Some girls do it for the fame. Others do it for the scholarships. Ashley Durham does it for herself.
Durham, a public relations junior at The University of Memphis, beat out 44 contestants to be crowned Miss Tennessee USA 2011 on Oct. 17. She said her favorite part of pageant life is all the things she learns each time she participates.
"I like the personal development that goes along with it," she said. "Being in pageants helps improve both your interview skills and your social skills."
She also said that these skills could be used "in your everyday life, not just on weekends."
Durham's least favorite thing about being in pageants, she said, is the baggage that goes along with the title.
"Most people assume that pageant participants are supposed to be shallow, vapid and perfect all of the time," she said.
Durham participated in her first pageant when she was a freshman at Adamsville Junior High, about two hours east of Memphis. She said she decided to sign up because it was the last year that contestants could answer questions on stage, and "all my friends were in it, too."
Since then, she has participated in five or six pageants - she said she can't even remember anymore - and won the Miss Teen Tennessee title in 2006 before taking the Miss Tennessee USA crown this year.
As for the advice that she would give to aspiring pageant contestants, Durham said that they should "embrace uniqueness and make it positive."
"Everyone's different, and you shouldn't conform to something that's not true about yourself," she said.
