By Scott Buttram
TRUSSVILLE –It’s been a whirlwind of a year for Trussville’s Taylor Elliott and tonight she has a chance for a crowning achievement.
In the last 12 months, Elliott has been crowned Miss Teen Alabama USA, graduated from Hewitt-Trussville High School where she ranked 16th in her class with a 4.2 GPA. , and been diagnosed with Vitiligo. Despite a busy year, Saturday night she’ll be focused only on one thing; being named Miss Teen USA.
Staying busy, though, is a way of life for Elliott. In high school, she served as event event chair for The Service Association, was on the Senior Homecoming Court and a member of the National Honor Society and the Engineering Academy.
One thing that hasn’t slowed her down is the recent diagnosis of Vitiligo.
In a recent blog post by Elliott, which was published in The Trussville Tribune, the teenage said a million thing ran through her head upon hearing the news.
“How quickly would it spread? What would people think of me? How do I make it stop? The truth is – there isn’t anything that can stop of the process of vitiligo.”
“During my time reigning as Miss Alabama Teen USA, I have spent a lot of time telling girls that their outer appearance isn’t what defines beauty – that true beauty is more than just skin deep,” Elloitt wrote. “Now is the time for me to prove that I actually believe it.”
Reaching this point has been a journey for the Trussville teenager. Elliott had competed for Miss Alabama Teen USA four times, winning in her last opportunity before heading off the college this Fall.
Elliott is the daughter of Marianne and Brian Elliott and the oldest of their four children.
The preliminaries took place Friday evening and the finalists will be announced Saturday night. The pageant will be live streamed at MissTeenUSA.com beginning at 7 p.m.