A Once In A Lifetime Experience

Hello. I've been away for far too long. Seriously though, school. But now that I'm totally free for summer vacation, I'll get back and catch up with the tons of things that I have to blog about. First things first. The PAGEANT.

The last blog post I did was about the pageant I got forced to join. I didn't have much time to prepare since I was super busy. Didn't even go on a strict diet. This was because I wasn't getting any sleep and therefore compensated with eating. If I didn't, I would probably be terribly ill right now.

So here's how it went.
The Pictorial
 I honestly didn't like my picture. Haha. The pictorial was fun. I was an hour late for it since I still came from Davao City during that day. Didn't even shower. I know. EWWWW.




Store Exposures
We did do store exposures to promote restaurants all over the city. We got free food and it was a great bonding opportunity for the contestants as well. Enjoyed these. Although smiling while eating and being all conscious about the way you eat because of all the cameras is not really my thing, it was an experience.







Closed Door Interview
By far the hardest and most intimidating part of the competition. It was also 25% of our whole score. This is what we truly prepared for. We spent nights conversing with a few of the interview experts in our school who were willing to help us. They went over some dos and donts during the interview. We even practiced as if it was the real thing. We were also asked some possible questions so that we'd be prepared if ever it was asked during the interview.

So we had to come in a closed room. There was a panel there. A psychologist, two nuns, a sociologist and a doctor of philosophy. It was intimidating. All aspects of your personality was questioned and it felt somewhat like I was in a thesis defense, except that I was defending my identity. A true test of individuality, intelligence and character. Some of the contestants broke down and cried. So proud I got it over with. I will do a separate blog post about this. Probably.

Introduction
This was done the night before the talent show. We were introduced for the first time as Official Hiyas 2014 candidates. We wore our college shirts to represent our college and just walked. My walk made headlines though. I stood out. I was the only one without any experience. Compared to them, I was such a pageant noob. Needless to say, when it comes to the catwalk, I sucked. I love how my dress only cost Php50.00. Ukay queen is still present for the pageant.

Talent Show
The talent portion of the pageant composed another 25% of our total score. It was something you had to prepare for. I didn't prepare much though. Just took my violin and played the song "I Believe I Can Fly". Not even a very hard song to play on the violin but it was a choice that I made to have a 'relevance to the theme'. The theme was about success so I found the song appropriate. I am a very rusty violinist. Haven't played for the longest time. It was just right that I took on an easy piece. I just kept the performance simple, no gimmicks to entertain the public. Everyone sang along and it was beautiful. I left the stage happy and completely satisfied with my performance.


Pageant Night

This was the pageant proper. It had three parts, festival attire, sports attire and finally the Filipiniana attire. It was all walk and then talk. I was not excited at all. It was all going to be over soon.

 

Then, the awarding part came. I didn't get any of the pageanty awards. I didn't expect to. My walk was terrible. Haha. I wasn't presentable at all. But I did bag the two major awards. The Best in Closed Door Interview (which I'm very proud of) and the Best in Talent Award. Remember how these two are the comprised the biggest percentage of our total score? And I got them both. I was so proud of myself at that moment. None of the other award matter for me at the moment. Nor did what my actual place would be. I got these awards and that was more than enough for me. 

It was time for the top five to be announced. Having the two major awards, I was confident I'd be in. In I was. I was second to be called. I was glad Donna, the other contestant from our college got in as well. 

It was then time for the final question and answer. I got so thrown because the organizers told us that they'd be reading the question twice: in English and Filipino. They just read it in Filipino. I'm not extremely keen on understanding questions in Filipino. I answered in English. It's inappropriate but I couldn't risk it. I'm more fluent in English. I couldn't remember the question properly but it asked us to choose a color that would embody us. I chose the green. I just remember saying "I choose the color green. It is the color of life, and where there is life, there is growth, when there is growth, there is progress and with progress comes success." I will never forget those words. Hahaha. 

Final Moments

Then it came to the last minutes of the pageant, the announcement of winners. The 4th runner up got called. Candidate number 6. The 3rd runner up got called. Candidate number 7. The final three were me, Donna and Valerie. The three of us are really good friends. Especially since Donna and I are from the same college. 2nd runner up got called. Candidate number 3. And before we knew it, it was only me and Donna left on the stage. Both from the College of Engineering and Technology. We were overwhelmed at the time. So was the CET Foxes who were watching. It didn't matter who won anymore. The winner was from us. Either way, it's a success. 

and the winner waaaaasssssssss..... candidate number 8. Donna won the competition. I hugged her and the crowd went wild. So happy for the foxes. We finally won the pageant again. After many years. I was so happy for Donna and for myself too. Being the first runner up for the first and last pageant that I'll ever join was such an achievement in itself. I couldn't complain really. She also deserved it. 

PICTURE HERE. PICTURE THERE. PICTURE EVERYWHERE. 

Overall, it was a pleasant experience. Although I don't see myself doing it again, like EVER. I was not made for pageants. I'll stick to quizbowls next time. I thank my friends and family for the support. I would have never gotten through Hiyas 2014 without them. 

If you read this lengthy post, thank you very much. Haha.