MANILA, Philippines –  Four years since after winning the Miss International crown for the Philippines, Kylie Verzosa still possesses a queenly aura, even if she’s moved on to other ventures such as acting and her work as a mental health advocate.

Speaking at the Women 2020 Summit at the Samsung Hall in SM Aura on March 5, Kylie went personal as she spoke about her journey in Binibini, the stigma attached to being a beauty queen, and finding herself after relinquishing the crown.

“I found myself in pageantry and I started a career there and I will be forever grateful. But behind those stigmas, there are many realizations that I had along the way. I kept asking myself and even as a little girl, what I wanted to do. And ultimately, what I wanted to do is to help other people,” she said.

Miss International 2016 Kylie Versoza starts off her talk by discussing the stigma and assumptions surrounding pageantry. She shares that her foray into pageantry led to a lot of learnings and shows that the beauty contests are beyond just the looks. #Women2020 pic.twitter.com/CiaYiEzJZW

— MovePH (@MovePH) March 5, 2020

Here are some of the lessons she’s learned from her time in the pageant world: 

1. Success starts within. The first time she joined Binibini, she was up against beautiful – and experienced – women from all over the country. 

“Here, I was a newbie lacking in confidence. I knew I could win but I lacked confidence,” she said. “That year, I lost and many girls asked me: How do I build confidence? But I believe that success comes with confidence and confidence comes with preparation.”

2. Action cures fear. “Always do something with your goal,” Kylie said as she shared some examples of her fears – embarrassment because of physical appearance, fear of losing an important customer, fear of making investments or even meeting people.

Behind those fears are actions, said Kylie. “Isolate your fear, pin it down and take action Hesitation only enlarges, magnifies the fear so take action and be decisive,” she said.

3. Take an unconquerable stand for your dreams. Kylie focused on sacrifice, saying: “I always had an end in mind, everything I did was to achieve my goal and for me at that moment was the crown.” 

4. What you do in private determines your success. “Create a private life strong in ethics, rich with marvelous beauty, and unyielding when it comes to protection of your inner peace,” Kylie told the audience.

“So what do you in private, what are your daily habits? For example, you are a culmination of everything that you read, the movies you watch, the music that you listen to. You are everything that you surround yourself with.”

5. Find your core team. A strong support system is something that Kylie says is very important. “These are the people that you surround yourself with, that lift you when you’re tired. Your family, your friends. In my case, it was my mentors.”

Talking about Women’s Month, Kylie said: “I surrounded myself with women who I wanted to be like and members of the LGBTQ+ community. You are the reason why I am the woman that I am today.”

6. Embrace failure. “When you feel like surrendering, continue. Triumph loves the relentless,” Kylie said.

“I believe that pain is the doorway to the deep but failure builds your fire, develops your hunger. To get here, I lost my first pageant but decided to swallow my pride and join again. With every challenge comes the gorgeous opportunity to rise into the next level to be a great leader, performer, and human being. And I believe that failure is just growth in wolf’s clothing.”

7. Cultivate a big thinker’s approach. Kylie said: “Don’t ever sell yourself short. A lot of women do this and sometimes I myself am guilty of this. Conquer the crime of self implication, putting yourself down.” 

“Concentrate on your assets to be better than you think you are.” 

8. Celebrate victories big or small. For Kylie, it was long journey to get to where she is. Because of that, she cherishes every small accomplishment. 

“It took me years, 4 years to win the crown, 4 years of series of small victories in this case surrounding myself with women that lift me up. I carry on these lessons with me as I go through life whether it’s trying to reach a goal and sometimes when I do get lost, I go back to where I started.” – Rappler.com