185: What to Pack in Your Pageant Winner’s Go Bag   Today we're talking about your pageant winner “go bag.” You've probably heard of a go bag before, but maybe not in pageant context.   A go bag is something that you have quick and handy, so when you've got to go really fast, you can grab the bag and it has the essentials right there.   You can probably start to imagine what this might be like for a pageant winner. Immediately after winning a pageant, you are often swept up into the very next; thing whether that is a media appearance, or a press conference, or maybe it's just to the gala or a coronation ball.   Oftentimes you’re swept into the very next thing and you might find that it is difficult to dig for all the essentials that you might need. And oftentimes somebody else is backstage packing up all of the things that you had to compete with. You might not even know where your essentials are.   Just like if you were going to pack a bag in your home, which I recommend for everybody. Just a side note here, EVERYONE should have a go bag in their home. This way if your house catches on fire, all you have to do is grab this bag and run out the door. For that, you might have a flashlight or my brother suggested that we have an AM radio. Things like cash and sneakers and things that you would need on the go.   This is essentially the same thing. In this episode I'm going to cover a few of the things that I would recommend you pack for pageantry.   If you want the full list, you can download it for free at: winapageant.com/packinglist   That is a checklist of all of the things that you need to pack for your pageant.   What would be the things you would want to stick in your go bag?   Imagine yourself: you just won your pageant and you're getting swept off to do a press conference immediately after. Here are a few things you would need BOBBY PINS (or whatever it is that you clip crowns onto your head with) Whether it’s bobby pins, miniature claw clips, or the snap on clips, you’re going to want something in here. They never give you enough backstage so you always want to make sure you have plenty on hand. With my thick hair I always needed like 20 extra bobby pins. So you never know. TOOTHBRUSH AND TOOTHPASTE Now the reason for things like this (and also for the next thing I'm going to tell you), is that when you're competing in a pageant it goes by SO quickly. If you're eating snacks backstage you're going to want to have a toothbrush handy. That way, immediately afterward when you're talking with people, you're not bringing up the stinky breath and the same is true with stinky underarms. BODY WIPE AND DEODORANT Now every pageant girl has stinky underarms, not because we're stinky in our real life, but because you don't want to wear a ton of deodorant when you're changing in and out of outfits. So you don't want to show up stinky to a press conference. There are great body wipes called “Good Wipes In My Bag Swag”. After you've won, you walk backstage you get your wipe out of your go bag and you wipe all the areas that need addressed. Then you're going to apply some deodorant. Because now it's time to start using deodorant again, you don't have to use it during the pageant, (in fact, I recommend that you don’t so you don't get it all over your wardrobe), but you're going to need it afterward. EXTRA BRA STICKIES When you're sweating on stage, it is very common to sweat them off. So if you are using these for whatever outfit you are getting crowned in, bring an extra pair (just in case they start sliding around). PERSONAL ITEMS You might consider things like chapstick and lipstick, particularly something that matches the color that you're wearing. You might need aspirin - the lights are so strong that oftentimes you can get a headache just from being on stage. You might need personal items like tampons or pads. PEN AND THANK YOU NOTE (or a list of people you don’t want to forget to thank) As soon as you win a pageant, yo