On March 10th, 2013 my life took an unexpected turn when I became your Miss Seal Beach 2013. I will never forget how nervous I was during my interview or hoping I would not fall down the stairs at the beginning of the pageant, but most of all I will never forget the emotions that came over me as Joy Knepper, Miss Seal Beach 2012, was crowning me. Shock, happiness, and excitement are just a few that come to mind, but standing on that stage I had no idea what I had gotten myself into.
Over the past year I have been challenged in more ways than I could have ever imagined. Overnight I became a role model that so many children looked up to and I made it my goal to impact as many of their lives as possible.
The Seal Beach Run was the first big event that we did as a court and I was enamored at the amount of love the Miss Seal Beach girls were shown by our community. Then the Car Show came and we were all so excited to get to walk around and see all the amazing cars but to my surprise the owners were even more excited to see us and have us take pictures with their cars.  And then the Summer Concert Series came and we were in charge of the 50/50 tickets which are a big deal at this event.
I loved getting to talk to everyone and connect with our community while selling tickets to raise money for Seal Beach. And Thanksgiving morning we got dressed up as Indians and went to take pictures with senior citizens before their Thanksgiving meal.
But the Christmas Parade cannot go without mention. It was by far the most times I had been stopped while walking down Main Street with people asking for pictures, but I absolutely loved it. And seeing the looks of joy on those kids’ faces after I walked away from them is something I will never forget. But there is one event that stands apart from the rest.
At the first meeting with the 2013 court we decided that we wanted to use our crowns to give back and decided that the Ronald McDonald House was in need of our help.
We have gone once a month since we were crowned and it truly changed my life. While we are there making brunch we hear these stories of these sick kids and can only pray that they get to go home with their families soon, but it put everything into perspective for me. It allowed me to step back and realize that my problems were insignificant compared to the obstacles that these families were trying to overcome.
Being your Miss Seal Beach this past year has made me more confident, enabled me to get in front of thousands of people and speak without hesitation, and made me realize how much I am thankful for. Thank you for your never ending support with the Miss Seal Beach Pageant because we would not have accomplished as much without you.
Jessica Jenkins is Miss Seal Beach 2013.
