Ellie-Mae is an incredible girl, with so much potential in the pageant world. She is hard working and passionate! I had so much fun talking to her.
How did your pageant journey begin? So my sister originally started them, and I kind of went along with them to kind of see how they worked. I was immediately hooked! I wanted to be part of the action!
Was your first pageant a charity pageant? My first pageant was a glitz pageant.
What have pageants taught you? They’ve taught me that your confidence isn’t defined by other people, and you have to define it by yourself.
What have you been doing throughout your year as Miss Teen Diamond Dorset? I have been trying to raise awareness for invisible disabilities. My worst thing is when people say you don’t look like a pageant girl, but it’s so broad. No two pageant girls are the same. What even is a pageant girl that you’ve based your opinion on to then say I don’t look like that? Something similar is when people say I don’t look like I have a disability, just because you can’t see it, it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
So tell me a little bit more about your disability and why you raise awareness for invisible disabilities? I have cerebral palsy which means that the signals from the nerves to the brain are delayed. It takes me longer to do something than the average person. It causes muscle pains, stiffness, but to look at me you can’t see it, unless I’m having a severely bad day.
Who is your pageant inspiration? I’m inspired by everyone I meet through pageants because everyone has their own individual story that inspires you in some way. If I had to pick someone, it would be Lucy Rayner who is the current Teen queen, I just like how she, like where she goes you can’t help but smile when she’s in the room. She’s amazing that her personality can light up a room.
What is your platform, or do you support a certain charity? I like to support Scope which is the official charity for cerebra palsy, as well as Premature Babies because that helps my sister to boost her campaign, I think that again, she isn’t fitting the stereotype. You wouldn’t think she was born premature, so we are both campaigning in the same way.
What has been your favourite appearance? I think.. I love all appearances for different reasons, but I think my favourite would be the one I did at my school where I did a cake sale, it was for the Diamond charities. I got to show the other side of me at school, and it was like bringing pageantry to school and raising awareness for amazing charities whilst doing my GCSEs and managing everything else. People ask3 how I manage to do it, and it’s just about finding a balance between your hobby and your education.
What is your favourite round to compete in? I think my favourite round is interview. I can tell my story and explain that I have fought for my platform and I have worked hard to build what I believe in. It also gives me a chance to talk about how important invisible disabilities are and how they are shown in society. People no longer have to say they have an invisible disability, it’s just part of society, we are here.
Have you got any advice for somebody that wants to do a pageant but is too scared? I would say don’t listen to the haters. If it’s something you really want to do you will find the motivation in yourself to persevere and push through all your fears. If you’d of told me two years ago I just wouldn’t believe that this is where I would be, in this position.
Pageant Diaries with Georgia 