Trista Anderson

I would tell a young lady to never let her beginning define her inning. Just where you start is not a limitation. It's a launching pad. So, invest in your education, invest in yourself, choose the environments that stretch you, not shrink you. Get in those rooms that will stretch you, not shrink you. If you find yourself around people that tends to shrink you, get yourself out of that situation and position yourself in an environment that will stretch you as you grow. I often tell young women when I'm mentoring them, don't chase for validation. If you have to feel where you need to validate to know who you are, to build your value, don't do that. Don't chase that validation. I think I will leave them with just understand that their voice matters, even when it may shake the rooms, even when it may shake a conversation. Don't shrink yourself in that room. If your voice matters or your opinion matters, hey, say something, even if it may just shake the norm. The world may try to label you by your past, label you by how you look, or the things you say, or your circumstances. But I just think I will tell them that they get to decide who they are and who they become, and just continue just to walk in rooms like they belong, like they belong there. When I started to do pageantry and I listened to girls talk, they sometimes get intimidated and have to shrink themselves and feel like they don't belong in these rooms, and I just always tell them, you belong in any room that you want to go in.