The crown that changed my life

A year before my reign, I was just an ordinary member of the audience who was awed with the fantastic turnout of the Miss Cebu 2006 search.

However, little did I know that watching the girls dance to a remarkable production number and parading in their glamorous gowns would turn out to be a life-turning experience for me. Silently, I found myself doing something I never thought I would: I vowed to myself that I'll join the next Miss Cebu search!

At first I wanted to join the said pageant because of the promise of a unique experience. I wanted to simply enjoy the benefits and the exposure. But after passing through a rigorous screening process a jolting thought ran across my mind: am I really ready for this? I kept thinking about the realities of what I was currently going through, and the more I thought about it, the more unsure I became about pursuing the rest of the pageant's preliminary search.

I shared this to a very good friend of mine who gave me this advice, "For you to shine and make others notice your presence, you must be highly motivated. Thinking of the difference you can make in the lives of the people of Cebu and believing that God will always be with you should be more than enough to make you a winner."

It was then when my interest of the pageant grew from a personal level to higher degree of significance. I dedicated my efforts to God and to the rest of the Cebuanos. On pageant night, I could easily feel tension building up inside me, melting me like fire to ice. Like most everyone I guess, I, too, had my share of butterflies in my stomach.

But, I think what gave me the serenity and calm to weather through the unpredictable events of the night was my deep faith in in the power of prayers. With my spirituality being one of my biggest strengths, I believe God gave me the grace to carry myself well on stage, and the wisdom to display my wit during the Q&A. I honestly believe He gave me my crown.

One cannot join a pageant as prestigious as the Miss Cebu without her life being left unchanged. From the moment I was proclaimed as the new Miss Cebu, I knew things will be totally different from thereon. Opportunity wise, wearing the Ms. Cebu crown presented a lot for me already. I have gained not only experiences and friends but I have also learned deep insights about things, which I would have normally just ignored. Likewise, I continue to reap benefits and joys from the whole experience and I know that this journey I am taking right now as Ms. Cebu will be a memory that will last forever.

Although I now have reached great heights (far greater than I initially imagined), I will still live according to the values and principles that have guided me even as a child. I know that I will remain the same person that I am, the same Loise that my family and friends know. For only in consistency of substance and form will I expect to be not just better, but to try to be the best-the best of what, and who, I can still be!

My only wish today is that I hope I will be able to leave my significant mark to my fellow Cebuanos and Cebuanas, that not only have I conquered the stage in Waterfront Hotel, but that hopefully, I would also be able to touch the lives of countless others during my reign.