MAKING IT MATTER
Striking and full of stirring substance, Kylie Verzosa shatters every possible beauty queen preconceptions to reveal a modern realization that is unapologetically all just her
There is calm even in the way she tucks her hair behind her ear; an unruffled presence that stays even after she leaves. Disconcertment arises when people look at you straight in the eye, but there is serenity in her gaze as her almond eyes pierce through yours. A tranquil spirit is usually mistaken for an apathetic one; one far removed from the challenges of the day-to-day. But like any good stereotype, there is an exception. Miss International 2016 Kylie Verzosa may have a soothing charisma where supposed indifference strings along, but the moment she speaks, walks and takes center stage, there is a subtle strength and substance so natural it’s almost metaphysical.
When asked what’s it like being a beauty queen expected to carry a title with such unidentifiable grace, she replies, “We have the responsibility to carry it as boldly and as bravely as possible and to remain true to ourselves.”
“I’d like to believe I’m doing it well. I’m staying true to myself. I don’t go through this alone. I get a lot of help from my parents, people I get advice from. No man can stand alone. I have an entire support system that I stay on top of their shoulders of.”
The repeated acknowledgment of other people’s support tell you that there is more to Kylie than wanting to be the face of a title. She has reiterated the help she’s gotten from the people around her, not only now that she’s a title holder, but also even before she was in the limelight; a time when she was going through the deepest of self-doubts.
“There are the steps I took. I sought for proper treatment, proper help and I survived it without medication,” she recalls.
LET’S TALK
As someone who’s experienced depression herself, it may have seemed easy to be making it her advocacy. But the journey towards her being heard wasn’t a walk in the park.
“When I joined Binibini, they asked me what my advocacy was. So I said I want to talk about mental health and then they said, ‘Why?’ They said, ‘No, it’s not a happy advocacy.’”
Not to be deterred, she joined Binibini the next year and still pushed for the cause she can very well talk about in her sleep.
“The next year I joined, I did speak about mental health and even after winning Miss International, they asked me what my advocacy was and I said mental health and they said, ‘No don’t do that, it’s not the popular one, you should stick to women and children; to something more tangible.”
“And I said is this something flawed in our system? For example, politicians choose these tangible things because they’re more seen. But is that really the reason for their cause and are they really passionate about it?”
It is this kind of questioning that permits impactful change. When citizens know how to think and not only what to think, they are empowering themselves to act and push for systemic change. Kylie’s rigor to bring forth these issues is certainly not an easy trail. But she has ability to see the bigger picture; to quickly realize that every conversation she engages in, no matter how difficult, is a brick that will support another brick to form a solid foundation.
The first brick simply started with a story. “I shared a story and that was difficult for me. It’s hard to open up especially that I’m a private person. So with me opening up, it’s helped so much. It didn’t only help me, but it was able to relieve others as well. People were able to relate to it so they were able to heal themselves also. With me speaking up, they were able to see ‘Oh, I guess it is okay. It’s okay to feel this way; to feel down or low. She did it so maybe it’s okay.’ That was the whole point of me opening up.”
“WHO SOMEONE HAS INFLUENCE IS SOMEONE WHO GIVES VALUE TO PEOPLE
MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS
Her individual conversations with people around her started to grow bigger and bigger. As she took on the Miss International reign, her advocacy was highlighted even more, rapidly shedding light to an issue that is often talked about and thrown around but rarely understood.
Being the goal-oriented person that she is, she knew that it wasn’t just about the big speaking engagements that will further her cause, she knew she needed a tool for her to personally and actively help and reach out to people who are suffering in silence.
On March, she launched a Facebook page called Mental Health Matters by Kylie Verzosa. It has now reached 4000+ likes in the span of two months —all the more fortifying her grit to represent people who would otherwise ignore the very real problem of mental illness because of stigma.
Through various efforts from organizations and influential individuals, the issue of mental health was brought to the surface and slightly normalized in the recent years, especially in Western countries. In the Philippines, however, it wasn’t until a year or two years ago that conversations around it were being heard. We have this notion that mental health is not a problem of developing countries as we have children to feed and traffic to solve.
“That’s a misconception. Mental health is for everyone. It could affect anyone of any class, any status of a person,” retorts Kylie, strongly.
“For example, addiction, which is a problem even to the upper class of people, can be a coping mechanism and that’s related to mental health. They don’t address the root of the
problem so they call it addiction, so in turn it becomes a vicious cycle. When something bad happens and they can’t accept it—and that’s a mental health problem—so they turn to drugs or alcohol and get addicted.”
THE LEGACY
With such a strong message that comes with her title, people may be quick to conclude that the message could simmer down as he reign will draw to an eventual close. It is a natural closing of a chapter, but Kylie, the hardheaded big dreamer, cannot be stopped.
“I’ve gotten some comments that maybe ‘you’re so high strung’ but if I’m not pushing for it who will? Who will bring the Miss International name? Who will talk about this?” she volubly asks.
Kylie knows she is in the position to influence people; that she has an audience ready to hear her speak and while this knowledge may easily get to the head, this opportunity is something she doesn’t take for granted. “Someone who has influence is someone who gives value to people. Someone who adds value to their lives,” she says.
For the casual spectator of pageants, these events merely seem like a competition for the most physically gifted female, but for titleholders like Kylie Verzosa, whose message and cause echo far and wide, represent the depth and dimension not only of a beauty queen, but also of a woman who wants to matter and will stop at nothingto make it happen.