What an electric thrill it sends up and down the spine, how it sets the heart racing: A Royal Romance! A Royal Wedding! The pomp and the pageantry!

My small jobs were basically... cut a ribbon somewhere or fly to be a judge in some pageant in Darjeeling. It was those small kinds of jobs which sort of kept me going and I am thankful for people to even notice me.

Being a pageant girl taught me to be polished, poised and slap on a smile.

Pleasure is a shadow, wealth is vanity, and power a pageant; but knowledge is ecstatic in enjoyment, perennial in frame, unlimited in space and indefinite in duration.

The day of the sun is like the day of a king. It is a promenade in the morning, a sitting on the throne at noon, a pageant in the evening.

I was always passionate about the Miss India pageant. Though I was a medical student, I never had a plan B. I dont want to regret anything in life, so it was really important for me to win this competition.

When I was in Class XI, I started preparing for medical college, and after that, the Miss India pageant.

History is the great dust-heap... a pageant and not a philosophy.

I think that, if anything, the pageant is great for people who suffer from body issues. It's all about being comfortable with what you're given and what you have and being able to flaunt it without being insecure. It's about empowering women, not making them feel weak or less.

I've been in elementary education for years and my belief is that Christmas pageants in schools are little more than conditioning kids for the Christian religion.

I do get approached every day by people who say, 'Why don't you make more movies?' I don't really miss it when I get to go and watch my daughter in the Christmas pageant.

I know that I've got big ears and a big forehead and that my hair sticks up. But I'm happy with myself. I'm not necessarily trying to win a beauty pageant here.

Just about every town in Texas has a beauty pageant. Ours was called The Dogwood Fiesta. I was in one of those. I played the guitar and sang - and lost.

Let's cultivate an environment, not just in beauty pageants but in society in general, where we argue like we're right but listen like we're wrong.

A few years ago I was participating in a comedic 'Inner Beauty Pageant' and I had to figure out a talent very last-minute. I always loved Tyra Banks's 'We were all rooting for you!' moment, and so I decided to lip-sync live to the six-minute entirety of it as my talent.

I accidentally entered a youth pageant when I was 14. That's like a beauty pageant, but without the beauty. It was terrible.

Especially as a title-holder, you can do great things with charities, because people suddenly care about what you have to say. I wanted to make a difference, which is why I created the Queen of the Universe pageant. I want to change all of those stigmas in the beauty pageant world.

Coming from a pageant title that celebrates diversity, I've come to appreciate all kinds of beauty.

Winning a pageant or sometimes simply participating in a contest can change your life. Outer beauty is just a part of the judgement, but what's important are your views and opinions that are shown to the world.

Maybe if I'd agreed to do the debutante thing like she wanted. Or taken up pageants instead of riding jump bikes with a bunch of grungy boys. I'd always tell her, why can't I do both? Who says you have to be either smart or pretty, or into girly stuff or sports? Life shouldn't be about the either/or. We're capable of more than that, you know?

I've begun worshipping the sun for a number of reasons. First of all, unlike some other Gods I could mention, I can see the sun. It's there for me every day. And the things it brings me are quite apparent all the time: heat, light, food, and a lovely day. There's no mystery, no one asks for money, I don't have to dress up, and there's no boring pageantry. And interestingly enough, I have found that the prayers I offer to the sun and the prayers I formerly offered to 'God' are all answered at about the same 50% rate.

I've been in elementary education for years and my belief is that Christmas pageants in schools are little more than conditioning kids for the Christian religion.

Even the most understated ceremony involves a certain respect for ritual and pageantry. No one plays more of a significant role than the bride's attendants.

The day of the sun is like the day of a king. It is a promenade in the morning a sitting on the throne at noon a pageant in the evening.