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After devastatingly losing her father last year, one Sheffield woman hopes to win the Miss England crown to make him proud.
Jessica Jones, a NHS nurse from Sheffield, UK, who has also competed in pageants for the last couple of years.
While she’s always dreamt of being crowned Miss England, when she was in the competition last year her dad was in a coma.
READ MORE: Teen who dreamed of pageant glory overcomes domestic violence to compete in Miss England
Sadly, he died not too long after.
The 27-year-old exclusively told Daily Star that winning would “make me and my family proud”.
“I had such an awful year last year. I lost my dad tragically and was also working through Covid as a nurse so winning would be a real mood booster for me and my family,” she explained.
“When I was on stage last year I didn’t want to be there because my dad was in a coma. I lost my dad through sepsis and meningitis and he ended up brain dead.
“It just made my life crumble to be honest; I’d never been through such a tragic life experience. This year I wanted to have a new start and enjoy life as much as possible.
“It would be amazing to represent my home county and bring it back to Sheffield. I’m the oldest in the group competing for the Yorkshire title so winning would mean everything because it’s my last chance to compete in Miss England.”
Jess's tragic loss has made her want to experience as much of life as possible, which is why she’s so eager to make the most of the competition.
She added: “I’ve got the motto now ‘Life’s too short, let’s go for it.’”
The medical professional says juggling full-time nursing while being in the competition has been “crazy”.
Her job requires shift work, which means she’s regularly working at night, and getting time off can be difficult.
“I’m still trying to get another outfit and I’m struggling a little bit because I’m a nurse and time off isn’t really a big thing for me at the moment,” she explained.
“I’m trying to grab a hold of outfits on my days off and trying to eat quite well so I'm not the biggest girl on stage.
“I’m not the kind of girl who goes to the gym all the time because I just don’t have time, so I’m just looking after myself more while getting ready for the competition. I’m also there to have fun so whatever happens on the night happens."
Jess hasn’t made any drastic changes to her diet but has made small adjustments here and there.
When she’s on night shifts she tends to eat a lot of crisps and chocolate, which she has reduced.
“I don’t want to change completely as a person because I believe if someone’s going to pick you they’re going to pick you for who you are,” the beauty queen said.
“I’m not one of these people who does some nights where they don’t eat, I love my food too much.
“I don't work hard at the gym, I’m just a normal girl. I’m not bothered about going to the gym and toning up lots, I think I’m happy as I am and I’d rather not change anything.”
Jess has loved every stage of the competition so far and loves that it’s provided her with new friends and given her the opportunity to give back to charity.
These are just some of the reasons that the blonde beauty gets frustrated when she hears people saying that pageants are outdated.
She explained: “Over the years I’ve made some really great friends and a lot of the competition is charity-based.
“It inspires us to do more charity work, to help others and it inspires others to do what they want with their lives.
“People expect someone who’s in a beauty pageant to be very vain and thick as well. They expect us to be quite dumb people but we’ve got doctors and nurses and there are people training to do master’s degrees.
“There are all types of girls, not just thick people who think they’re better than everyone else.”
Jessica also disagrees with the idea that pageants are sexist and only function to flaunt women’s bodies.
She added: “A lot of competitions now have banned swimwear because they’re worried about what people might think but why shouldn’t we wear swimwear? At the end of the day, we’re all different shapes and body sizes and we should be proud of our bodies and who we are.
“Over the years I have raided nearly £8,000 to charity and I’m so thankful to give back. The other week we raised money for a little boy who might not live past 20, being able to help people is just inspiring and it makes you feel like you can do something that makes you feel good.”
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