Ending Summer With a Sale!

Summer is just about over. Is that cause to celebrate? Or, to buy something fun to cheer you up? Time to put away your Section 36 tank top? Time to pull out your Section 36 sweatshirt? 

Wait, what's that? You don't have a Section 36 shirt? Well, you'd better hurry up and get one! As luck would have it, I'm here to help. Because there's a sale!

Today through Monday, the Section 36 will be on sale! Don't miss this opportunity to show your support for the blog all year long! 

So, head over right now and select something that you like. But, don't delay. The sale only runs through Monday! That's right only a few days before prices go back to their regular levels.

Click Here Now!

And, as always, when you do get an item, send me a picture wearing it for me to share with the world! The blog, Facebook, and even Instagram!

Like Bridget did! (With some help from K. Garcia Productions)

Sweatshirts like this are on sale!

Like Kylee did to show off her amazing new tank top.

Tank tops like this are on sale!

Or like Erin did with her tank!

Tank tops like this are on sale!

(Yeah, that tank top is my best seller!)

Or Nicolette, who went with a great t-shirt!

T-Shirts like this are on sale!

Or like Allison did!

T-Shirts like this are on sale!

Or, like Emily did!

Mugs like this are on sale!

But, first you need to buy something you like. There's a lot to choose from.

What will you get?

The available style and color combinations are practically endless!

Which is your favorite?

The Gastonia Honey Hunters Opening Night - a Guest Blog by Julia DeSerio

This guest blog from Julia DeSerio chronicles her appearance as Miss Gastonia at the inaugural opening day for the independent baseball team the Gastonia Honey Hunters. I hope you enjoy it.

I can’t even begin to describe the sense of energy, excitement and community our very first Gastonia Honey Hunters game brought to the City of Gastonia. The culmination of nearly a decade's worth of diligent and intentional work from our community leaders finally came to fruition as we gathered and celebrated the opening game for our brand new professional baseball team.

Affiliated with the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, The Gastonia Honey Hunters are owned by Brandon Bellamy, the only Black majority owner in baseball. The name pays homage to a famous figure in Gaston County’s past: Ransom Hunter. Mr. Hunter is believed to be the county’s first freed slave and the first to own property there. “Honey Hunters was chosen to reflect the shared traits between the City of Gastonia and those of the world’s most fearless animal: fearless, determined, and resilient,” Bellamy said in a statement.

The FUSE Stadium, now named Caromont Health Park,

proved to be a wonderful place to make memories and mingle, all while enjoying America's greatest pastime. This was the most “normal” event I’ve attended in my year and a half of serving as Miss Gastonia, and it felt SO GOOD to interact with community members safely with my COVID vaccine. I ran into Andrea Jasper, who serves as the executive director of the Miss Taste of Charlotte Organization. It was so good to see her and briefly catch up, sharing our excitement for the upcoming Miss North Carolina Competition.

Mayor Walker Reid, Councilwoman Jennifer Stepp, and Councilman Robert Kellogg were among several community leaders in attendance that I also got to celebrate with. Even my family got to join in on the fun and drove from South Carolina to attend the event. This was their first time tagging along with me as Miss Gastonia, and it was a blast to show them a small part of my job and the wonderful people I get to represent.

These moments were made all the more special by the phenomenal Honey Hunters staff, many of whom are Gastonia community members.

This is Reginald, who is now a retiredGaston County Schools teacher and active musician, working at the park for fun this season. 

Stacey Malker is a force within the Gastonia community, and I am so thankful to know her and have seen her adorned in Honey Hunters gear and serving during the game. We are so thankful for your service and appreciate your hospitable spirits.

Now for the most star-studded moment of the evening…Ervin "Magic" Johnson of the LA Lakers flew in to throw the opening pitch for the game! I was bound and determined to say hello, and I got even better…I GOT A PICTURE! It was at this moment I understood a whole new level of “the power of the crown…” What a priceless memory and privilege! 
I am often asked what my favorite thing about Gastonia is, and I always answer with pride and confidence:

“C O M M U N I T Y.”

These photos represent just a handful of the kind, enthusiastic, friendly and accepting community members I got to interact with on opening day, and I am so grateful for how lovingly they have welcomed me as their representative. Serving this city and its people during such a tumultuous, triumphant and historic year has truly been the greatest honor of my lifetime, and the people of Gastonia never cease to amaze me.

Gastonia: I carry your huge heart with me every single day, and I cannot wait to wear our city’s name across my sash at the 83rd Miss North Carolina Competition!

I want to thank Julia for sharing this story. 

New Name. Same Section 36!

When I first started a Pageants blog, I admitted that it took me by surprise. I was writing a Red Sox fan blog. How did that branch into Pageants? But, I realized that as I conducted more interviews with titleholders on the Red Sox blog, they needed their own space to be properly celebrated. I said it would evolve as I went and found its true focus.

And, evolve it has.

To the point where the name didn't even make sense anymore. I realized I wasn't "covering" pageants. I didn't make predictions on pageant winners. I didn't report on winners of each pageant. In all the articles I posted about the actual Miss America competition, for instance, I don't think I mentioned the winner once. (And, I mean, Miss America isn't even a "pageant" anymore.) Who did I mention? The titleholders who had interviewed previously with Section 36. I talked about how they did. That was my focus. This is a true spin-off from the Red Sox blog, celebrating the amazing titleholders who have already been interviewed and just can use more space to share their story. A place to talk about their events. A place to post guest blogs about topics important to them. A place for the amazing women who will forever be part of the Section 36 family. Hmm...forever. I like that...

Introducing "Section 36 Forevers".

A new name, for a new focus. Hopefully that will let people know we're still dealing with titleholders, but the focus is on the women, not the organizations. Forever titleholders, and forever a part of Section 36. 

What else will change? Hopefully not so much of a change as an expansion. I've been honored to be able to post some amazing guest blogs from titleholders in the Section 36 family. (Those have all been transferred over to the new name.) I hope that will continue and grow. I still plan on posting announcements from the forevers when they come up, along with any number of things that come my way. But, I want to simply emphasize the titleholders themselves...who they are, what they do, what is important to them. This is all about them.

Forever.

My Breast Cancer Journey - a Guest Blog Series by Savanna James (part 5 of 5 “Where I Am Today”)

 This is the final post in a five-part guest blog series by Savanna James discussing her breast cancer journey. See the first installment here. I hope you'll read and share them all!

Photo by Deanna Webber

On December 7th, 2020, I completed my third surgery this year in relation to my diagnosis. I have been so blown away by the outreach and support of other survivors, their families and organizations. And those people, and that outreach, is what pushed me to do what I do everyday. 

A very good friend commented on a recent Facebook post of mine saying, “I don’t know how you manage to find time to do everything you do!” And I laughed because I don’t have the answer to explain how I do in logistical sense, but I do have the answer on why I do as much as I do. It can be summed up by a Winston Churchill quote. 

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

To me, personally, happiness is the ability to make a difference in the lives of others. If you just meander through life concerned with yourself and what you gain, you will be forgotten. Your true potential only comes when you begin helping others. You are remembered for what you did and the impact that you had on those that came into contact with you, whether it be directly or indirectly. And, to quote one of my favorite musicals, “Hamilton,” “History has its eyes on you.” 

Whether it be St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Susan G. Komen, The Boon Project or a platform that is close to your own heart, it matters and you can spark a change. You have to enter each day knowing that the purpose of your involvement is to genuinely make a difference, not to be praised.We have to give back to the community who raised us in order to support the next generation. Without community service, we aren’t a united nation, we are just a population independently living its life. Community service is what connects us to each other and lets us learn other cultures, people and situations.

I have already decided to dedicate the rest of my life to sharing my story, and I hope that it inspires others to do so as well. When one person speaks the truth, it allows all us to do the same. If you use your voice to share a story, no matter how big or small, you are allowing the opportunity for someone’s voice to be heard. And I hope this is mirrored in my work and my life.

I know that my story is just one in a sea of many, but I hope that my voice is enough to spark a wave that creates awareness. I want to be a disruptor, igniting a fire that inspires others. You have to understand that you can’t just try to change the world. You have to find something that you love and do that every day for the rest of your life, and eventually, the world will change.

If you feel compelled to donate to either organization, you can do so at the links below! And if you want to follow along on my journey, please follow my personal Instagram page @probablyvannajames! 

Love you all and thank you for being humans that provide hope, whether it be through your kindness or community service. Kindness and love are not finite resources. Give them freely and as often as you can - you never know whose life you can change. 

The Boon Project Donation Page
Komen SC Donation Page

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I can't thank Savanna enough for allowing me to share her story. 

My Breast Cancer Journey - a Guest Blog Series by Savanna James (part 4 of 5 “Survivors”)

This is the fourth in a five-part guest blog series by Savanna James discussing her breast cancer journey. See the first installment here. I hope you'll read and share them all!

I’ve had countless conversations with survivors, and survivorship for young adults can be summed up as “70 years of looking over your shoulder waiting for the cancer to return.” And because of this...more than anything...we don’t just want to survive, we want to thrive. 

Enter The Boon Project. 

This amazing organization exists “to combat the increased rates of isolation and depression in young adult cancer fighters and survivors, as well as to equip them with resources in their fight to help increase survival rates. The mission of the organization is to support young adult cancer fighters and their unique needs, through providing beneficial programs and creating a cooperative cancer fighting culture that works to heal the whole patient.”

And as they say at Boon, with a cancer diagnosis, you become a member of the club that no one wants to join. They combat this with the Courage Club, a free online support community and monthly meet up group for young adult cancer fighters and survivors in the Lowcountry (and beyond) to connect with others who understand the battles that come from a cancer diagnosis as a young adult. They also provide financial assistance, mental health resources and access to guidance which helps facilitate care and second opinions. 

In June 2021, I will compete for the title of Miss South Carolina, an honor I hope I have that I have the chance of receiving. Regardless of the outcome, I know that my purpose is to continue serving my community and being a voice for my fellow survivors and fighters. 

My hope is that fellow survivors, and those going through treatments or a recent diagnosis, use my story to help look at their situations in a different light, and that others can see my story and understand the need for support and comfort, not only during treatment but through the years after. It is one thing to hear a statistic, but it is another to put an actual face behind that number. The scenario becomes so much more real. It goes from something you see in a textbook to your neighbor, your co-worker or even your family. 

Cancer is an ugly word that strikes fear into hearts, creating an overwhelming feeling of powerlessness, but let me be the first to tell you that you do NOT have to feel powerless. You aren’t any less of a human for what you’re going through and feeling. 

Cancer doesn't define you. And that is a lesson I have to learn on a consistent basis.

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I hope you'll come back next week for the final installment of her story. 

My Breast Cancer Journey - a Guest Blog Series by Savanna James (part 3 of 5 “After My Double Mastectomy")

 This is the third in a five-part guest blog series by Savanna James discussing her breast cancer journey. See the first installment here. I hope you'll read and share them all!

On February 10, 2020, I woke up calm and unafraid. I knew that my life would never be the same, but I had found my purpose - to share my story. And on that day, at 7am, I underwent my own double mastectomy and reconstruction at 24 years old. 

The surgery was a success...but it wasn’t over. 

What is harder to discuss, and what is rarely talked about, is the fact that when treatments end, your journey is just beginning. There is so much left in life that goes beyond a diagnosis, but, yet, is still so greatly affected by it. 

After the surgery, I was faced with the dark reality that my journey wasn’t finished just because I had completed the procedures. Every single moment for the rest of my life, I have to live with the constant reminder of what I went through and what I will continue to go through. This realization was probably the hardest part of the entire journey for me.

I mean, let’s get real here. I lost my boobs before I hit the age of 25. No, literally. I lost them. They scooped them out, as I like to say. Subsequently, I cannot feel them and certain parts of my chest and I will never be able to breastfeed my children. I look like I’ve been cut in half right and then sewn back together multiple times. It’s not pretty by any means and it’s definitely something that is hard to swallow when you’re in the middle of the pageant world or even just in young adulthood. 

For all cancer survivors, when treatments end, your journey is just beginning. There is so much left in this life that goes beyond a diagnosis, but, yet, is still affected by it. After treatment, a lot of young adults are left feeling less of an actual human, much less a young adult with a whole life ahead of them. Please understand that there are struggles beyond cancer treatment. Truly, have you thought about the effects on a person’s mental and physical health that exist outside of the cancer itself? 

There are so many and I won’t list all of them for you, for that in itself is impossible, but they include problems with heart disease, fertility issues, autoimmune diseases, body insecurities, financial struggles and PTSD. 

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I hope you'll come back next week for the fourth installment of her story. 

My Breast Cancer Journey - a Guest Blog Series by Savanna James (Part 2 of 5 “Pre Surgery”)

This is the second in a five-part guest blog series by Savanna James discussing her breast cancer journey. See the first installment here. I hope you'll read and share them all.

Photo by
Deanna Webber Photography

We are more than pink. We are people. We are friends. We are daughters, sisters, mothers, co-workers, aunts, even fathers and brothers. We are never defined by a stigma and we are never alone. And we do not have to feel that way. As a human, all you need is hope, and, for that, we have each other.

I’m going to be beyond vulnerable here, but knowing that my story could help save at least once person is what saved my life and kept me fighting. In that moment, and every single day since, I had to learn how to take a situation that is so undesirable and turn it into a platform for change and awareness. I began to see an opportunity, not a closed, boarded door. This is what kept, and keeps, me fighting each and every day to do a little bit better, to be a little bit better and to share my story to at least one more person.

On January 11, 2020, I competed in a local preliminary pageant for Miss South Carolina. 

Crazy, right? I was less than a month away from something that could either save my life, or end it, and I was pageant prepping. Let me explain. In the middle of all of the chaos, I knew that  despite whatever the outcome would be on February 10, I had at least a month to let my voice be heard if I won. The Miss South Carolina and Miss America Organizations were, and still are, my best shot at getting that recognized platform for people to listen. I knew people would listen. I just had to take the chance. 

That night, I was crowned Miss Summerville and I saw a light

starting to form at the end of the tunnel. I spent the next weeks going to as many events, making as many posts, making as many connections, and talking to every single person that I could. If I was going out, I was going out with a bang. 

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I hope you'll come back next week for the third installment of her story. 

My Breast Cancer Journey - a Guest Blog Series by Savanna James (Part 1 of 5 “My Diagnosis”)

This is the first in a five-part guest blog series by Savanna James discussing her breast cancer journey. I hope you'll read and share them all.

“You have no control who lives, who dies, who tells your story.” - Hamilton

At the start of all of this, in October 2019, I went into my yearly OB-GYN (breast appointment) thinking I was being preventative, as I had every other year. I didn’t feel different. I didn’t look different. In fact, I felt better than I had in years. I was in a new city (Charleston, South Carolina) where the possibilities for where my life could go seemed endless.

But quickly, that was shattered with what they found. 

It turned out that instead of being preventative, that appointment was life saving. I had a spot in my right breast. I was quickly sent to a surgeon who specializes in breast cancer and I prepared myself for what was coming.

I had watched countless family members and friends go through it. They were all older than me, but some, not by much. It was devastating. You began to see the shell of what once was such a lively person as the treatments went on. How was I supposed to go on like this?

From the day I met with the surgeons, I continued asking myself why I was put in the situation to have to make this decision at the age of 24. What haunted me even more so, though, was that I knew that most women my age were not even aware that this disease was a threat to them currently. 
But I didn’t have time to ponder and think about the greatness that could arise from this situation, as preparations began immediately. The surgery was scheduled. I felt like I had the death certificate for my future in my hands. 

I wouldn’t live whatever time I had left in vain. I reached out to the South Carolina chapter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation as soon as I discovered that I would be having this surgery. They work to help raise funds for both research and basic needs for patients. This includes funding for things like groceries, transportation, therapy and other items that are essential to everyday life. I sat with Lucy Spears in a local James Island coffee shop and I never felt more understood and heard. Lucy is now the Executive Director of Komen SC and that woman gives everything she can to an organization that means so much to her. You see, she’s a survivor as well.

Photo by
Deanna Webber Photography

 

We sat there for hours talking about how I was feeling, what my plans were, the struggles I was facing, my experience with Komen in the past, and then Lucy asked me a question that really did change my life...

“Will you share your story?”

And without a second of thought, I responded, “Absolutely.”

Did I know that there would be days that this answer would haunt me because I didn’t even feel like a human myself? No. 

Did I know that there would be days that this answer saved my life? No. 

But what I did know is that by creating awareness, we can catch breast cancer early enough that a patient is presented with options, not an ultimatum. Hope is crucial in fighting a disease like this, and I want others to know that they aren’t alone. 

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I hope you'll come back next week for the second installment of her story.