Miss Texas Teen USA

Kirby Lindley

Age 17 | Cypress | Facebook | Instagram

Inner Joy may be that intangible factor, that subtle but discernable quality, that makes the difference between a beautiful teenage pageant contestant and the radiant winner of Miss Texas Teen USA.  That joy is evident in Kirby Lindley.  At the tender age of eighteen, Kirby has learned some life lessons that elude many an older woman.  She understands that “your beauty on the outside will fade one day and what really matters is who you are on the inside.”

While self-doubt and anxiety about one’s looks are not unique among high school girls, what sets Kirby apart from the typical young woman is that she learned to look outside herself and developed the concern and desire to befriend and help other teenagers.  She says that suicide, eating disorders, and self-harming are enormous problems among kids her age, but that they are totally preventable.  She urges teens to take the focus off themselves and to “reach out to someone who needs a friend.”  Kirby has done just that.  With love, compassion, and prayer, she intervened for her best friend who decided to self-harm.  Her wish is for “every teen in crisis to have an intervening friend.”

Kirby’s heart for children and young people goes far beyond her peer group and her immediate periphery.  Her favorite book is Kisses from Katie, the story of girl, who at eighteen moved from her home in Tennessee to Uganda where she taught, initiated charities, and adopted fourteen daughters.  Inspired by this story and by a friend who goes annually to Zambia, Kirby yearns to go to Africa to work with orphans there.  Already she is the proud sponsor of Justina, an orphan in Zambia, and she longs to meet her in person.   In the spring, Kirby plans to travel on a mission trip to Guatemala where she can’t wait to care for “lots of sweet children!”

Majoring in Communications, Kirby is a freshman at the University of North Texas.  She would like to combine that major with a minor in real estate and marketing to eventually host her own HGTV show.  She enjoys a growing professional modeling career in the Dallas area.  In addition to working with kids and modeling, Kirby enjoys event planning, interior design, sketching, tennis, acting, and singing.

Kirby’s charitable activities reflect her love and concern for people, especially children.  She volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, Reach Unlimited (providing support services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities), Harvest Bible Church, and Buckner International (serving vulnerable children and senior adults, and building “strong families through Christ-centered values”).  Her other clubs and associations include Campus Outreach, Save the Orphans Club, and the National Honor Society.

Kirby says “I don’t try to be anyone else, just the best version of myself!”  Kirby’s year as Miss Texas Teen USA will doubtless afford myriad opportunities for her to reveal her inner joy and beauty and to encourage those in need of a friend.  And of course, she anticipates taking the stage to compete to bring the Miss Teen USA crown to Texas once more.