Thought Series: Miss AMERICAN

 Miss America 2014 is of Indian descent. By now everyone knows about the "controversy" of her race and know about the criticism she's faced because of her race. People have said that other contestants should've won, blah, blah, blah. It's a huge thing, just because she's of Indian descent. Indian. She's not Iraqi, not Pakistani, not Afghani, she's Indian. First, let me just say she's actually been called "Miss Al Qaeda" by people on Twitter, which is stupid because India isn't even an Islamic country for the most part. 80% of India practices Hinduism, which is besides the point because Nina Dalvuluri is from New York. Miss Dalvuluri is the perfect choice for Miss America for many reasons, let's name a few:

• She's Indian-American and representing one of the most diverse states in the union. 
• She's smart; she went to the University of Michigan, was on the Dean's List, received the Michigan Merit Award, and graduated with a degree in Brain Behavior and Cognitive Science. She's much smarter than the average girl
• She's the second Miss Syracuse to win Miss America since Vanessa Williams (not why she should win, but it's interesting).
• She struggled with bulimia, which is sadly, very common in young girls today. She beat her eating disorder, but to this day hates the word "skinny".
• Her platform is diversity, she's all about breaking down barriers.

 At this point, it's not even the fact that she isn't white that's making people dislike her. If it would've been a Hispanic, Asian, or African-American girl people wouldn't be making the ignorant argument that Miss Dalvuluri isn't American. But brush her Indian roots aside and her story is as American as it gets. A smart girl who struggled with her weight and her body image got a makeover, graduated from college and is now considered one of the most beautiful, accomplished women in our country. Literally, Princess Diaries, except she was overweight instead of having frizzy hair and glasses. So, I would say that our new Miss America is extremely American.