Living in a society that constantly bombards you with ads about how to have a perfect skin, pearly white teeth, or silky hair, it’s hard not to feel insecure about one’s physical imperfections.
But 20-year-old Evita Delmundo, of Rungus-Filipino descent from Sabah, Malaysia believes otherwise: “[Beauty] is never about perfection,” she said.
Evita was born with a unique condition. Her face and body are filled with moles. Because of this, she had a very difficult childhood. She was often bullied by other kids who called her “Monster” or “Chipsmore” which was difficult for her to deal with. She told Elle, “I was really timid and I shied away as I didn’t know how to deal with it all. In fact, I’ve even asked my dad to come to the school to scold the mean kids!”
Eventually, she was able to learn to accept and love herself after attending a church camp when she was 16 years old. She also overcame her timidity and began to socialize with other people. This, she shared, was the moment she truly started accepting who she was and how she looked.
Yet this young lady just won’t sit around after becoming comfortable with herself. She decided to make a stand and redefine the beauty standards by auditioning for Miss Universe Malaysia. When asked by Elle, why she decided to try out for Miss Universe, Evita answered: “It’s always been a dream for me to try out for Miss Universe Malaysia. I feel like it’s a good way for me to showcase my uniqueness and newfound confidence, and hopefully I can also inspire others. I think my audition went well, so I’m just hoping to get a callback from the organisation soon!”
Whether she makes it through or not, Evita has already inspired thousands of young ladies to accept and celebrate their unique beauty, having almost 50K followers on Instagram. And gives this “beauty-queen-worthy” advice to all the young women out there:
“None of us are born perfect and all of us have our own strengths and weaknesses. So don’t see any of your flaws as a barrier to achieving what you want. At the end of the day, everyone has something special about them, so be proud of whatever makes you ‘you’.”
Way to go, Evita!