What do you take pride in? Is it your current status in life? Your money in the bank? Your number of friends? Your family’s completeness? The love of your pet? What?
We take pride in different things and different aspects of our life. Its not in the culture, neither is it in the upbringing, but its what the heart feels. Sometimes, ‘pride’ is a very negative word, but there are also those times when ‘pride’ brings you to greater glory and service to God.
Personally, I take pride in doing what I love to do the most. I take pride in my work–not its current status, but the happiness and fulfillment I get from doing it. I take pride in my sense of responsibility and my overwhelming love for those who love me. At the end of the day, it’s what keeps me going.
What about being beautiful? and/or smart? Its a big question. Sometimes easy enough to answer, but not everyone has the opportunity or gift to be beautiful and smart at the same time.
How beauty can be poisonous
A couple of weeks back, the last beauty pageant made a very boisterous clamor about one of its winners. I remember, my sisters were watching it until they fell asleep.. while I, kept on working on my projects until early dawn. Yep, I saw and heard the blunder live with my whole morality and consciousness still in its peak. I tell you now, it was horror that very minute.
I laughed my heart out after that. I said to myself.. "..that girl will never win".. and I was wrong! My goodness, I was wrong!
At that very moment, when I saw her marching down the center of the stage, emerging as the last three women standing, I was shocked, distressed and disappointed. How it possibly ever happen that such annoyingly trivial answer could’ve saved her? Are the judges that credible enough to mark the reign of the new queens?? Or is it another political arrangement? I can’t help but wonder.
The day after, she’s been on the television, newspapers and even on the radio. There were even a couple of friends, celebrities, etc. who tried to justify her rendered statements that night. I didn’t buy them all. It was a shame. Though this was the case, I said to myself that "maybe it couldn’t be helped".
It could’ve been ‘both’?
A couple of days earlier, I was watching TV while having dinner with the family. I catched a glimpse of the upcoming interview of Jessica Soho with that controversial lady. She was all prepped up in her gown and crown again as was the last time. She was smiling proudly and very happy to be Ms. Soho’s interviewee that night. She was pitched in one simple question. One question, yet something went wrong again.
"If you were to choose, what would you rather have? Beauty or brain?" - interviewer
"Same." - interviewee
I couldn’t have possibly thought that it would happen again to her! Of course, the answer could’ve been "both".
Sorry for the mess
Beauty queens are of essential materials. Some are even the most beautiful and smartest women of the Philippines. Others became celebrities, while others remained in their private lives after winning the pride of the crown.
A pageant is an outlet for display of skills, beauty and elegance. Up to a certain extent, it is a sport in a field of female subtle competition. The arena is the stage. I give my hats off to those who have proven their skeptical audiences that they are females who have good brain between their shoulders. They are women who have eventually brought the Philippines into the limelight in this aspect.
We know couple of women who won as Ms. Universe. I really like Sushmita Sen back then. It makes me want, envy those individuals who shine above the rest by exhibiting all they’ve got, and using their talent, gifts and skills to the fullest to bring their country up to the front row of attention.
To the general audience, and maybe even to the judges of our beauty pageants.. maybe we ought to think about our criteria, our standard of pride, talent and beauty.. so that in the end we may not feel sorry for the mess.
..IMHO