Persistence pays off at Miss Bristol

by MIKE CHAIKEN

CTFashionMag.com

A year made a difference for the new Miss Bristol, Micayla Barrows.

Barrows was crowned at Chippens Hill Middle School Saturday night. And it was a familiar setting for Barrows.

“Last year was my first year competing and Miss Bristol was actually my first pageant,” said Barrows. “I got first runner-up, so I was determined to come back and try for the title again.

Since last year, Barrows said she had taken pains to improve.

“I finally learned how to curl my hair,” said Barrows, who competed at Miss Connecticut last June as Miss Southbury. “I know the last pageant (in Bristol) I kind of threw it up in a pony tail because I didn’t know how to curl it. I now know how to curl it and how to play with it.”

“I also learned how to do my makeup,” said Barrows.

Additionally, Barrows said she improved her impact statement. She said last year, her statement was too broad, and she focused it for this year. “I made my own program (‘Autumn’s Language: The new therapy on the market’).”

“I did (Miss Bristol) again and I got the first-place title,” said Barrows. “I’m beyond words. I’m so excited.”

Jaymie Bianca, the new Miss Forestville, was looking forward to serving her hometown.

“I’m incredibly excited,” she said. “Bristol has been my home for almost 20 years. I’m just so excited to get to represent the place I get to call home.”

“A lot of things (are going through my head),” said Miss Bristol’s Outstanding Teen 2019 Lindiana Frangu. “I’m just very proud of all the girls and myself and my family for all being here and for being so supportive. I’m ready to start this journey and go to Miss Connecticut’s Outstanding Teen again.”

“Honestly,” said Irelynn Janell, the new Miss Forestville’s Outstanding Teen, “so many different things (are going through my head). I’m so excited to be a representative of Bristol this year. I always wanted to get involved in the Bristol community. Now, I finally have a chance.”

“Lots (of things) are going through my head,” said Maggie Wernicki, the new Miss Mum City’s Outstanding Teen. “It’s my second pageant in this organization. I just can’t wait for the year in front of me and I’m going to make so many friendships and many more experiences.”

As the year proceeds, Barrows said, “I’m excited to bring my program to the schools of Bristol… (i)t’s an animal therapeutic program. So, I can’t wait to bring it into the schools.”

Now that she has the title, Bianca said, “I’m just looking forward to community service within the city of Bristol and promoting my platform (‘Providing Sports and Recreational Opportunities for People With Disabilities’) and just being able to make a difference in my community.”

Frangu said she is looking forward to “serving the community in Bristol… I’m just ready to jump into it.”

 “One of the things I really to do is get my platform (the March of Dimes) involved into the Bristol community through the Key Club, which I’m active in in my school,” said Janell.

And as the year progresses, Wernicki said, “I’m just going to go out there and have some fun and go with it.”

PHOTOS by MIKE CHAIKEN