Elise, you brought back a lot of memories.  I too remember watching the Miss America pageant as a child with a lot of trepidation.  Being the skinny overly freckled child that I was, it was obvious that I was never going to be the wearing the sash and tiara.  The other options were mommy, teacher, secretary, nurse and flight attendant.  (Not that those are bad choices- just a narrow field.) It made reading science fiction really attractive.