I am Jewish. I wear glasses. I am bisexual -- and I'm the Rose Queen

I had to be fitted for a crown. Not the Halloween costume kind — this one is covered in cultured pearls and pave diamonds and comes with its own security detail. Apparently every queen needs one, and I am Queen Louise.

This whole experience began as a lark. My friend and I lined up with the other thousand applicants interviewing for the Tournament of Roses Royal Court in Pasadena because we wanted the two complimentary tickets to the Royal Ball that came with applying.

I don’t consider myself the royal type. I tend to trip down stairs rather than glide, and I might choose a good game of Scrabble over a palace ball. I didn’t even have much of a princess phase as a child — more backyard mud pies than dress-up tea parties. Yet, improbably, on New Year’s morning, I will take my place in the Rose Parade among a group of young women in gowns and crowns, waving from a flower-adorned float, as the 101st Rose Queen.

The first interview round was brief — I stood before a panel of 11 judges in white suits and explained why I wanted to be on the Royal Court. I told them that I was a future scientist, and that “it would be a great honor and privilege to represent the Tournament of Roses, my hometown of Pasadena and Southern California to the world.”

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-siskel-rose-queen-20181231-story.html