the fundraising gala for San Diego Glenner Alzheimer Center. This organization is truly remarkable helping families and patients dealing with Alzheimer. It was a lot of fun to be able to help these wonderful organization.

Miss America

It has been a couple weeks since one of the most exciting adventures of my entire life: Miss America.
This voyage has truly been memorable and I met 52 fabulous women. The most common question I get
from people is “Are all the girls mean? Did you really get along?” Although I answer as frankly as I can,
the answer is always the same, “These are the most fabulous, caring, driven, motivated, supportive,
and genuine people I met.” We were all there to enjoy our one chance at this experience and we were
not going to ruin it by being cutthroat. We knew that we would not get any more points by not sharing
hairspray or makeup or anything of that matter, so what would be the point to be like that? We all
understood each other because we had been working for the same goal for 6 months; we all practiced
daily on our talent, we were addicted to the gym, we deprived ourselves of sweets, we were glued to
CNN, we shopped till we dropped, and we all enjoyed the amazing journey of preparing for this week
and we were going to have the most unbelievable time possible. That is exactly what we did. I can
honestly say, and I believe the Miss America Organization recognized it as well, that we were one of the
closest class the organization has had in decades. I miss seeing these women every day, and I just can’t
wait to see what we will all accomplish in years to come.

I have to start with my roommate for life: Kathryn Knuttila Miss Minnesota. First of all you will be seeing
her work in major feature films coming up, so watch out. She performed a fabulous original composition
for her Miss America talent and of course I had to be the same night as her!! She was awarded non-
finalist talent. We met each other in Orlando back in August and immediately clicked. It
was a blessing to have her as my roommate. We had basically the same sleeping schedule, preparation
tactics, and honest advice. We would do crunches together at night, munch on the fabulous fiber one
cereal, ask each other interview questions, and bluntly tell each other how we looked before we walked
out the door! ;] I was so lucky to have this fabulous woman as my roommate.

Backing up… I arrived in Las Vegas on January 5th, a day early. Thanks to the WONDERFUL Chelle Hyde,
we got our own room to relax and enjoy before all the chaos started the next day. We were able to do
a Walmart shopping run with Miss Oklahoma and check out the beautiful and blinged out hotel: the
Cosmopolitan.

The next day was Opening Ceremonies were we were given our “bachelorette” rose by Boyz II Men!!!
They even sang to a few of us, which was quite a treat. I am not going to lie, by no means was it warm,
but we all picked out our cute outfits for a reason, so I was determined to show mine off! ;]

Some other exciting events were the Barry Manilow show, going to the top of the Paris Hotel, flipping
pancakes for the IHOP CMN fundraiser, filming commercials for DSW, participating in a Joseph Ribkoff
Fashion Show, rehearsing, more rehearsing, and even more rehearsing.

There were so many people other than the contestants that made this trip so memorable: the security,
Rodney, Lewis and Chris who always found the humor of every situation; the fabulous hostesses who
stayed up until 1am every night making sure we knew where to go the next day and the awesome
choreographers, stage managers and production team who broke down every move and step to make
us look fabulous. Overall it was such a professional and put-together environment which was always
comforting.

I remember distinctly two conversations that I had separately with Miss Michigan and Miss Colorado
about no matter the outcome, all of our lives were going to change post Miss America. I would be
either (A) traveling the world or (B) be going back home to San Diego where a new adventure of being
Miss California would begin. Before, I only knew the life of Miss California residing in the Baldwin’s
beautiful Orange County home, leaving at 7am and coming back at 9pm. Everyday my life consisted
of preparation activities and Miss California events. After Miss America, no matter what my life was,
it would change. I still get to live the dream of Miss California but it will be a completely different
experience now. For 6 months part of being Miss California was preparing every single second, but now
I truly get to enjoy and savor each moment of without having to think about anything else. I have grown
and changed more than I could have ever realized. I have become stronger, wiser, and smarter because
of this adventure and I am truly grateful. A lot of people ask me if I regret competing at 18, and I don’t
at all. I am not one to believe in fate, but rather that you make your own destiny. I am grateful for this
experience when and how it happened and I would not have had it any other way. Making the Top 10
out of all these fabulous women was an honor, I was able to show America everything I had, swimsuit,
evening gown, talent and my onstage question dress without the fear of not answering the question
succinctly enough ;].

There were a lot of people that came and supported me throughout the entire week. Being able to see
these people every night of competition was a must. They gave me the confidence and drive to give it
my all no matter if I was exhausted or discouraged; they were always there to pick me up. Bob- seeing
your pearly whites every night was so helpful. Your statement of “You got the points you needed, you
got the points” with a huge grin on your face was so reassuring. Making you proud was enough for me.






Chelle, thank you for EVERYTHING; I don’t even know where to begin, from the secret watermelon
gifts, to being the amazing Lucille Ball escort, to the daily notes of encouragement. You are THE best
business manager I could ever have. Remember if I make it big, I’ll pay you to follow me and be my
business manager ;].





Kati and Joe- Thank you for being amazing supporters. I LOVED seeing my banner
every night. It was a reminder of how much I am loved. I am honored to always be your San Diego girl.
Dirk and Patti Wunderlich, Ernie Koneck, Tom Moletteire, Kathi and Doug Hikawa, Alesia and Timari
Foster, Vera Hartsock, Jan & Jim Dowd, my Uncle Terry, my great Aunt and Uncle, Jess and Maureen,
Millie and Elaine Grgas , Shelby and Barb McDonald, the best boyfriend: Jeff Knecht, my bestfriend of all time: Shireen Ashtari, wonderful bestie: Dayne Tran, Lauren and Deanna Brady, Mickey and Derek Copple, Layne Sanders, Shelby and Paula Sinkler, Mary McCaman, Felicia Alvarez, Norma and Don Troast, Marissa Santana, and Caroline
Olivier, Nikki Lehman- Thank you SO much for your support. It was TRULY TRULY TRULY appreciated. For all of those
who saw me at any point, thank you. Again I can’t stress enough how I loved the “A F S A R Arianna is
our star” chant, loving words, and glowing smiles. Although it was a wonderful experience, when it got
to competition I was very drained and you all picked me up every single night. It is still unbelievable to
me to realize how many people came out and supported me, I am truly touched.

The BIGGEST thank you goes to my parents. Dad: thank you for always telling me the honest truth.
So when you say I nailed the song, I know you mean it. You always see the glass half full in every
circumstance and you gave me my philosophy on life, which is to take advantage of every situation. I
made the best of my experience, I worked as much as I could, I tried my hardest, and you showed me
how to be my best; I appreciate that lesson. Mom: thank you for always having my back and for always

understanding the meaning of my tears and smiles. Thanks for listening to me express my joy or vent
during the week whether it be for 30 minutes or 2 seconds. You are the one person who gets me, the
ins and outs, I never have to explain myself and that was extremely helpful for this experience. You are
the one who taught me to manage my time and succeed in whatever endeavors I put my mind and heart
toward.

Overall I had a wonderful experience, and I can’t wait to bestow my wisdom upon the next Miss
California :].

I was able to return to beautiful Fresno on November 12th. It was so fabulous seeing all of the wonderful
volunteers and discussing with them my intense preparation experience. I will admit that it was a little
strange having them discuss the next Miss CA competition… I am definitely not ready to turn this job
over.


The next week I met the fabulous Jeann Mcswain, owner of Athena Jean Salon. I was a part of
their “Look Good Feel Better” fundraiser. I was also able to see my Miss California roommate, Lana
Brewster. She is such a beautiful woman inside and out, and it was wonderful to catch up with her.
We were all treated like celebrities by getting our hair and makeup done and getting a massage and
pedicure the next day. It was such a successful fundraiser and speaking on behalf of the wonderful LGFB
program was an honor.


In December I was able to finally meet the staff of the Little Brother’s Friends of the Elderly (LBFE)
Organization in San Francisco. The down-to-earth Miss CA 2004 Nicole Lamarche, drove me around
the city to participate in a LBFE meeting. The next day I was able to partake in the best parade I have
ever seen LIVE: Oakland’s “America’s Children’s Parade.” It was shown internationally. I was able to
sing 45 seconds of “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree”. I had adorable dancers dance to my song on
a Christmas dream float. I had a BLAST! Linda Otriveros was my traveling companion and showed me a
new world of makeup!!! The next day I was able to be a part of the Miss Oakland pageant where I saw
my fabulous sister: Shelby Sinkler. Congratulations to the new Miss Oakland and Outstanding Teen,
Nanxi Liu and Sarah Dahdouh. Layne Sanders did a fabulous job of putting on a successful show in a
beautiful theater.

My FABULOUS Pilates Sponsor. Sharmila Mitra from Core Arts Pilates had an awesome christmas party that I attended. Pilates changed my body and it is all thanks to Sharmila!!!!

The next week I participated in the Nutcracker put on by the California School of Ballet owned by
Maxine Mahon, one of my judges at the Miss California pageant. It was so great to catch up with Lurece
Hunter, my traveling companion, and meet all of the magnificent ballerinas. They even had me sign their
pointe shoes!!! We later exchanged tips on pageant poses and ballerina poses.


The following week I went to Kansas City, MO where I stayed with one of my best friend’s family, the
Harens. I had a session with the incomparable vocal coach and music arranger, Bill Wolfe. It was a great
last hurrah before my trip out to Las Vegas.

November Blog

The day after I got back to Orange County, I was off to San Diego where I had a wonderful lunch with
Bob. Throughout these months I have been having lunch dates with Bob on a regular basis; he is the
best interview coach I could ask for. He has so much wisdom and knowledge and I love picking at his
brain ;]. Bob definitely is lucky this year because we have a lot of the same social and fiscal views. Right
after my lunch date I drove down to work out with Mike Douglass, my personal trainer in Alpine, which
I have been doing on a regular basis. He is so encouraging, but kicks my butt every time I work out with
him.

On November 2nd I had my sponsored hair appointment where I was treated like true royalty! Chelle
and I met Stephen Wicking on the American Airlines flight in August on the way back from Orlando. He
is such a genuinely nice man; he immediately took us into the Admiral's club when we met him on the
plane. Lisa Richardson Loeb is owner of the outstanding "Salon Marchessa" in La Mesa who colored my
hair. She highlighted my hair a shade lighter which really brightened up my face and it was a perfect
choice. Stephen then cut my hair into a very playful, easy, and free style which I absolutely adore; I
am hooked on their services. The salon then treated me to a manicure and a pedicure which has been
long overdue. Their salon was so adorable and very fashionable, which was a great touch. They also
purchased lunch for me and just made me feel so welcome!



The next day, I was off to Virginia for the Christening of the California Submarine! I was absolutely
honored to be a part of this monumental ceremony. My first job was to attend the media photo session
to show my support and encouragement for this celebration. When I arrived to the submarine, I was
dumbfounded; the boat was enormous spanning 377 feet long and being able to undergo 6 months of
submersion at a time. The boat will last for over 50 years and at the half way mark, Northrop Grumman
Shipbuilding Company will revamp the entire boat in order to give it updates and repairs. I was able to
meet the sponsor Donna Willard and her daughter and two grandchildren who were both so enamored
with my crown the entire weekend. They both were able to be Miss Submarine Princess that day by
trying on my crown. The average age of the crew members was 20 years old, so I was able to relate
and converse with a lot of them. I applaud them for all their hard work and bravery for fighting for our
country. Their strength is unbelievable to me especially since we are all around the same age! I signed
and handed out autograph cards to many of the crew members and ship builders. All of the individuals
involved with the creation of this boat deserve a huge appreciation; it takes approximately 12 years to
design and build the submarine. I also just found out that they are going to hang my signed 8x10 picture
in the submarine when it goes out to battle. I am flabbergasted with that news!!! I feel more than honor
to have my picture hung in the boat for the crew.



That night we attended the sponsor dinner where we immediately met the Naval Chaplain and his wife,
Don and Norma Troast. It had to be fate that we met them because they are Williamsburg residents and

that is exactly where we wanted to go on our afternoon off the next day. They graciously invited us to
give us a tour of Williamsburg and an 18th century candlelit dinner. At the dinner, they had a red carpet
photo arena where I was the official Hollywood celeb to take pictures with majority of the guests. It
was quite funny to be brought back to Hollywood in Newport News, Virginia! The presentation during
the dinner was pretty exceptional, for they introduced veterans from WWII, executives of Northrop
Grumman Shipbuilding Company, the Willard family (the official sponsor), professionals in the Virginia-
Class Submarine Program, and presidents of General Dynamics Electric Boat Company. All of these
individuals contributed to the completion of the California SSN 781. At our departure, we all received
goodie bags full of USS California engraved water glasses.
WWII vets.

The next day was the BIG day!! It was so exciting and an honor to be the last one to enter the stage
and immediately perform the national anthem with a fabulous color guard in front. The presidents of
Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding and general Dynamics Electric Boat: Mr. Mike Petters and Mr. John
Casey spoke during the ceremony about their company's contribution and the significance of this boat
for our nation. US House of Representatives, Rob Wittman and Bobby Scott, also shared their support
for this submarine and all its potential. Then Donna Willard broke the bottle in front of the boat to
officially christen the California SSN 781 where gold and blue balloons fell from the ceiling. I immediately
hurdled myself through the balloons back onstage to sing God Bless America. Everyone joined in
the second round of the song and we all could feel an instant connection between the boat and the
audience; it was an unforgettable feeling. After the ceremony the boy scouts stopped me for some
autographs which were very funny because a lot of them were extremely nervous to even talk to me.
They then started an autograph session for two hours which actually flew by because each person that
came up to get a picture had a different story to tell whether they were involved with the shipbuilding,
one of the crew members, or a family member of an individual in the crew.

We then immediately headed out to Williamsburg, which was quite a sight! I have never been to a
historical place in America, so it was a first adventure for me. Don and Norma were more than generous
for planning this whole afternoon/night for Chelle and me.

Blog 4

For those of you who don't know, I am a member of the renowned A Capella group, Scattertones, at UCLA. It probably was one of the best decisions I ever made in college. I love all of the talented individuals I get to work with during my time at UCLA. The week of September 27^th we had our annual audition to find the newcomers for this year. We were able to add only five new talented members after four days of auditioning!

During this week I sang for the Angels game. I had SO much fun singing the National Anthem and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the 7th inning stretch. I had such a spectacular time watching the game especially since baseball is my favorite sport. I always joke and say that I like baseball because it is slow enough for me to actually follow the game and keep up with what is going on. Heather Capizzi, a former contestant in the Miss America organization, was extremely sweet and provided me an Angels jersey with my title "Miss California" embroidered on the back!!!

The same weekend Chelle Hyde—my new best friend—and I attended the Monrovia High school reunion on the USS Midway. Vangie and James Regan hosted this event and did a magnificent job! They literally thought of everything, from the green screen picture when you arrived to virtual rides before the dinner banquet, to four dinner buffet options to a carnation at your departure. I sang the National Anthem and enjoyed the night along with a Miss California sister, Rita Ng. It was such a treat to be able to spend my night on this monumental ship with more than twenty fighter jets aboard.

The following Monday morning Miss Northern California Regional, Marina Inserra, and Miss San Diego Cities, Saundra Combs, and I were on Fox 5 San Diego. Originally the reporter told us to do an etiquette segment, but I was able to present Fox 5 with a Public Speaking bit that they ended up loving! Look at that--I am a reporter in the making! Marina and Saundra spoke briefly about their platforms, and I critiqued them and pointed out common public speaking mistakes. Sounds mean, I know, but here's the secret: because both are such awesome public speakers on their own, before filming I had to tell them which mistakes to make! There’s reality television for you—totally planned!

The next day I went to my first Children's Hospital visit. I am going to keep up the goal that Kristy Cavinder and Bob Arnhym made last year: to visit every children's hospital in the state. My first stop was CHOC, Children's Hospital of Orange County. Breanna Weeks, an employee of CMN, gave us a tour of the beautiful, kid-friendly hospital. She also allowed me to visit the play room where we dressed up as Halloween characters and created pumpkin arts and crafts. Because I am no Van Gogh, I elicited help from several of the children on my pumpkin project. I met some remarkable kids; most of them were totally enamored with the crown. My rule is that whenever anyone tries on the crown, everyone in the room must applaud for the new princess/prince right when the crown touches his/her head. We enjoyed lots of applause and new royalty that day!

Then it was back to San Diego to attend the "Driving for Quality Care" campaign. This features a recreational vehicle that has traveled throughout the nation gathering signatures to explain to Congress that we MUST make sure that Seniors receive the quality care they need and deserve. It was such a wonderful event with seniors and local congressmen alike. Joe Diaz, regional director of California Association of Health Facilities, and Scott Trade, president of San Diego Health Care Association, attended, supported and spoke about how important this issue is regarding America's greatest generation. I had a great time singing “God Bless America,” speaking about the relevance of the issue and showing my support by signing the petition.

The next week I went to the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living national convention in Long Beach. I visited all the vendors in the expo who share the goal of improving seniors' quality of life. Later on was the presentation with various board members of the AHCA/NCAL, including the new president, Mark Parkinson, the governor of Kansas. It was such an eye-opening experience to listen to these professional speakers passionately discuss how we need to unite to make sure that Congress does not forget America's greatest generation. I have never been in a room with so many individuals that were enthusiastic about seniors' quality of life; I was able to get a glimpse of the other aspect of my platform. That night I attended their VIP gala where a Neil Diamond tribute band was the entertainment. I also held the winning ticket for a pair of diamond earrings (!!) and spent the night on the Queen Mary. A huge thank you to another Miss California sister, MaryAnne Sapio, for inviting me to this event.

On to San Jose, where I visited and performed for my grandmother's nursing home. The caregivers have watched me grow up since the age of 12 so they just absolutely went crazy over my title. One senior who danced throughout my entire sing of "I Will Survive" was actually able to show me up on several dance moves. Later I met one of my grandmother's fellow residents, Afsar! I love to spend time with my grandmother, the inspiration for my platform that I started five years ago.

The next week on October 20^th I visited Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. There I met a child who particularly stood out to me: Amari; She was in speech therapy when I met her. When I walked in she became so enthusiastic and she projected her voice strongly and let me know in no uncertain terms that I was a Queen. One of her teachers later told me that that she had never heard Amari project her voice so well and that it has made her better aware of Amari’s capabilities.

The following weekend I attended Memory Walk in San Diego as the representative of the San Diego Glenner Alzheimer Center. At the affair, I learned that the event planners were in need of a National Anthem singer, so I gladly volunteered! Miss a chance to perform? No way! Even though it was early and I hadn’t warmed up, it went fairly well, if I do say so myself!

Next up was a stop in Laguna Hills for the Total Women Day Gym and Spa’s 45th Anniversary celebration. The catered event had DJ entertainment and a jumper for the kids to enjoy. My job was to greet guests, give autographs and to explain my involvement with the gym. They are sponsoring Pilates classes and a massage/facial before I leave for Miss America. I also helped kick off the event by singing the National Anthem. Thank you Gina Cerato for introducing me to the world of Pilates, an extraordinary fitness program.

The next week I was able to have on October 26^th I enjoyed the most amazing experience at Sea World. I was kissed by a beluga whale, I held a penguin and I swam with the dolphins. Thank you Alexandra Kuty, a public relations manager at Sea World (and a former Miss San Diego and Miss Southland), for making this possible!! At Sea World, I learned that beluga whales are mostly made up of blubber; when one kissed my cheek it felt like a wet pillow was smashed against my face! Aluha, the whale I played with, was extremely intelligent. First she butted my hand while I was kneeling, but when I stood up and placed my hand above the water, she calculated the greater distance and swam deeper in the water to get enough momentum to reach me. It was quite fascinating. At the penguin encounter, all the penguins were enamored with the rhinestones on my sash and kept trying to nibble on them. Luckily the trainer steered them away, but they were frisky creatures! The dolphins felt like smooth glass, and they were very adorable and bright. I loved sharing the day with such unique animals; It was an honor.

I recently returned home from South Carolina with Nikki Lehman. We had a magnificent time in Gregory Ellenburg's beautiful state. Gregory is the best designer I’ve ever met; he is also extremely kind and gracious. I am astounded by his work and I can't wait for you all to see my wardrobe at Miss America. It will be killer!!!

Until Next Time

Arianna Afsar

Miss California 2010

Blog #3

Second week of September started off extremely fun! First of all, I am the spokes person for the San Diego Glenner Alzheimer’s Center. I help out with their marketing as well as performing and visiting with the seniors at their three different facilities. On September 9th I was able to visit one of their centers and perform a whole set for 30+ seniors. At one point I had many of the residents up on stage with me dancing to "There's no Business like Show Business" and "I've Got Rhythm." The San Diego Union Tribune was also doing a story on me being involved with the center. (It was great publicity for both) ;]. These events are probably my favorite part of being Miss California. My crown really does transform the faces of many of the seniors because they are brought back to their youth: growing up watching Miss America.

September 12th was Grandparents day, so I performed, with a couple of old Adopt-A-Grandfriend members, at the senior home I had visited for over four years in my hometown. It was such a blast catching up with some of the seniors and meeting new ones that had arrived after my last visit. There is one senior in particular who always explains how she met the queen of England but every visit the story gets more and more extravagant; This visit was not any different :]. The caregivers were so helpful by having the entire performance area packed with seniors who were just enthralled with the experience. The residents even brought some of their grandchildren to come and watch Miss California perform! During my performance of "Orange Colored Sky" we had a 99 year old woman, an 80 year old man and a 6 year old girl dance with all of us on stage! I'll be honest the 6 year old definitely wore me out and I had to catch my breath at the end of the song.

The next week, I was on Fox 5 SD once again teaching the viewers how to practice proper etiquette. I discussed table manners and walking etiquette as well as simple tricks on how to eliminate "like" and "um" from your vocabulary. The show also had a surprised guess Ali from the Bachelorette, so I had a lot of fun meeting her as well!

I was also able to catch up with Kristy Cavinder that week. I am honored to follow in her footsteps as Miss California. She is such a wonderful person and I am so glad to have her support and encouragement.

The next day I had another appearance for the SD Glenner Alzheimer center at their other facility. This venue was a bit smaller, but I was able to talk to the seniors more than the time before. I learn a lot from these residents. Whether the advice is regarding where to travel, places I have to visit, how to understand men, or how Miss America had impacted their life as children. It is wonderful to hear them speak so vividly about their life experiences and bestowing their wisdom upon me. Also to know that I am involved with an organization that has influenced and been a large part of so many individuals’ lives is remarkable. Melissa Chatty, Miss California 2007, also helped me out by performing many beautiful pieces for the residents; well all enjoyed ourselves immensely.

My favorite singing engagement thus far would most definitely be singing the national anthem at the SD Chargers! I have been dreaming to sing for them ever since I could remember. It was such a blast and an honor to be on that field (especially for the first play). During my live performance there were helicopters that flew over, parachutes and fireworks! The stadium was almost packed, so the energy of the crowd was indescribable; I absolutely loved the rush.

The next day was our Miss America Lottery. ALPHA 10! Woohoo! Thanks to Russ Gladden and Bob Arnhym for staying updated on the phone with me at all times to make sure I received the spot that I wanted. I am so excited for these little steps bringing us closer and closer to January. This experience is truly surreal and I don’t think it will finally kick in until I arrive in Las Vegas a couple months from now.

That same week I started my Dale Carnegie class. There were so many high executive officials at the class, so it was wonderful that I was treated as an equal. I learned so much from one class, so I can't wait to see how the rest of the session will turn out.

Next was the Miss City of Orange pageant; my second local pageant as Miss California. Nikki Lehman was my chaperone which was such a blast. I love spending time with her, furthermore everyone involved with Miss City of Orange pageant truly made me feel welcome and special. It was their 75th anniversary of the pageant and it was wonderful to see many of the old volunteers and titleholders come back. It was unbelievable to see the differences the pageant was then from now. I was looking at an old program book which disclosed that every contestant had to wear the same swimsuit and receive the same haircut.

Until next time...

Arianna Afsar

Miss California 2010