Kara McCullough shares an empowering message on Instagram

On May 14, 2017, Kara McCullough competed in the Miss USA 2017 pageant in Las Vegas. She went on to win the competition, beating out first runner-up Chhavi Verg of New Jersey and second runner-up Meridith Gould of Minnesota. During her time at Miss USA, McCullough received media attention and praise for deciding to compete with her natural hair, which was seen as support for the natural hair movement. McCullough was both criticized and praised for her conservative question answers, stating that health care was a privilege for the working and not a right, in addition to calling herself an "equalist" as opposed to a feminist.

But, that was not the first time the beauty queen had held her ground. She entered Miss USA 2017 as the winner of the Miss District Of Columbia USA 2017. Prior to winning Miss District of Columbia USA 2017, she was the first runner-up for Miss District of Columbia USA twice, in 2015 and 2016. In 2017, she was crowned Miss District of Columbia USA 2017 by outgoing titleholder Deshauna Barber.

In the year 2015, Lizzy Olsen beat her to the title of Miss District Of Columbia USA, and Kara was crowned first runner-up. The same year, Kara had chosen a peach Sherri Hill gown, for her prelims as well as the finale night. The gown is worth mentioning as Kara received heavy criticism for everything about the gown, be it the cut, or the colour.

Despite heavy criticism, Kara decided to stick to her choice and even won first runner-up in the competition.

She recently shared a heartfelt message, on Instagram, about how the gown never defined her win.

And empowering message indeed. She shared a picture of the gown with the message as well.

I know it’s not #tbt, but I just had a deep conversation with a few great people about how girls and women listen to too many people while they’re competing. : Here’s KD during her first #missdcusa pageant. Would you believe everyone hated her gown, from the color to the cut and length? And would you believe she still got first runner-up to her lovely sister @lizzyo1220 - Who’s a bad-gal, triple threat and sweetheart!)????! : I wore this gown for both prelims and finals and I didn’t second guess anything. All I knew was I wanted leave the “what-if” in the past and compete for #missdcusa. After the show all I heard was negative stuff about my gown color being too juvenile, the length was too short, and the cut was awful. Luckily, for me I like to live in the moment. I was so ecstatic to have received first-runner-up with no prior “professional” training or knowledge of the “proper” pageant gown. Additionally, I was told to lose weight, but that didn’t sway me. I had a lot of baby weight on me from college and my body type is naturally athletic and lean. . . All this to say, the key to winning is having an AUTHENTIC PERSONALITY. Judges look for a queen they can bring on the local news and share their story, passion, and platform. They want to see a queen work with their children and leave a lasting impression. They want a women that is willing to take constructive criticism and stand firm in her beliefs (there’s a health balance ??). They want someone who is a full package and isn’t pretentious. . . . To all the young girls and women competing for a title worldwide I can’t stress the importance of being yourself and really putting yourself through experiences that will better you. . . I have a lot more to say, but this was really on my heart to share today. . . & I tell everyone I meet and this goes for everyone on my IG as well, don’t be afraid to reach out to me, I’m here for you all and I can’t wait to see who will join our sisterhood next. ???? . #missusa #realkaramccullough #sherrihill #passion #authenticity #personality #beyourself . . Make up by @nazxmilan

A post shared by Kara McCullough Miss USA 2017 (@realkaramccullough) on

Jan 28, 2018 at 12:48pm PST