The blossoming of Mia

CEBU, Philippines - After just stepping down as Cebu’s beauty ambassadress and turning over her crown to another Communication major like herself, Mia Zeeba Ali Faridoon is looking forward to being the one conducting interviews this time, than being the subject of a handful of interviews like in the past year. Not that she didn’t relish her moments in the limelight, but this beauty queen is a dedicated student and aspiring journalist first and foremost.

Once she graduates from UP-Cebu soon, the 20-year-old hopes to nab a job as a TV or newspaper correspondent, or maybe both. "My internships and exposure as Miss Cebu has all the more motivated me to pursue my dream to be a media practitioner. I realized that what I enjoyed more was being the one who does the interview than being interviewed. There is sense of fulfillment in delivering information to the people."

Before she won the title, Mia clearly recalls her awkward and shy persona. What helped her get through all the social functions and interactions with VIPs on one end and ordinary folk on the other was her eagerness to learn and experience new things that Miss Cebu had to uncover.

"After a year, I have become comfortable being a beauty queen. I have grown through the people I have met and dealt from both activities in the city and the travels abroad," says Mia, whose weekly stint as host in ABS-CBN Cebu’s Sunday variety-game show "Kapamilya Mas Winner Ka!" is proof that she has totally come out of her shell.

It is with great pride for Mia to report how she and her court actively took part in Cebu City’s beautification project, clean-up drives of our coastal areas and in the summer workshop for street children, among other noteworthy endeavors.

Their efforts were aptly rewarded by the travel perks that come with the crown. Without doubt, the trip abroad with her runners-up is what she considers the best part of her reign as she had the opportunity to visit new places and encounter new people, which in turn helped shape her perspective of the world.

Mia muses, "It is memorable to note the life experiences of the Filipinos abroad when I met them during my travel. Despite the harsh living conditions and being away from their homeland, they were able to find their way up and excel in their fields. Their success did not blind them to just enjoy what they have because they find ways on helping back Filipinos here by giving out scholarships for the underprivileged."

Bonding with the girls was also one thing she will forever cherish. The activities they had to attend together kept them close, but it is their matching personalities that Mia gives the most credit to. And rosy things are definitely looking up for all five of them: While her first runner-up Teffanie Llamada and fourth runner-up Aiko Serrano are pursuing their chosen professions here in Cebu, third runner-up Rosemary Gore is training for the US Navy and second runner-up Vanessa Amman is kept busy with modeling projects in Manila.

It wasn’t all glamour though for this half-Bahraini. As a college senior, Mia had to work doubly hard to balance her duties as student scholar and Miss Cebu. Choosing between those two priorities when schedules clashed is what she deems the most challenging aspect she had to deal with.

When things got tougher than usual, Mia kept herself grounded and always found wisdom in her mom’s constant reminder that "I have a lot to thank God for everything that has come to me. It has come from Him and the people around me such that all the credit that goes to me is rooted from them."

One advice she’d like to impart to the newly-proclaimed winner, Miss Cebu 2012 Pierre Anther Infante? "Treasure every moment you have as Miss Cebu. Before you know it, a year has passed and it would be great to spend time remembering all the efforts you did for Cebu."