Former Miss America Launches Podcast to Tell Hidden, Real-Life Stories

NEW YORK -- Everyone has a story--from your neighbor to those you pass on the street each day on your way to work.

Former Miss America, Kirsten Haglund, wants to find those stories and share them. That's why she started The Sonder Podcast on Faithwire.

"You realize that there are hundreds, thousands, millions, billions of people all over the globe that have a story, a complex life. You know, feel anger and sadness, happiness and joy and tragedy and triumph...and that's what we really try to do, just tell different people's stories," Haglund explained.

Haglund's own story has played out in a way she never anticipated. 

Born and raised in Michigan, she says she grew up just another girl from the Midwest. An introvert--she loved to read and watch movies--but more than anything, she loved ballet.

"From a very early age I felt just very connected to music. So dance felt very natural to me because it was really a way of becoming one with the music," said Haglund.

Stress and Isolation Lead to Eating Disorder

As much as she loved it, however, the intensity and competition began to isolate her.

"I was in ballet seven days a week most weeks, especially leading up to performances, Nutcracker and spring performances, etc., you know in the ballet studio three or four hours a day, Thursday nights, Friday nights, all day Saturday, Sunday," Haglund said.

In that isolation, Haglund began to develop body-image issues which lead to years of battling an eating disorder. 

"I thought that I was just doing it because of ballet and that goal. But really, deep down I was searching for worth. I wanted to be seen as beautiful, I wanted to be seen as successful, I didn't want to cause problems for anybody, I wanted to keep the peace. I was a people pleaser. So if I was thin and small and beautiful and tiny and graceful and perfect, then I would pleases everybody," said Haglund.

Finding Help and Hope

But her story doesn't end there. With the help of her parents, Haglund began to receive treatment for her eating disorder. But it took an internal revelation for her to truly accept the help.

"I was on a treadmill and I was running and I almost blacked out and fell. It was hugely frightening for me because I'd never been out of control of my body before, ever in my life, and that kind of physical scare was huge for me and it was then that just, out of nowhere, started coming up all these feelings that I hadn't had in years. Dreams of things that I wanted to do, that I wanted to be, outside of ballet. Like I wanted to get married, and I wanted to have kids and travel all over the world and learn another language and help people and be a part of something bigger than myself. At that moment I just realized that there were values that I had and desires that I had that were deeper than the eating disorder," Haglund said.

She quit ballet to stay healthy, but couldn't ignore the lure of a stage. She planned to pursue musical theatre with dreams of Broadway. 

College is expensive, however, so in 2006 she competed in a beauty pageant, hoping to win some scholarship money.

"I thought, 'Oh great that would be a great learning experience for me.' But I never expected to win. Actually, if I were to be honest I didn't really want to win. I didn't think I was qualified in any way," Haglund said.

A Night Out of a Dream

She not only won, she soared. In only her second pageant, she won the title of Miss Michigan. Suddenly, she was on her way to Atlantic City and the Miss America competition.

"I don't think it ever really put so much pressure on me because, again, I did not have any expectation of winning," she said.

Then came the night when she just kept going further. Haglund made the top 15, then the top ten, and so on.

"That night was just out of dream, I mean there's really no other way to describe it. It's like I was watching it happen as it was happening outside of myself. I never expected my name to be called, I would prepare myself before the next elimination round to not be called, so that if I did it would be a huge surprise," recalls Haglund.

Finally, the time came for the winner to be announced. Haglund received the crown.

Since that moment her story has been full of many dreams-come-true. She's traveled the world, married and helped a great number of people.

Her life isn't what she expected, but it's full and ever-changing.

The latest addition: her podcast with Faithwire, called The Sonder Podcast.

Haglund hopes to give listeners a brief window into other people's experiences -- experiences that may just help them in their own lives. 

"What I hope is that telling those peoples stories gives people the space to have trials of their own and to have challenges and to realize that, that doesn't mean you can't ever get to where you want to go. It doesn't mean that you're worthless, it doesn't mean that you don't have a future, it doesn't mean that your potential is ruined, it doesn't mean because Plan A doesn't work out that Plan B isn't a thousand times better. Just giving people the space to be human without the expectation of perfection," said Haglund.