Being the best star of your own story

Two Park City Elementary School students watched as their self-esteem and confidence was wadded up into tiny balls by two other students in front of all their classmates.
In between stood Miss Montana 2015, Danielle Wineman, wearing her four-cornered silver crown and black sash.
“Haven’t we all felt wadded up sometime?” she asked the students.
“Yes,” they shouted.
“Do we want to feel all wadded up?” she asked.
“No,” they shouted.
What was wadded up were pieces of paper with stick figures Wineman had drawn for the demonstration. She asked the “wrongdoers” to sit down and asked the other two students to straighten out the pieces of paper and hold them up.
“It took milliseconds for these papers to get wadded up and a minute to smooth them out,” Wineman said. “Did we get all the wrinkles out?”
“No,” shouted the students.
“Did we get some of our confidence back?” she asked.
“Yes,” they shouted.
As part of her duties as Miss Montana, Wineman, 23, travels the state delivering her well-crafted message about confidence, self-esteem and bullying. She performed twice for the elementary school students in the high school gym on Nov. 13.
Wineman is familiar with bullying from her personal life. Her younger sister Alexis was diagnosed as autistic when she was 11 and felt teased and picked on for much of her life.
But Alexis went on to participate in speech and debate and run in cross country during high school. She later became Miss Montana 2012 and was voted America’s Choice at the Miss America 2013 contest.
Danielle graduated from Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., in 2013 with a bachelor’s in theater arts. A professional actress, she has performed with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks and the program’s school-based affiliate Montana Shakes.
“I performed here a few years ago,” she told the students. “Two scenes from ‘Twelfth Night’ and as Helena in ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream.’”
The kids in the Park City gym remembered her as Helena and cheered loudly. Even the kindergarten kids were familiar with “Romeo and Juliet” and the bard’s name – William Shakespeare.
“He originated the ‘knock-’knock’ joke,” Wineman said.
Using the “Cinderella” fairy tale as a model, she explained that each of them can be the star of their own story, that teachers and parents are their “fairy godmother” advisors, the “mice” are the friends they pal around with, and bullies are the evil “stepmother” villains.
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players,” she quoted from Shakespeare’s play “As You Like It.”
The students could use their “superpowers” for good or evil with different consequences, and she made them repeat a vow out loud.
“I vow to be the best star of my own story, and to let others be the best star of their own story,” they repeated after her.
Wineman also is a talented pianist, and she concluded her rousing presentation by playing the theme music from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie.
“I played ‘Great Balls of Fire’ at the Miss America competition,” she later said.