Life as a teenager can get overwhelming. With school and sports and other extracurricular activities, it is hard to figure out how to balance all of them and still be successful. Junior Kiersten Alvarado knows exactly how this can feel. Throughout her high school years, Alvarado has had to learn how to share her time between basketball cheer, work, school and beauty pageants.
“Everything is about balance,” Alvarado said. “Whether I have free time during the school day and use it to finish pageant work or utilize my off hours to catch up on schoolwork, it’s all about staying committed. I enjoy being busy and even when I’m overwhelmed, I just continue to remind myself how blessed I am to be given so many opportunities.”
When asked about her feelings towards her pageants, Alvarado shares her deep love and compassion for competing.
“As I have so many women, I look up to the pageant community, the experience influences my love for pageantry,” Alvarado said. “It is more than the gowns and glitter; I have been able to learn real life skills that continue to shape me into a better individual.
With all of the activities that Alvarado is involved in, she is bound to get tired throughout the week. After cheer practices and pageant preparation is out of the way for the night, she makes sure that all of her work is done as well before she allows herself to rest.
“My main thing is to not set off things to do until the last minute,” Alvarado said. “Even though you get tired and want to rest, keep working until you’re done.
Even with so many things going on in Alvardo’s life, she has managed to develop techniques and tactics to managing her time well. She manages to get all of her work done while still being able to participates in sports and pageants. She remains positive and happy as well as being extremely grateful for all of the opportunities she has the chance to be involved in.
“If you were to ask any of my close friends, the first thing that would come to mind for them is bubbly, Alvardo said. “I strive to continue growing as a person and I believe confidence is my main trait.”
