MINNEAPOLIS — Of tiaras and sashes, a girl can dream.
"I've discovered that this has taught me to dream big, to know that what we set our minds to, can definitely be possible," Padee Yang said.
Becoming United States of America's Miss Minnesota 2020 wasn't always in the plans for Yang. She's actually a loan officer assistant by day, USOA's Miss Minnesota by night.
"I'm trying to just evolve-- aren't we all?" Yang said. "Just trying to grow, to better ourselves. I just felt like this would be a great way to challenge myself, to truly create myself into the person I always envisioned myself to be."
Yang said she always wanted to be confident and mindful. It shows in the work she does through meditation, something she's passionate about.
"I feel like it's already happening, utilizing this pageant platform to leverage my meditations that I've written so far," she said, referring to what she calls 'empowerment meditations.' I feel like meditation can be so beneficial and it can be so powerful.
On top of all of this, she's taking Minnesota along on a history-writing journey. Yang is the first Hmong woman to be selected as USOA's Miss Minnesota.
"I am so grateful I guess you could say," she said, searching for a specific word. "I don't really have a word that can describe just how grateful I am. I am overhwlmed to know that I have this moment to truly make an impact I want to make during my lifetime."
Because she has made meditation her main mission, she said she hopes to use the platform to talk about the importance of it.
"It's okay to let it sit there," she said, referring to dark emotions that we all sometimes feel when going through life. "Know that and have hope that better days are just around the corner as well."
When asked if she's surprised at how many people agree with her when it comes to struggling with emotions, she said she is, every time.
"Everyone through social media, we put up such a great front that we're living our best life," she said. "Which we can, at some moments in our lives, but at the same time what we experience behind closed doors and not what we see through social media, I think those are our biggest breakthroughs."
Maybe the secret to reflecting inner beauty on the outside is to feel loved. Yang has that for sure. She's got the love and support of the community, but most importantly, of herself.
"Ultimately, crown or no crown, I feel like just with the amount of love and support, I already feel like a winner," she said.
The United States of America's 2020 Pageant kicks off on February 14th, in Las Vegas. In the meantime, Yang said she is fundraising to get there. If you would like to support her, you can find her Gofundme link here.