Pia Wurtzbach opens up about being a breadwinner at the age of 11

Pia then gave her advise for people who are still on their way to achieving their dreams, saying age is not a hindrance.

“What I have learned is that whatever you achieve is a result of your hard work – age is not a barrier. Confidence is something that you work on – it doesn’t come overnight. It did not happen to me overnight. It took me a long time to realize that I was beautiful because I was rejected, chosen by the judges as a runner up, chosen to be a loser and I eventually found that confidence to live my dream being fearless at any age.”

My parents separated when I was 9 years old and by 11, I was the breadwinner for my family. I faced a lot of rejections – either due to my looks or that I was too tall to be paired with anyone. I tried many things including being a waitress, culinary arts and finally realized that my passion was in beauty pageants. I started with Binibining Pilipinas in 2013, my very first pageant, where among the 50 candidates I was the 1st runner up but I didn’t receive any crown. In 2014, I was just in the top 15 – I went home with nothing. This was tough to take in as there were also other younger participants but I did not give up. Every morning I would look in the mirror and say to myself that ‘I am Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach and I am Ms. Universe 2015’. This was my dream and I was going to get it irrespective of my age. During the pageant night, I did my own hair and make-up and also chose the color of my gown – blue. I may not be the most beautiful among all the candidates but I was fearless – I had the confidence that the judges saw and they chose me. What I have learned is that whatever you achieve is a result of your hard work – age is not a barrier. Confidence is something that you work on – it doesn’t come overnight. It did not happen to me overnight. It took me a long time to realize that I was beautiful because I was rejected, chosen by the judges as a runner up, chosen to be a loser and I eventually found that confidence to live my dream being fearless at any age. #FearlessAtAnyAge #Olay Watch the full video. Link in my bio.

A post shared by Pia Wurtzbach (@piawurtzbach) on Jul 24, 2018 at 7:00pm PDT

Pia is the third Filipina to be crowned as Miss Universe.

(Photo source: Instagram – @piawurtzbach)

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