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 :].