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Christensen, who was diagnosed as bipolar at age 14, is passionate about mental health. She hopes to spread awareness nationwide if she gets crowned in Orlando.
Aria Christensen is set to begin her first year studying business administration at the University of Oregon this fall. But her studies might take a back seat as the 18-year-old aims for a bigger goal: becoming Miss America’s Teen. If she wins, her to-do list will include much more than studying for finals and attending football games.
Christensen, a Eugene native who graduated from Willamette High School, got into pageants by chance this year. She was practicing her back handsprings at her local gym when a spectator came up and told her she should give pageants a shot.
Two competitions later, she’s Miss Lane County’s Teen and Miss Oregon’s Teen.
“Once I won Miss Oregon’s Teen, I realized this is a big part of my life,” Christensen said. “I only get one more year to do this, and so I want to live it out to the full potential that I can.”
Christensen will be living at home next year and is aiming to take three online classes in her first term so that she can balance her pageant work with schooling.
The core of her community service for her pageants has been destigmatizing and raising awareness around bipolar disorder. Christensen was diagnosed with Bipolar II at age 14.
“I told my best friend in eighth grade that I had bipolar disorder, and she told me that I wouldn’t go anywhere in life because of it,” Christensen said.
She said that’s part of the reason why she focused on bipolar disorder.
Her slogan is “a diagnosis does not define.”
Through her community service, she’s worked with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, known as NAMI, and raised more than $1,000 in a week for the alliance.
She’s also a trained “In Our Own Voice” presenter through NAMI, where she speaks at schools across Oregon, and will continue to do so into the academic year.
“I really dealt with the symptoms,” Christensen said. “For me the highs were feelings of almost overconfidence or like I can do whatever I want, and then for the lows is when I wouldn’t get out of bed for weeks.”
Christensen said this affected her attendance at school, and she was removed from her dance team.
“That was so hard because dance is a huge part of my life, and so getting removed made that depression so much worse,” Christensen said.
She said that although pageants can contribute to negative mental health experiences for some contestants, her time competing has been deeply positive.
“One of the stigmas that I guess kind of surrounds pageantry is that it can be degrading,” Christensen said. “Which I have not dealt with at all. For me, pageantry has been really amazing, and it’s helped me grow more than it would ever tear me down.”
Christensen said she’s developed a sisterhood, frequently talking with this year’s Miss Oregon, Allyssa Defillipo.
To manage her own mental health, Christensen journals every morning and keeps what she calls a “dopamine menu,” which consists of a list of activities she can turn to when she feels low, from hot yoga and stretching to walks and the occasional mani-pedi.
As she prepares for the Miss America’s Teen pageants Sept. 6 in Orlando, Christensen has her weeks mapped out with interview practice, walking rehearsals, talent runs and scheduled time for her dopamine menu.
Success, however, isn’t just about being named Miss America’s Teen. For her it’s “feeling like I really put my all into it and that I did everything I could.”
Looking back on her brief pageant career, the biggest wins have not been the crowns.
“Pageantry has helped me grow my confidence,” she said. “It’s helped me grow in interviews, community service and just all aspects of life. It’s just elevated it times 10.”
