My City August 2021

PHOTO COURTESY OF BMB PHOTOGRAPY/BELLA BUPP

America Outstanding Teen pageant. “I’m so excited!” Ry lie exclaimed. “It’s really cool. Each state and Washington, D.C. has a representative.” A typical pageant has four phases of competition: Interview (when participants speak about their platform), Fitness Routine, Talent, and Evening Gown. During the evening gown phase, the con testants answer unrehearsed questions while on stage. “It puts you on the spot,” she says. Rylie’s platform – the cause she chose to highlight – is the program she creat ed, Start Heart Smart, which educates kids about heart disease. “While growing up, I had some heart issues,” she shares, explaining that she had two holes in her heart and a heart murmur. When she was age five, however, her cardiologist told her the holes in her heart had closed and she could return to p

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