I Heart My Community

It's 10:00 on a Wednesday night in the middle of a crunch week at work. I'm exhausted. Really, truly exhausted. We've been busting our butts to meet our goals by the end of this month and my days have been packed from beginning to end. Of course, its always after days like this that I'm reminded of why I choose to push myself to the max.

When I got home I was greeted by two cases of Fiji water and a third case of Snapple, compliments of the 7-Up Company, one of our Miss Michigan sponsors (one of the great perks of this job). Then, I opened my mailbox to find a letter from the Michigan Theater. I assumed it was a solicitation, but to my surprise it was a kind letter congratulating me on becoming Miss Michigan with two free movie passes. It was such a simple gesture, but it really touched me that Lee Berry, the Director of Marketing & Development, took the time to send it. The Michigan Theater is such a staple in the Ann Arbor community and I will surely enjoy my free passes. In fact, I think I'm going to recruit a friend to go see Caramel with me this weekend.

Speaking of community, I haven't really had a chance to touch on my platform, which is Community Revitalization: Building a Sustainable Future. I have been working on a number of projects at Google (in my free time...) to support community efforts across the company, but especially here in Ann Arbor. This has been some of the most rewarding work, but also some of the most challenging. In the short time that I've been Miss Michigan, I have had the privilege of taking part in a few community events. In fact, I think that the opportunity to immerse myself in a local communities and cultures around the state is one of the best and most unique aspects of this job.

Last Friday I woke up at 4:00am so that I could do my hair and makeup and be in Fowlerville by 6:00am for a Wal*Mart grand opening. Now, I'm not going to lie, I was less than enthused about waking up this early to go to a retail store opening, but I will be the first to admit that I had no idea how important this was to the Fowlerville community. As I played the last note of the Star Spangled Banner, I looked up at the crowd and noticed a woman in the front row with tears in her eyes and I realized that this wasn't just a store opening. Sure, there were your typical white-knuckled deal-seeking shoppers who were sprinting to the Nintendo Wiis as soon as the ribbon was cut, but to everyone else, this was a celebration of new jobs and new revenue for the city. I watched as the employees did the Wal*Mart cheer (something I've only read about in Business classes and was amazed to witness) and I saw how proud they were to be a part of something so symbolic. Regardless of my views on Wal*Mart's business practices, I gained a new respect for the people who work there and the hope it brought to some members of this community.

I have this week off from my Miss Michigan duties. It was good timing considering the craziness that has ensued at Google this week. I spent last weekend at Miss Michigan orientation and emceeing the Miss Lighthouse Coast pageant. The weekend afforded me the time to really talk and catch up with some of the people I didn't have a chance to see at the Homecoming/Crowning. Of course, staying up late talking and giggling like little girls has contributed to my current state of exhaustion. I'm looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday.

By the way, I was so proud to see Christina Hastie win her first local title and a trip to Miss Michigan. She has been working so hard and she really deserved it. It was such a joy and privilege for me to watch her finally achieve her goal. It is so powerful to witness a moment like this and it brought tears to my eyes.

On that note, I'm off to bed. I have another jam-packed day tomorrow and I need my beauty rest. Strike that, forget the beauty part. At this point I just need a long deep sleep filled with snoring and sleep-talking and all things unattractive. Yes, it's true. I'm human.

gv