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MISS CHICAGO'S OUTSTANDING TEEN
BY MARIAH STEVENS AND JAILA MABRY, COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 218, OAKLAWN, IL At only age 13, Eden Wilson is already a very accomplished young lady. She has won many awards for her entrepreneurship, done numerous interviews, and was the youngest person to be crowned 2020 Miss Chicago's Outstanding Teen.
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“It felt very surreal,” the teen said about the first pageant she entered but had no expectation of winning. The win excited her because she can now talk more about her platform. With losing her grandfather to prostate cancer, she has decided that it is her purpose to inspire young girls and women to encourage the men in their lives to see a doctor regularly.
¨People don’t talk about difficult subjects then people die. And if a 13-year-old can talk about [prostate cancer], a 40-year-old can talk about it to their doctor,” Wilson said. She plans to post YouTube videos on her channel “Lemonerdy” promoting better health habits, going to doctors, living a healthier lifestyle, exercise, and eating healthier to lower the risk. While cancer awareness is important to Wilson, in 2015 she had the chance to show off her knowledge as a contestant on Season 1 of Lifetime Networks “Child Genius.” She competed for a cash prize while being tested on various subjects like mathematics, history, and astronomy. Wilson enjoyed the experience, but she felt the show was too much pressure for her. “Reality TV is not for everyone. They pressure you and cut everything to make things seem more dramatic. And it's overall really stressful. It's just not for me,” Wilson said.
Not only does she excel in school and pageants, Wilson also has a passion for writing, coding, and most importantly gymnastics. Wilson said she was inspired by her parents—her mother had written a lot of stories and her father had a coding app called Scratch on his tablet. Two years ago, Wilson became involved with gymnastics and skipped from level 5 to level 7 and was regional champion twice. In the near future Wilson sees herself expanding in her gymnastics career. She also plans to continue encouraging men to see a doctor regularly. Wilson has so much more to offer so stay tuned for her next accomplishment!
