I work a lot in the slums of Tondo, Manila, and the life there is poor and very sad. And I've always taught to myself to look for the beauty of it and look in the beauty of the faces of the children and to be grateful.

Seeing lights being put up along the street and these colored lanterns called parols being put up at people's houses makes Christmas in Philippines magical.

I work a lot in the slums of Tondo, Manila, and the life there is poor and very sad. And I've always taught to myself to look for the beauty of it and look in the beauty of the faces of the children and to be grateful.

Philippines, what an amazing honor it has been to carry your name across my chest and to embody you in all aspects.

My strength is that I'm an empath.

I'm constantly trying to redefine what being a beauty queen is.

When I was 13, my mom said she had a dream that I would win Miss Universe in a red dress.

Even though my label is that of a beauty queen, I'm not going to limit myself to that, just because that's my title.

My dad is 20 years older than my mom. Growing up, I felt like he knew everything. I felt like, for every question I had, he had an answer.

If I could teach people to be grateful, we could have an amazing world where negativity could not grow and foster, and children would have a smile on their face.