A New Year!

Hello, My name is Julia Baker and on Saturday I was crowned Miss Pearl City’s Outstanding Teen 2016!  I am so excited for this opportunity and to start my preparation of my journey to Miss Iowa’s Outstanding Teen.  This blog will hopefully allow you to follow my journey and get to know me a little better.

A little about myself!

 

I am a 17-year-old junior at Iowa City West High school where I am the Feature Twirler and a member of our award winning Varsity Dance Team! I’m a participant of WHS Dance Marathon that raises money for Children’s Miracle Network!

Outside of school I am also the assistant coach for Ambition Baton Twirling, I absolutely love sharing my passion with kids and seeing the smile on their face knowing I put it there. 

My platform is really important to me because it’s very personal.  Overcoming Learning Disorders: My Battle with Dyslexia.  School has always been harder for me and we found out when I was in 3^rd grade that I had dyslexia.  For those of you who don’t know what it is, it is a disorder that causes your brain to mix words and letters up.  This makes it very difficult to learn to read and write.  For example when I was growing up I would write my name AILUJ but in my head… it looked like JULIA!  I was blessed to have an amazing support system behind me who helped me out.  I would practice reading all the time whether it was street signs or cereal boxes before school! As I have overcome this disorder, I have learned how to help others overcome their learning disorders by showing them that they are not alone! My hope for my year as Miss Pearl City’s Outstanding Teen is that I can continue to raise awareness to those who are struggling and help them feel confident in themselves and enjoy learning. 

It’s just the start!

Saturday night wasn’t just special to me because I won a crown; it is super special because I get to share the year with my sister.  My sister was crowned Miss Pearl City 2016 shortly after I was! It must have been our magic pink evening gowns because now we aren’t just sisters, we are pageant sisters!

Thank you to everyone who supported me….it’s just the beginning J

Love always,

Miss Pearl City’s Outstanding Teen

Julia Baker