Miss USA Olivia Jordan: What It's Really Like to Compete for Miss Universe

Olivia Jordan after winning Miss USA in July.

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When the Miss Universe pageant airs tonight, the U.S. will be represented by 27-year-old Oklahoman Olivia Jordan, who has been traveling the country sporting her white sash and gleaming smile ever since winning the title of Miss USA in July. She is now in Las Vegas, where 80 women from all over the world have been holed up at Planet Hollywood for the past 20 days getting ready for tonight. Olivia spoke to Cosmopolitan.com earlier this month about Vegas buffets, interview prep, and all those sequin dresses.

Walk me through what the last couple of days have been like for you. It's early, so it's not crazy yet, but I'm sure after 20 days that it's a long journey to be under high security and not on your own schedule and long days and short nights. It's funny, none of us even really know what time of day it is. We've been indoors since we checked in. At 3 o'clock it feels like 8 a.m. We're like, "What time is it? Where are we?"

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What did you bring with you to the competition? I brought about six suitcases of luggage, which includes a lot of different sequins dresses — more sequins dresses than I have worn in my lifetime for these three weeks of my life. I think I have seven dresses that include beading and sequins and probably more than 30 dresses in all. Daywear, rehearsal wear, workout clothes, and pajamas. So it's a lot of stuff. I always bring a journal when I come. This year, I brought The Power of Now. I have my meditation on my phone. It's the balance of all the craziness of this world and finding the quiet moments to reconnect with yourself and stay true to yourself. You don't want to get wrapped up in all of the hoopla of Vegas and the competition and lose your serenity during your time here. When you get to the final stage, you need to be stress-free and enjoy the moment.

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How tough is that to manage all of that stress? It's been like a life progression for me but I am a lot better at this now than I used to be. I started pageants three years ago. I just try to enjoy every moment and really be present because it's such a special time. It's unusual to have women from all over the world together in a room to talk about the different issues that we're dealing with in our countries, the different issues we deal with as women and how we have overcome those. We're all passionate people following our dreams and that's a magical thing be proud of.

I can't believe you've only been doing this for three years. There are a lot of girls here that this their second pageant ever. The first pageant they won was their country. In the U.S., you have to win your state first and then you have to win Miss USA, and then you go on to Miss Universe. There are also girls that have been doing this since they were 3 years old.