Miss America, 2014: The Miss Kansas, Theresa Vail, Story

             So the news is out, Miss New York, Nina Davuluri (24), the first contestant of Indian heritage and second consecutive contestant from New York, wins the Miss America pageant Sunday night. Davuluri performed a classical Bollywood fusion dance for her talent competition. And Miss California, Crystal Lee (22) was named as the first runners up.

Nina Davuluri  reactions after being announced as Miss America, 2014.

             The pageant which started in Atlantic City in 1921 as a way to extend the summer tourism season for an extra weekend, had pitted 53 contestant – one from each state, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U. S. Virgin Islands – in swimsuit, evening gown, talent and interview competitions.

Nina Davuluri pose for camera after crowning as Miss America, 2014.

 

Miss Kansas, Theresa Vail, June 8.

           Much attention had been given to Miss Kansas, Theresa Vail (22), and why not? She is believed to be the first Miss America contestant to openly display tattoos. During her swimsuit walk, she openly displayed her Serenity Prayer tattoo on her rib cage and the insignia of U. S. Army Dental Corp on the back of her shoulder. During the “Show-Us-Your-Shoes” parade, she even decides to wear a camouflage gear and Army boots while the other contestants wore glamorous costumes and elaborately decorated footwear on Saturday night.

          Not sure why many fashion bloggers are not talking about her (except for fashion news blogs), she became a die-hard fan over here at our end. Vail, who wants to become a military dentist, is majoring Chemistry and Chinese at Kansas State University and she is already breaking the stereotype that woman with visible tattoos don’t compete in pageants. A military sergeant and an archery expert, Vail says on her blog that she got rib cage tattoo as a reminder of her childhood days of bully and neglect, of days of daily questioning and asking God for answers and strength. She never wanted to forget those days and the prayer reminds her of that, she never regretted it.

Theresa Vail swimsuit walk for Miss America, 2014.

        Life might have so much changed since she won the title of Miss Kansas back in June between fashionable dress, high heels and smile for cameras and crowds; she still hopes to incorporate some of her outdoors loves in fundraising events for Children’s Miracle Network, a platform for the Miss America pageant. She is also selling T-shirts on her website miss out door girl where all profit goes to charity. Maybe she didn’t win the Miss America Title this year, but she won heart and that matters in the end. And we wish her all the best. By the way, did you know that she is the second service member to compete in the Miss America pageant, she also loves bow hunting, race motor cycle, sky diving and she is fluent in Chinese. Here we are sharing a few pictures inside the life of very gorgeous and outdoor beauty, Theresa Vail.

Theresa Vail, showing her Military Boots during "Show-Us-Your-Shoes" parade for Miss America, 2014.