How pageantry affected my body image... one year later.

It’s been over a year since I walked the Miss Universe Philippines stage — a dream that took an abolished height requirement to achieve. While getting through the competition was a challenge and gift on its own, the months that followed were more grueling.

What happens when you spend two months getting told you’re still too big at the peak of your physique? What happens when the features you love are called opportunities for plastic surgery? What happens when your photos are collaged every day next to women you admire? What happens when everything you know about confidence and self-love are tested in a public arena?

Where will you find yourself then?

In this YouTube video, I talk about my body image recovery, a year since the pageant of my dreams.