Homecoming
Here's a riddle. Who is one girl with two homes, neither in which has she ever lived? The answer: ME!
Last weekend I went home to Lumberton, NC for Lumbee Homecoming. Although I did not grow up in the area, I do have many family members who hail from there. In fact, over the weekend I had all sorts of people approach me to explain just exactly how we are related, whether I realized it or not. One little girl who had just won a title ran up to me exclaiming that we are cousins and that "pageantry must run in the family." How darling!
Participating in Homecoming, which is an annual event for my tribe that includes 10 days of rituals and activities, was an incredible honor. I served as the emcee for the Coronation Ceremony during which the new Miss Lumbee, Junior Miss Lumbee, Young Miss Lumbee, and Little Miss Lumbee are inducted as ambassadors of our tribe. It was humbling to play a significant role in this cultural event that provides young Lumbee women with the opportunity to represent our tribe in a leadership role. The next day I rode in the parade, new car signs and all! The highlight of the day was catching a ride in a miniature clown car with "Happy" to get to the life-size convertible that would carry me through the streets of Pembroke!
Over the weekend I was struck with the enormous welcome I received from all the people that I met. It truly felt as if I had returned home after a long time away. I appreciate the way that my relatives, however distantly related, embraced me and shared in my recent accomplishment of becoming Miss North Carolina.
From there I took a brief trip to Spartanburg, SC to watch the Miss South Carolina pageant. You would think it would be such a relief to watch a pageant for once, but I can’t help but get nervous for the contestants! A lovely woman was crowned and I had the pleasure of meeting her, along with Miss Georgia and Miss New Mexico. I am looking forward to seeing them again at the Miss America's Outstanding Teen Pageant in Orlando. I then headed east to spend time with some closer relatives at the beach ... my mom, dad, brother, and sister.
Whether you can believe it or not, I drove back to Spartanburg (just a week later) from the beach to have my pictures taken. I have already started to log the hours I spend in the car just to be able to look back over my year and see all the ground I have covered! Now I am finally home again, this time not in Lumberton but in the Archdale-Trinity area. This is where I was crowned Miss Central Carolina and where I spent many Fridays in the school system, reading to elementary school students. Again, although I did not grow up in either of these towns, I have a family here. A family of community members who believed in me as I prepared for becoming Miss North Carolina. They included me in annual community events, they welcomed my thoughts and words in service organization meetings, and they happily invited me into their schools to spend time with their children and grandchildren.
On Sunday we will meet again for a Homecoming Party in honor of both me and Miss North Carolina's Outstanding Teen BrieAnna Hester, who is also a former Central Carolina girl. I know many are looking forward to the event, but none more than me. I am looking forward to my opportunity to say thank you for the support I received, a kind of support I previously thought could only come from close friends and family.
At the end of my year as Miss North Carolina, I hope that I can claim each part of this state as my home. I have already learned that I do not have to be from Asheville or Charlotte or Wilmington to call it home because the people I meet throughout my travels will call me family and make me feel like I belong. That’s a great thing for a woman to be able to claim about her home state!
Coming soon to a home near you,
Jessica Jacobs
Last weekend I went home to Lumberton, NC for Lumbee Homecoming. Although I did not grow up in the area, I do have many family members who hail from there. In fact, over the weekend I had all sorts of people approach me to explain just exactly how we are related, whether I realized it or not. One little girl who had just won a title ran up to me exclaiming that we are cousins and that "pageantry must run in the family." How darling!
Participating in Homecoming, which is an annual event for my tribe that includes 10 days of rituals and activities, was an incredible honor. I served as the emcee for the Coronation Ceremony during which the new Miss Lumbee, Junior Miss Lumbee, Young Miss Lumbee, and Little Miss Lumbee are inducted as ambassadors of our tribe. It was humbling to play a significant role in this cultural event that provides young Lumbee women with the opportunity to represent our tribe in a leadership role. The next day I rode in the parade, new car signs and all! The highlight of the day was catching a ride in a miniature clown car with "Happy" to get to the life-size convertible that would carry me through the streets of Pembroke!
Over the weekend I was struck with the enormous welcome I received from all the people that I met. It truly felt as if I had returned home after a long time away. I appreciate the way that my relatives, however distantly related, embraced me and shared in my recent accomplishment of becoming Miss North Carolina.
From there I took a brief trip to Spartanburg, SC to watch the Miss South Carolina pageant. You would think it would be such a relief to watch a pageant for once, but I can’t help but get nervous for the contestants! A lovely woman was crowned and I had the pleasure of meeting her, along with Miss Georgia and Miss New Mexico. I am looking forward to seeing them again at the Miss America's Outstanding Teen Pageant in Orlando. I then headed east to spend time with some closer relatives at the beach ... my mom, dad, brother, and sister.
Whether you can believe it or not, I drove back to Spartanburg (just a week later) from the beach to have my pictures taken. I have already started to log the hours I spend in the car just to be able to look back over my year and see all the ground I have covered! Now I am finally home again, this time not in Lumberton but in the Archdale-Trinity area. This is where I was crowned Miss Central Carolina and where I spent many Fridays in the school system, reading to elementary school students. Again, although I did not grow up in either of these towns, I have a family here. A family of community members who believed in me as I prepared for becoming Miss North Carolina. They included me in annual community events, they welcomed my thoughts and words in service organization meetings, and they happily invited me into their schools to spend time with their children and grandchildren.
On Sunday we will meet again for a Homecoming Party in honor of both me and Miss North Carolina's Outstanding Teen BrieAnna Hester, who is also a former Central Carolina girl. I know many are looking forward to the event, but none more than me. I am looking forward to my opportunity to say thank you for the support I received, a kind of support I previously thought could only come from close friends and family.
At the end of my year as Miss North Carolina, I hope that I can claim each part of this state as my home. I have already learned that I do not have to be from Asheville or Charlotte or Wilmington to call it home because the people I meet throughout my travels will call me family and make me feel like I belong. That’s a great thing for a woman to be able to claim about her home state!
Coming soon to a home near you,
Jessica Jacobs
