Nicole Johnston always tries to keep a motto in mind when she’s going about her day, or when life gets stressful.
“Too blessed to be stressed,” she says to herself. She first heard it when she was 16 and remembering it has helped her keep perspective as she goes through life and when she faces challenges.
“When I start to stress out, this quote brings me back to the present, reminding me of why I am here.”
Johnston is one of the contestants in the Miss BC contest that takes place July 1-3 in Fort Langley.
She entered the event for two reasons, for the opportunities that being involved presents, and also for the chance to continue the innumberable good works the Maple Ridge resident involves herself with. Her focus is on random act of kindness, which she’d like to turn into an actual charity, so she can help single moms or kids.
Doing random acts of kindness, just for the heck of it, is second nature to Johnston. She goes to seniors homes and hands out flowers. She organized charity events, made sandwiches for the homeless or the hospice, or just buys someone coffee in the morning. Her first fundraiser was when she was five years old for a teen shelter called Welcome Home. She even went to South Africa and volunteered for a month working with preschool and after-school children.
“Helping others is its own reward. I just enjoy it. It makes me feel good,” she says.
“There’s so many people out there that don’t have very much, so that one, small thing can change them. It makes them want to do something different.”
Johnston’s list of good works include Cops for Cancer, Free The Children, Variety the Children’s Charity, Make a Wish, Cythera house, Christmas Haven, Cystic fibrosis, The Center For Epilepsy and Seizure Education in British Columbia and The Move Fashion show for Battered Women.
Her most recent fundraiser is a Zumba-thon she’s holding, along with Zumba Fitness, to raise money for Cops for Cancer, June 23 in Pitt Meadows at the Westbrooke condos at 12000 – 190A St. in Pitt Meadows. Entry fee is $15 along with door prizes and a raffle. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Entering such contests isn’t a new challenge. Johnston, a dancer, model and contortionist, has been entering pageants for a half-dozen years. She’ll be at the July 1-3 event in Fort Langley and hopes to demonstrate her talent as an arial hoop peformer, such as those seen in Cirque de Soleil, with whom she’s trained. However, she’s first trying to recover from a recent car accident, and is trying to get back to 100 per cent.
The weekend will see the contestants take place in workshops, attend a Cops for Cancer fundraiser, followed up by the pageant and crowning of the winners on July 3.