On the eve of the Ms. Universe pageant, I
found myself drawn to the whole spectacle. The reason: Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach.
‘Till late in the evening, I watched interviews with and about her, and I
discovered a real person – sweet, hardworking and friendly – behind a face and
figure hailed as the most beautiful in the universe.
Everybody knows her basic story, that she
competed in the Bb. Pilipinas tilt
twice before finally getting the crown in the third try. But it was only that
night that I fully understood and appreciated what that really meant – the
determination, hard work, discipline, sacrifices and even embarrassment that
she endured through the process. And to think that, while at it, there was not
any assurance that she would eventually bag the title. It really must have
taken such faith and steadfast focus on her dream.
And in fact, it all started with a childhood
dream. Watching the pageant with her mom when she was young, emulating how the
contestants sashayed, dress up and make their faces, and imagining that she
would one day walk their walk, bred her dream to be Ms. Universe someday.
But it wasn’t going to be that easy. I
learned that for a time, she was the family’s breadwinner. And because of this,
her dream of being a beauty queen had to be set aside because she couldn’t stop
working. And then she finally found the opportunity to give her dream a try,
but sadly, failed. So she tried again. And again. This time she made it and
then she made history by becoming, in her own words, the most popular Ms.
Universe.
In the end, it wasn’t just Ms. Steve
Harley’s gaffe that would make her famous. It was because she took her title as
Ms. Universe seriously, and made sure her reign would make a difference not
just for herself, but for the people whose lives she touched, the organization
behind her success whom she inspired, and a country that she brought to the
world’s notice. It was during this stage, when she showed her love and care for
them all, that she proved herself a real queen, a confidently beautiful queen,
with a heart.
Queen
Pia’s success story taught me many lessons, especially that of holding on to
your dream. One has to keep working, trying, striving, because dreams have a
way of coming true. And when they do, then it becomes time to show worthiness
by giving meaning to the dream.