By Jacqueline Presley, Miss July 2015

Remember when you were little and life was simpler? The easy joys of feeling sunshine on your face, feeling the dirt between your toes, the wind in your hair? I remember lying down in the grass, looking up at the sky and dreaming of my future. The future was so bright and my eyes were so innocent. I had no idea how difficult and painful life can be. I had no idea the things I would face. I just knew about right then and the dream of what would be. I think I have lost a lot of that. The older I get, the more I forget what that’s like. Life darkens my perspective. Can you relate?

That’s the beauty of children. They help us remember. When my daughter was born it was like a breath of fresh air was blown across my life. To be able to watch her experience things for the first time, to hear her laugh and be loved by her with abandon, completely. I want my love to be pure like that, unhindered. I want to remember the smaller of pleasures. I want to be wild like her, silly like her, SHINE like her.