Little Miss Farewell Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 In 2014 and 2015 my dream was to be Little Miss Lumbee but my plans weren’t God’s plans. His plan for me was to become Little Miss Lumbee in 2016. He knew that I needed Lindsey, Kenda and Kaloni to be my guides. This was my year, the perfect year for me to reign. First and foremost, I have to give all my thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ. Without him I wouldn’t be here today. A year ago I had no clue what to expect when my name was called and that beautiful silver crown was placed upon my head. Mr. Hardin and the staff at LRDA, thank you so much for the opportunity to travel and learn about my culture. It has been amazing. Mrs. Crystal Strong, you have been on this journey with me since the beginning. Thank you for your support and belief in me. Mrs. Natascha Tilson, hunni, you kept me on my toes with your calendar of events. Mr. Richard, Michelle, and Cameron, thank you so much for the amazing photo opportunities. I just love the camera and you always let me have fun and do my own thing. Mrs. Wanda McCall our Senior Mrs. Lumbee, thank you so much for always having kind and encouraging words when we were together. To Mrs. Betty Ms. NC Senior Citizen, you are a beautiful woman and the journey to your crown is something amazing. I love you both. Mrs. Keli you are something special. You have been with me for 3 years now encouraging and always making me look beautiful with your magic hands. For that I know you will be blessed many times over. You were the first woman to make my hair have curls and I love you for that. To Mrs. Tia, thank you so much for working me in when we had those last minute events and making me look beautiful. You are a magician with that flat iron. Y’all Nu Bella Rocks!!!!! Mrs. Netasha, Mrs. Mattie, Mrs. Tona and the rest of the Pembroke Elementary Bumble Bee’s, thanks so much for always making sure that I was taken care of and working with me on ALL those missed days!!! Mrs. Netasha, you opened the world of reading to me and I love it!!! Mrs. Kayla and Kynnady, I love you so much. You pushed me to be the best I could be and didn’t let me stop. I can’t wait till next time, shhhhh it won’t be long!!! Kynnady, you were my inspiration. From the time I saw you on stage, I knew one day I wanted to wear the crown that my best friend once wore. Now we are sisters for life. Aunt Bev we finally get a break. We have been on this pageant run now since I was 3 years old and you have been driving us since the beginning. Not sure how I would have arrived at any destination without my favorite Speeder!! I love you so much. Aunt Lesa and Uncle Bryan, thank you so much for believing in me even when I wanted to give up. Thanks so much for all those days you picked me up for events and made sure I always had the perfect earrings. Ricky and Keno, I love you so much. My love for dance started with you. Now I can’t be still. I can feel the movements just running through me anytime I hear music. You always made sure I had the most amazing routines and followed along the journey with me. The Just Dance future is bright and I am so blessed to be part of it. Mr. Sonny and Mrs. Vonnie, thank you for always making sure I was at my events when my Mom couldn’t be there. And Mrs. Vonnie, thank you so much for always making sure I had a full belly! Mr. Kent and Mrs. Nahir thank you so much for letting me have all my sleepovers with my Kenda Boo. You never complained even when I was doing cartwheels through your house! Mr. Terry and Mrs. Linda, thank you so much for your prayers throughout our reign. Mrs. Linda you worked so hard for our county during the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew and we all are blessed because of your hard work and dedication. My brothers Dylan and Clark. I know I drive you both crazy being the middle child and only girl! I love you Pickle and Clarkie!! Mr. Dano, thank you so much for always being encouraging and pushing me to work harder and trying all the new dance moves. You always motivated me to want more. Daddy, I know pageants weren’t your favorite but you learned to love them because of me. Thank you. Mama Jean well we all know I wouldn’t be standing on this stage if it wasn’t for you. You have been my back bone, my motivator, and my shoulder to cry on through this amazing roller coaster. You didn’t ever lose faith in me. And guess what, it’s just the beginning. My Mommy, thank you so much for allowing me to live out my dream. You worked so hard to make this all possible for me. I love you and I know I can do anything I set my mind too because you have shown me with hard work and prayer anything is possible. Lindsey, where do I begin? My song bird and woman of faith. I love you so much and can’t wait for your wedding day. You better get my bedroom ready in your house because you know I am coming to stay. Kenda Boo, I love you so much. We are definitely sisters! Even though I am so much younger than you, you still took care of me and treated me just like your sister. Nothing will ever beat our ice cream trips, sleepovers, Netflix and late nights. Kaloni my “KK”. You taught me so much about native culture and I have grown to love the Pow Wow circle because of you. You are beautiful inside and out and I can’t imagine this journey without you. I love you so much. To my successor, you are in for one amazing year, enjoy the ride and have fun. I would like to let everyone know this is not a farewell speech. This is just a temporary so long until my journey begins as Junior Miss Lumbee, Teen Miss Lumbee and ending as Miss Lumbee. I have so many dreams and the future belongs to those who dare to chase them. The two hardest things to say in life are hello for the first time and good-bye for the last. Tonight, I am closing one of the most beautiful chapters in this book of my life. So, don’t cry because it is over, smile because it happened. For the last time, I am your: �������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������
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