The Team True Beauty event!

My main reason for going to LA this past week (other than for an awesome vacation) was to attend the Team True Beauty 1 year Anniversary event. The event took place at the beautiful Avalon Bardot in Hollywood and included a red carpet, a meet and greet, dinner, and some fantastic concerts. I can’t even begin to describe how fun and inspiring the event was. There were so many people there and it was great to see some old friends and meet some new ones. It was also really cool to see so many people of different shapes, sizes, races, ages, abilities, and genders all coming together to support an amazing cause. Throughout the night I got a chance to talk to some amazing celebrities, including Josie Loren, Cassie Scerbo, India DeBeaufort, Alisa Reyes, Jodie Sweetin, Sara Paxton, Sharon Lawrence, Amber Sweeney, and the lovely Team True Beauty ambassadors Shantel VanSanten and Daphne Zuniga. I also got to hear performances by Everly, Annie Automatic, Andrea Merchant, Savannah Outen, and Jessie Payo. And while all of these things were great and added so much fun to the night, I have to share with you 2 of my favorite moments from the event.

The first came when I got a chance to sit down and speak with Shantel. We met back in Wilmington about a year ago, but I never really got a chance to talk with her until this past summer. Over the summer I got to know Shantel a little better and talk to her personally about her story and the messages that she shares with Team True Beauty. However, I know she meets and talks to a million different people, so I was happily surprised when I got to the event and she knew who I was. Once some of the chaos of the meet and greet calmed down, I got a chance to sit down with Shantel and talk to her a little bit more. As usual, she was so sweet in sharing a little more of her story with me. We talked about how important it is to be confident in yourself so that others can see you as an example to be confident in themselves too. We talked about how it’s okay to have struggles and to ask for help because we all struggle and it’s those challenges that bring us together and make us who we are. We finished off the chat with a great big hug and a few tears and moved along with the night. Having those few minutes to talk one on one with Shantel was really special to me, and I am so thankful to have her to talk to.

The next best moment of the night came when it was time for the ambassadors to give their speeches. Shantel and Daphne both had some amazing things to say! My words can't really do it justice, so I'll let the video speak for itself!

There are so many parts of this speech that really stood out to me, I will be blogging about the entire speech in a different post. But for now, enjoy the video and the pictures!

Me and TTB Ambassador Daphne Zuniga

Me and the always sweet Shantel VanSanten

Me and the gorgeous Josie Loren

Me and my travel buddy/roommate, Lindsey

PS- I am so thankful for Megan, Lindsey, Brandi, Julianna, Lolly, Richard, Dana, Amy, Kristen, Michelle, Nicole, Brittany, Morgan, Megan, and Meriam. You all made the night so fun and I’m so glad to know you!