Miss Teen Earth

Most people I know have experienced the feeling of losing interest in the shiny new journal. The one that caught your eye at the bookstore, and you vowed that you were going to start writing again and keep it up this time. So you splurge on the beautiful journal, carry it carefully home, write three entries and then leave it sitting on the shelf with all the other journals you bought over the years.

This blog was in danger of becoming one of those journals. Shiny new free blog, with all the shiny new gadgets to enter and fiddle with, clever (to me) idea, and then nothing for the last week. Until I read the student paper today, optimistically called The Central Florida Future.

I’m joining the environmental Mean Girls today. I apologize to anyone I’m going to be mean to in this post. Also, remember that as I write this I’m sitting on my derriere in the library at a computer in a long row of computers that sit, turned on, for long hours every day using who knows how much energy.

With these caveats, let’s let ‘er rip:

In an article entitled “Miss Teen Earth gives back” author Amy Simpson tells us about Ms. Jolie Schamber (jolie means pretty in French, by the way) who states “ ‘I finally reached my goal. It was kind of the one thing I was really working towards’ ” (Simpson, 2009, A3). Ms. Schamber recently won the crown of Miss Teen Earth. Good for her. This pageant, “aside from the usual swimsuit and gown contest” includes “other specialized events and qualifications, such as a ceremonial tree planting, long interviews and a speech about the environment” (Simpson, 2009, A3). Wow.

There is no mention of any requirements that the swimsuit and gown be made from recycled materials, such as old gowns found at Goodwill and then remade. No mention of animal testing or ingredients in the makeup worn by Ms. Schamber and evidently the retiring Miss Teen Earth who is crowning her in the picture. There is a mention of “ ‘hidden judges’ ” by Schamber, who states that the contestants “ ‘had to be on [their] toes’ “ (Simpson, 2009, A3). Evidently the judges were watching for poor grooming, unladylike behavior, and whether plastic water bottles were thrown away in the garbage and not the recycling bin (not a quote from the article). There is no mention of how or of what the huge glittery crown is made. No mention if the pageant was held in one of the new “green” hotels popping up, which though they may not be perfect are much more energy efficient than most pageant venues that I remember.

Yep. I was Miss Oregon USTA when I was eight. USTA stands for United States Twirling Association. I was a twirler and a pageant contestant. ( Is there an AA for ex pageant participants?) The year before I was the Junior Queen of the Timber Carnival, which was the big summer event in the small town in which I grew up. In the article the pageant director, Evan Skow, is quoted as follows: “the system is really designed to take the word ‘competition’ out” (Simpson, 2009, A3).

From personal experience: Puh-leaze.

However, there may be a couple of positive things to be gleaned from this article. For one, my Developmental Psychology professor, Dr. Hollister, stated during a discussion of these pageants that the general wisdom is that after the age of ten, young women may be able to make up their own minds about taking part. I wanted to quit when I was ten, which seems to back this up. Ms. Schamber evidently started at 14 (Simpson, 2009), which implies that she is taking part in pageantry of her own volition. Also, it’s not all bad that a young woman may show some signs of caring about the environment. Maybe this bit of involvement will lead to more awareness by her about the glitter and its impact.

Ms. Schamber is now a spokesperson for Clean the World Foundation, a non-profit which recycles soap and shampoo from hotel chains to donate to developing countries. She has also participated in a lake cleanup and will be planning an environmental event at the university (Simpson, 2009). I made sure to rinse out my Coke (full of sugar and preservatives) cup and drop it in the plastic recyclables.

Of course, in the same paper there is an article on an alumni who started a business on campus to take the car wash to the car in the parking lot or garage, armed with nothing but a green cleaner and one bucket of water. With these he can wash a whole car with less water than people use to brush their teeth (Renzulli, 2009). Talk about earthy. I nominate him for Mr. Adult Earth.

Long post, I know. One more thing: Jane Austen, of course. She was on a very tight budget, especially after her father died. And she lived in a time where after a dress was worn out, the fabric and lace was saved to use on another. Bonnets were pulled apart and refashioned into a “new” one. Meat was not a staple at every meal, and produce would have been grown locally. She wins my personal Ms. Earth Writer crown. Though she would not have known what to do with it.

Sources:

Renzulli, Kerri Anne. Alumnus starts car-washing service that comes to you. Published in The Central Florida Future November 5, 2009, p. A2.

Simpson, Amy. Miss Teen Earth gives back. Published in The Central Florida Future November 5, 2009, p. A3