Chandler Foreman, the current Miss Texas, came to talk to the Star Steppers Friday. The focus of her speech was to ensure that every girl knows her self worth.
“She stressed the importance of a positive self image, and that is something that many teen girls are lacking,” drill team sponsor Keri Pierce said. “I hope that her message was taken to heart by the girls that got the opportunity to listen to her and that they can pass that message on to their peers.”
In her presentation, Foreman told various anecdotal stories about her past self-image issues. She now is spreading her message across different schools in Texas.
“I used to be a teenager myself,” Foreman said. “It is so vital that we’re constantly uplifted, especially by other young women as well, because we have so many pressures by our peers or society to feel a certain way or to fit a mold. I think it is my job to use my platform to encourage them.”
She spoke on what made her different from other girls, things such as the gap in her teeth, the color of her skin, or even the texture of her hair.
“There is beauty in being your authentic self,” Foreman said. “No one can be you better than you can. Once you embrace your uniqueness, other people have no choice but to embrace it as well. Surround yourself with people who embrace you in your full authentic capacity.”
The girls then played a game where each of them would write five things they liked and disliked about themselves. Foreman would then call them up and she and the rest of the class encouraged them about those things.
“I think it was a really cool way to show us that other people still see good in the things we dislike about ourselves,” Sydni Segroves, senior drill team captain, said. “There are things about all of us that are different, but that’s what makes us unique.”
To conclude the speech, Foreman advocated for Kween to Queen, her teen girl’s life coaching organization. In the program, the main aim is to give teen girls that person to talk to that they may need in their own lives.
“I was 16 when I co-founded that organization with my sister,” Foreman said. “If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be as vocal, as strong, or as rooted in my morals if she hadn’t been there to support me. We realized at a young age that so many of my girl friends didn’t have the same thing. We wanted to create that sisterhood in our community to be able to say ‘hey we support you and we’re here to uplift you.’”
