Reilly Bauer aspires to be an actress. The Panther Valley eighth-grader loves taking pictures, singing and Disney movies.

For the past two years, she's taken up pageantry as a way to build her confidence while performing in front of people.Reilly is also autistic, but she doesn't let her diagnosis define her.Thanks to a unique pageant program, Miss Amazing, Bauer gets to participate in a pageant that both challenges and embraces girls and women with special needs."It feels really magical, especially when people clap for you. Because it's like 'this is my dream,' " Bauer said.There are eight divisions for girls and women of all ages, starting at age 5.For two years, Reilly has qualified for the national Miss Amazing pageant because of her success at the state pageant. This week, she and her mother, Colleen, are traveling to Chicago to compete against dozens of other girls who also long to be on stage.Miss Amazing has four events, not unlike other pageants, but participants get to choose three. There's an interview, introduction, evening wear and talent showcase.Reilly loves to sing, so the talent is her favorite."My favorite part of doing pageants would have to be making new friends and definitely the talent portion. That's really fun," she said.This year, she chose the song "This Is Me," sung by Demi Lovato in the movie "Camp Rock."The song is about an aspiring star grappling with shyness."That really meant so much to me because that's, I want to be famous, but I am shy," she said.The entry fee for a local Miss Amazing pageant is very reasonable - five cans of food, which are donated to charity.But traveling to Nationals can be costly. For Reilly's trip, the pageantry is the easy part. Reilly and her mom have been working hard this summer to raise money to fund their travel."We did maybe 10 bake sales. We did a T-shirt sale, a spaghetti dinner, a pancake breakfast, we sold candles," Reilly said.The trip will surely add another level of confidence to a special girl who dreams of appearing on stage some day. Reilly says she's already learned so much from the program."I have more confidence than I did 3 years ago, and I learned that it's OK to be yourself," She said.For more information about Miss Amazing, visit missamazing.org.