Answering Your Miss America 100 Questions - A Guest Blog by Lauren Bradford

On Instagram, I asked what questions people would ask a Miss America 100 candidate. Several wonderful questions were submitted. Lauren Bradford, Miss Alabama 2021, was kind enough to take a crack at answering them for us. This is the first of a two part post. I hope you enjoy it!

Miss America is often inexplicable, absolutely unequivocal, and deeply meaningful. As every Miss America candidate has said before me, Miss America is something that very few people have experienced and thus, very few can truly relate and identify; we bonded so much because of the wildness of our shared experiences. 

How did you spend your down time?

I spent my down time reading my Bible, journaling, in prayer, and listening to music. I’m not a huge napper, so I didn’t do much of that because I found that our curfew and room to ourselves made for a great deal of sleep at night. I was thankful to spend a lot of the waiting and “margin” time with other Miss America candidates, and would not trade those delirious laughs for anything. 

What goes through your mind as you’re standing on the Miss America stage?

Standing on the Miss America stage presents a feeling unlike any other. I think more than anything, I was proud to be there, and proud to represent my state. To represent the entirety of one’s home state is a responsibility and a privilege that few will ever have. The Miss Alabama Organization is an incredibly supportive program and I had worked harder than I ever had for anything in my entire life. I knew that I left no stone unturned in my preparation process, so there was nothing else I could have done to prepare for that moment. That led to a lot of peace, which I am so thankful for. 

What was the preliminary process like?

Prelims were so much fun, especially the first night, because it’s the first time you’ll ever perform on the Miss America stage. You can’t get that moment back. My first night of prelims was talent, and the story behind my talent is one that was filled with challenge, and learning what it meant to truly uphold tenacity. I actually tied with another candidate for the song I originally wanted, and lost the runoff, as only one Miss America candidate can perform each song. Therefore, I didn’t have a song picked out until 50 days before Miss America. Those 50 days were filled with hours upon hours of playing, and going to physical therapy twice a week to avoid injury in my shoulder, back, and arms due to overuse of those muscles to support the violin. After all of this and working so hard day and night, playing my electric violin and punk rock version of “Beethoven’s 5th Symphony” on the Miss America stage with a performance that I was so proud of brought me to nonstop tears in the dressing room until the closing number. I have never felt more proud of anything ever before. It was such a reward that was well worth the physical pain and emotional stress leading up to it. 

I can't thank Lauren enough for answering these questions for us. I hope you enjoy both of her posts.