I just feel like a Filipina, a Filipino woman, and it just so happens that when I was growing up, I was very much an Australian, and I think you can be both.
I was a very quiet, shy child. I just became quite talkative in high school, in Grade 10 onwards.
I was born in Cairns, Queensland. Then my parents and I moved to Sydney. We moved to New Wales. We moved around Australia. I was just really close to my parents, and actually, we moved around a lot when I was very young. I think it played a big part in making me the shy teenager that I was.
I love my parents so much. My day or night is not complete without talking to them - on Skype.
Even if someone does say something negative, it does not give us a reason to retaliate; just take the high road and don't say anything.
I'm constantly trying to redefine what being a beauty queen is.
