US native discusses pageant coming to Dubai and why she’s passionate about teen issues
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#MissTeenUniverse #bullying #beautypageants
See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos
Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
#MissTeenUniverse #bullying #beautypageants
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00:00Oh yes, for everybody. Any girl could be the next Miss Teen Universe.
00:03So, you know, I would encourage as many people as possible to join.
00:15I am honestly so grateful for this huge blessing in my life.
00:18It has completely changed my life already in such a short time.
00:22And there's already so many things going on, so many projects.
00:26And I have to say I am very grateful and excited.
00:30Well, something not a lot of people know is that I love to design.
00:35I love designing. I love to draw.
00:37And a fun fact about that is that I am actually self-taught.
00:41So, you know, it's something that I really, really do enjoy.
00:44And actually, for every pageant I have done,
00:46I design my own evening gowns and then wear them on the final night.
00:52Actually, when I first started, I had no idea about pageants.
00:55I had no idea about modeling.
00:58Actually, it was a person who really inspired me.
01:01She's the owner of a dress store in McAllen, where I live.
01:05And so she said, you should join my pageant.
01:08And I thought, I've never modeled before.
01:10I have no idea what I'm going to do.
01:12But, you know, I'll just give it my 100% and see what happens.
01:15So then from there, I started.
01:17I joined another one and another one.
01:18And here I am today.
01:22I think what's really common in teens nowadays
01:25and something that's really going on a lot is bullying.
01:28I see this happening all the time in schools and pretty much everywhere.
01:33This is something I actually went through in school.
01:35And, you know, it was a very hard experience for me
01:38because it was something that really did make me insecure at that time.
01:42So then after that, I started doing homeschool.
01:45And, you know, a while later, I joined my first pageant.
01:49I think everything happens for a reason.
01:52And today I look back at it and think,
01:54OK, no, it's OK, because that experience did make me stronger.
01:58It made me who I am today.
01:59And because I started homeschool, I started pageants.
02:02So, you know, I'm grateful for everything.
02:07They were so excited and so grateful.
02:10I think they got just as excited as I did
02:13because, you know, they've been with me this whole journey.
02:15They know when I started, how I started.
02:18And I remember when I first started,
02:19I never thought I could be Miss Teen Universe in just one year.
02:23So that is a big deal for my family and my team, also my team,
02:27my makeup artist, my photographer.
02:29They're all so, so excited.
02:33Definitely always, no matter what, always believe in yourself
02:36because if you don't believe in yourself,
02:39you know, it's things get so, so much harder.
02:42Like when before, when I used to not really believe in myself,
02:46I was very insecure.
02:47I felt like I couldn't accomplish anything.
02:49But today, after my first pageant is where I proved to myself
02:53what I'm capable of doing.
02:55And so definitely always believe in yourself
02:58and no matter what anybody else tells you.
03:04It's been a great experience.
03:05This is actually my first time in Dubai.
03:07I was going to be here in summer,
03:09but, you know, due to the virus, everything got cancelled.
03:12But I am very grateful to be here.
03:14Actually, Josh was telling me the weather is way better
03:16at this time than in summer.
03:19So I think it's pretty great that the dates did move.
03:22And especially being here as Miss Teen Universe
03:25just makes me so happy.
03:29Being Miss Teen Universe is a huge blessing,
03:31but also a huge responsibility
03:33because you're an inspiration to many, many people around the world.
03:38And that is honestly a privilege.
03:41I feel very, very blessed because, you know, as I was growing up,
03:45well, as we are growing up, you always admire somebody.
03:48You always look up to someone.
03:50So it makes me very happy to be that person.