The people of Zionsville teach me a lesson about my own platform

Eaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrlllllyyyyy Saturday morning April 23rd I arrived at the Lion's Club in Zionsville, IN for a GIANT Easter Egg Hunt.

At 7:30am, I helped hide the eggs on multiple fields, one for each of the age groups. Three other titleholders from the Miss Indiana and Miss Indiana's Outstanding Teen organization showed up to volunteer.

Put very simply, we had so much fun. Five thousand people showed up for donated breakfast, free giveaways, face painting, and of course an egg hunt. I had only ever participated in a family sized egg hunt in the backyard of someone's home, so this was very new to me.

My role was to keep smiles on young children's faces, especially those who weren't the best at finding eggs. When tears started rolling down the faces of those who were slower than the others at scatching up the brightly-colored eggs in the baseball diamonds and open fields, we would toss an egg out of our basket in their direction. It was cute. The kids would sprint to the eggs and sweep them into their own decorative baskets. Parents were greatful beyond measure --- and all I had to do was toss a few eggs.

To be completely honest, I was nervous at first to go. I knew I would be among the very few brown faces around. I guessed that my presence wouldn't be as well received as the other contestants. I remembered the time I visited Japan as a delegate for the Anti-Defamation League, and the people were shocked I was black. I distinctly remember how only the white student that was with us had his picture featured in the paper. We were referred to as the three blacks and one American. It was odd because we were specifically there to discuss the importance of accepting all people reguardless of difference. It hurt, but that experience warned me to have my guard up. Thankfully, I was wrong. The people of Zionsville were welcoming and appreciative of my volunteered time, especially if it meant putting a smile on their child's face.

Can't wait to go back to Zionsville, IN for Miss Indiana week. This was an unexpectingly warm experience for me. :-)