FROG LAKE – Participating in her first pageant, Addison Mountain, a 16-year-old teen from Frog Lake First Nations, has been crowned with two Miss Teen Canada titles for 2021-22.
Speaking with Lakeland This Week, Mountain says she had no intentions of doing pageants. That was until a mentor and friend reached out to her last December asking if she would be interested in joining an upcoming pageant being held in Toronto.
When Mountain showed her mother Samantha, she was encouraged to try it out.
Mountain’s mother believed it would be a great opportunity for her daughter because the 16-year-old had struggled with her own body image throughout her adolescence.
“I really didn't like the way I looked, and my mom thought it would be good for my self-confidence,” Mountain explained.
For Mountain, the experience of traveling and participating in the Miss Teenage Canada pageant with her mom and dad this past July was unlike anything else she had done before. And it was a far different experience than depictions of pageants dramatized by reality TV.
"I really loved it,” she said. "It was a really good experience. I got to meet with a lot of other girls from around Canada and they were so nice. We all created this sister type bond there and we got to do things together like runways, and we went to the mall together all as a group.”
Although most of the time was spent focused on the competition, Mountain, along with the other girls had the chance to visit the CN Tower, take part in a salsa dancing night and go to karaoke.
In the 12 days Mountain was in Toronto, she spent the first three days competing in regionals where she won the title for Miss Teen Central Alberta.
Mountain would also go on to win Miss Teen Canada Petite 2021-22 in the main international titles.
“I wasn't expecting, winning the title. I was really there for the experience — well, that's what I told myself. I didn't really see myself winning a big title like that, but when I did, I was really shocked and surprised and really happy.”
Following her big win, Mountain said she will be using her title and her new experiences to be a positive role model for youth in her community, especially for girls who may be experiencing similar troubles when it comes to body image and body positivity.
“I really want to be there for the girls in my community and not only girls, but for everyone. I just want to inspire young girls,” she said.
One thing Mountain said she struggled with was “self-love.”
"I struggled with loving myself, but this pageant really helped. I don't really struggle as much, which is good for me.”
During the pageant, Mountain had come close to sitting out the bathing suit runway. She had made up her mind and told her parents she wasn’t going to do it, however, on the day of the bathing suit runway the other girls in the pageant encouraged and supported her to do it.
“I just chose to really push myself out of my comfort zone that night,” said Mountain, proud of the decision she made to walk the runway.
Addressing the issue of self-body shaming behavior among young girls, Mountain said, “For me, the way I think about it is, there's not a lot of girls that support other girls and what they want to wear and what they choose to wear.”
Coming home with a new title following her first pageant, Mountain received overwhelming positive support and pride from her community in Frog Lake.
Mountain was also asked to be an honourary guest at an “Every Child Matters” walk that took place in September. She walked front and center next to Frog Lake’s Chief, Gregory Desjarlais.
Since her big win, Mountain has been interviewed and asked to attend various events and social engagements, which she has been excited to do, although they have been limited due to the pandemic.
Before heading to the international pageant taking place in Mexico this coming July, Mountain said she will be focusing on improving her walk for the runway.
