Pia Wurtzbach on tackling obstacles before her main character era

June 9 ------ This year marks a decade since Pia Wurtzbach broke a 42-year title drought for the Philippines in the Miss Universe pageant, becoming the third Filipino woman to bring home the crown. But before she was able to attain “main character” status, she had to hurdle a lot of obstacle along her way.

Looking back on her journey to glory, the beauty queen imparted a great deal of wisdom that she has gained on her way to the historic win, and even beyond her reign. “Before you become the best, everybody starts from zero, everybody starts from scratch. And we’ve all started as beginners, as dreamers na hindi pa talaga natin sigurado kung para sa amin ba talaga ito,” Wurtzbach said at the launch of the “Bida Best, Bida Pinoy” campaign of a Filipino fast-food giant held at Whitespace in Makati City. She was tapped to be the “Bida Puso” (winning heart) ambassador for the campaign, channeling her winning Miss Universe answer of being “confidently beautiful with a heart.”

Also among the roster of ambassadors are the first Filipino Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz as “Bida Lakas” (winning strength) ambassador, Olympic pole vaulter EJ Obiena as “Bida Tapang” (winning courage) ambasador, and two-time Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo as “Bida Husay” (winning skill) ambassador. Wurtzbach said one may not get their desired result right away, but the goal is not easily out of sight if one perseveres. “Sigurado ka sa sarili mo, sa puso mo, sa pangarap mo (You are sure of yourself, of your heart, and of your dream),” she said. Many people are aware that she joined the Binibining Pilipinas pageant three times before she was able to get her ticket to the Miss Universe competiton, and clinch the international crown.

Wurtzbach said she did not want to put to waste all that she had already done on her way to the crown, adn the years she spent working on her dream. “Nag-invest ako ng time, ng pagod, ng atensyon ko dito (I invested my time, work, and attention for this),” she explained. And a decade after winning the coveted crown, the beauty queen said she is not taking it for granted, and expressed her gratitude for having the opportunity to reach more people. “I can get to work with the organizations that I really love. I still work with UNAIDS. I still work with LoveYourself. I still work on my advocacy on HIV and mental health,” Wurtzbach said.

She said many doors opened up for her after her win, and this has given her more resources that allowed her to expand her advocacy work and help more people, years after she has relinquished her crown and has stepped away from the pageant stage. “For me that’s the meaning of ‘bida best.’ You level up, you evolve. And you cannot take your journey for granted,” she said. Now one of the most influential online content creators in the international fashion scene, Wurtzbach tells the people to be open to everything, and have the humility to learn something new. “It is okay to start again, and to evolve. You can still adjust and become even greater,” she shared.

Source: inquirer.net