Laryssa Bonacquisti used her year as Miss Louisiana to get outside her comfort zone. She held a live alligator and a snake — that terrified her — ate a raw oyster and sang in front of a crowd.
During Miss America, she was surprised to see that she was trending on Twitter. Fans loved her ventriloquism act with Lucky and Lucy.
"For me, I don't think I'm that cool. I'm like, I'm just Layrssa at the end of the day. I'm a dork, and I love every second of it," she said.
She felt really, really cool for New York minute. Now she just needs to chase a tornado.
She's had a lot of fun and chased opportunities she'd only get as Miss Louisiana, but Bonacquisti is quick to say the year's not about her. It's all about service.
"Although you have an impact on other people's lives, the impact they have on you I would say is even greater," she said. "I'm going to walk away from this year with so much to be thankful for and so many memories that I'm never going to forget."
Her platform to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research, Team Charlotte, honors her grandmother. And she's only going to be more involved in the future.
"I know that she would be happy to know that I am still caring so much about it and that it's not something that died with her," Bonacquisti said.
During her reign, Bonacquisti took sock puppet kits, called Believe Buddies to speaking engagements, including those at Children's Miracle Network hospitals. Kids and teenagers got to make a puppet and practice a little ventriloquism. They also wrote a word that inspires them or defines a goal on the arm of the puppet.
She said it's important to give people hope because it's a powerful medicine. She wants people to find their secret super power and do their best to pursue it.
"I think I met a lot of future superheroes in those classrooms. It was amazing to get to impact them in that way," she said.
Bonacquisti's sashes are a little worn. Her crown has lost some gems, and that's just how it's supposed to be.
"If you're doing your job right, nothing should look perfect," she said with a grin.
Bonacquisti will return to Louisiana State University in the fall to finish her journalism degree. She'll be the news director for Tiger TV.
"You know, just got to keep the plate full for senior year," she laughed.
She said returning to the academic grind will be a change of pace. As Miss Louisiana, the focus is on the next event and what to give to the kids, but there's no homework when there's downtime. In college, it's a fast and hard tempo to maintain her grades.
"I've been doing this (pageants) for a very long time, so there's always something coming up. There's always an event, so now it will just be life prep. I'm going to continue to live my life each day as I currently do. My focus this year has been to gain a routine," she said.
She said the skills she's learned and habits she's formed this year will be building blocks for future success. She'll need to maintain a knowledge of current events for her job as a news reporter and keep up a healthy lifestyle.
Bonacquisti said the past year has honed her ability to speak extemporaneously on a variety of subjects.
And she has a better appreciation and understanding of public servants — the people who dedicate their lives to nonprofit organizations. It's about what you can do for others, she said. It's not about the money or recognition.
"Who I am isn't what it's about. It's about giving of my time and allowing someone to feel like 'Oh my goodness, someone with a crown on their head cares about me.' After this year is up, you'll have another girl with a crown on her head, but it will still make that same kind of impact just because of who she is and what she can do," she said.
Does she plan to follow in the footsteps of Miss Louisiana 2012 Lauren Vizza, who is the reigning Miss Louisiana USA?
"I've learned not to say no to things but also not rush to say yes," she said.
Bonacquisti said she's going to focus on returning to school for now. Vizza did a fantastic job, and she'd be honored to take the same path, but she has several years to decide.
What would you tell the next Miss Louisiana?
"Remember that, you know, this is something that I continuously say throughout this year, but I really want to over-emphasize it:
"The year is not about about you. Although, yes, you have worked so, so hard to get to this point and it's an honor and, obviously, it's going to be about you while you compete for Miss America. But the second that you come home--
"If you come home. I hope you win Miss America. We need a win for Louisiana.
"But if you do, you have to remember that, yeah, the crown's on your head. That's awesome, but it's a job.
"And your job is not only to represent your Miss Louisiana sisters and the organization but to also represent the state and to prove that young women have a voice and have the skills to make a difference.
"It's not a beauty pageant. It's not, you know, something where you just wave on a stage and then it's over. It's about service, and my hope is- and I feel like with this group of girls I will see this - but my hope is the next Miss Louisiana will really take that to heart and remember that in a year the crown's going to go away, and it's going to go to another girl.
"But the impact you leave is going to last forever in the hearts of those that you actually touch."
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