Musings for Miss World 2013

Newly-crowned Miss World 2013 Megan Young acknowledges the crowd during a motorcade at the financial district of Makati city, east of Manila, Philippines, Oct. 11, 2013. Young bested 126 other beauty contestants from around the world to become the first Filipino to win the title in a beauty pageant in Bali, Indonesia. (Photo : AP/NEWSis)

Miss World 2013, Miss Philippines! The announcement echoed like a giant wave towards me, while I gazed transfixed in front of the TV. It was the Miss World Pageant beamed live from Bali, Indonesia last September 28, 2013. Screaming my heart out, I felt like I was the one sashaying down the stage. I felt like I was being crowned. Everyone had high expectations with our Ms. World bet, Ms. Megan Lynne Young, but everyone was still ecstatic when her name was finally announced. Imagine, she was the first Filipina crowned as one of the most beautiful women in the world!

Memory cells suddenly went overtime. I made a new Indonesian journalist friend during the recent Asian Journalists Cultural Forum in South Korea. On the last day of the forum, he was a bit agitated. Protests were brewing back home, precisely because of the Miss World Pageant was being hosted by Indonesia. He had to rush back home to cover the events – not only the pageant, but the protests as well. I told him that I felt confident that his government and the organizers would settle the tense situation. And I teased him that we might bring home the crown.

After a few days, everything was going electric with excitement back in Manila. Filipinos are generally eager and animated fans of beauty contests. You could actually feel the nervousness and thrill of audiences. Obviously, this particular pageant was especially awaited. It helped a lot that it was being shown live in the same region, with just an hour time zone difference.

Newly crowned Miss World 2013 Megan Young from the Philippines waves as she watches the first NBA preseason game in Pasay, south of Manila, Philippines, Oct. 10, 2013. (Photo : AP/NEWSis)

Whole nation ecstatic

In the run-up to the climax, after the final five was announced, everyone was fidgety about the question-and-answer portion. Afterwards, they started calling out the name of the winners. Then there were only three contestants left. Then there was the final two. And then – Miss World 2013… Miss Philippines! The eruption was ecstatic. I think the whole capital went crazy that night. I know my husband thought I was going crazy at that moment too.

Everyone I talked to had a common comment. We are all very proud of Megan Young. She is deserving of the title and the crown. Coming from a simple family in Olongapo City in Zambales, Ms. Young is the eldest of four siblings. Her parents are Victoria Tayde, a Filipina and Calvin Young, an American. But there is no question that Filipino blood and values shape her personality and outlook on life.

Ms. Young is an actress, model and host. She started joining talent contests and school activities at a young age. Then she got her break by joining a talent search on one of the major television networks. She has no doubt polished her craft with hours of work and dedication, and her professionalism was easily seen in the Miss World contest.

Of course, being in the limelight, one invites criticism and attacks. Being crowned as Miss World has really shown the nastiness of some people against Megan Young in particular and against Filipinos in general. As Filipinas are more known as domestic helpers or “kasambahay,” comments in the online space posted nonsense such as “a domestic helper shouldn’t be crowned as a beauty queen.” Such idiocy only shows how misinformed people are. Anyway, I have no doubt that there are many more kasambahays out there who deserve to be beauty queens.

And this is the real value of Megan Young’s achievement. She has elevated the culture and breeding of Filipinas and all Filipinos. She is another inspiration to all hopefuls, not only Filipinas. She is another messenger of everything that is beautiful, caring, loving and helping. These are not only Filipino values. These are Asian values. These are values of a good and honourable person. And that is what truly counts as beautiful.

Megan Young of the Philippines smiles after being named Miss World 2013, during the grand final of the pageant, in Bali, Indonesia, Sept. 28, 2013. (Photo : AP/NEWSis)

Messenger of Asian values

This honour earned by Megan is a proud achievement for the country. And that means the whole country and for all Filipinos. This improves our image globally, and makes us more proud of what we can contribute to the whole world. It makes every Filipino delighted that we have someone who can represent us and make us stand tall. We will not be – and should not be – arrogant about this win, but will be with more confidence to confront the challenges that we face, both here in our country and in the bigger wide world out there. We proudly associate ourselves with her, and Megan is more than happy to fulfil the role of our ambassador of goodwill.

More importantly, this accomplishment of Megan serves as an inspiration to every woman, not only Filipinas, to persevere more: to be more caring, more nurturing and more devoted to improving one’s self. After all, a person’s inner beauty is as important as one’s external beauty. This is when personal development starts to become the next important step for enhancing the family, the community and the whole nation as well.

To me, this is the true spirit of a beauty pageant: showing individual talents of the contestants, portraying beauty as more than skin-deep, creating a way to elevate beauty as more than a physical measure and weaving those creations into harmony from the person to the whole world.