Roxane Gay’s I Once Was Miss America had many powerful points that I feel should be understood by teens and young adults across the country. One of the first points she made was that not everyone experiences things in the same way. Roxane discussed how she did not have the dream high school experience of being super popular and perfect. She said that she was on the lowest part of the totem pole and she got made fun of for being confident in herself by claiming she would one day be Miss America like Vanessa Williams. The “popular kids” would tease her consistently about her dream to be Miss America. This shows us that each person can have a different outlook on various situations so we should never assume that if something is good for one person, it will be good for another. After Roxane realized that her Miss America goal was a far reach for her, she did not get upset about it but instead decided to take what she is passionate about and make that into her new goal. She now wants to win a grammy for her writing and have her family and friends surround her during that proud moment. For example, my very close friend has been dreaming about becoming a veterinarian ever since she was a little girl. One summer she decided to shadow a vet office to get a better look at what a vet actually does. After that summer she quickly realized that a veterinarian was not the occupation for her. She did not freak out and frantically search for a new passion, she thought logically and expanded her options for a new career path. The lesson that Roxane incorporated was that despite bad experiences, you should grow from them and change your goals. Finally, I feel the most important message in I Was Once Miss America is that everyone is important and that everyone matters just as much as the next person. Your popularity in high school does not determine the rest of your life. Roxane showed us that a whole new world opens up and you can find yourself and your purpose based on so many things, even if it is a book.
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