Firstly, yes, it was completely legal and abiding by the rules of the Miss Singapore Beauty Pageant, so please don’t be xenophobic. 🙂
Secondly, this wonderful Malaysian girl is none other than Jessy Lee. In an interview with WORLD OF BUZZ, Jessy opened up about some of the things she went through during the pageant.
Source: Jessy Lee
For those who are aware of Jessy’s past, you would know that joining a pageant was just not meant for her. As a child, she was often teased and bullied for being overweight.
The torture she endured as kid pushed her into developing eating disorders and she became obsessed with looking thin for quite some time in her life. Thankfully, she is now dieting properly and practises a proper exercise regimen.
“I have been working out daily and had a strict diet – berries or avocado smoothie as breakfast, apple as a snack, broccoli, carrots and eggs are my staple lunch, and my dinner comprises oats and almond flakes with plain yogurt.”
Source: Jessy Lee
The beautiful lass told us that joining a beauty pageant was something she had always wanted to do.
“It is one of my bucket list of mission-almost-impossible given my history. This experience is not something everyone will have and I treasure every bit of this journey, learning that there’s more than just glam to a pageant.”
It all began with her number 1 fan who knew of this life goal. This person literally dragged Jessy all the way to the auditions!
That was when her life of juggling work, exercise and the beauty pageant began. It was a tough time for Jessy but she obviously pulled through pretty well.
“Given my work schedule, I do not have the flexibility to just attend events or training without proper time management.
“My schedule was packed. My day-to-day was: Work, exercise, pageant duties, repeat.”
Source: Jessy Lee
Well, there are loads of negative stereotypes revolving around beauty pageants and its contestants. However, Jessy absolutely proved many of them wrong.
“Being one of the finalists today, I can outright tell you that contestants are challenged mentally and physically.
“You are required to have a good and healthy physique, you must be able to present yourself well, and you need to be educated as well as have a talent.
“And if all that is not enough, you need to be able to withstand cyber-bullying, all while retaining the image of a pageant girl. Literally, you need to be perfect.”
Source: Jessy Lee
Well, we dare say Jessy is pretty much ‘perfect’ alright. This girl graduated from University Malaya with a degree in Economics and works in the Property Investment and Asset Management sector of Sime Darby.
In fact, Sime Darby actually sponsored her undergraduate studies. Obviously, such a massive company like that wouldn’t have blindly thrown out scholarships. Who they choose to award will definitely have to be of certain caliber.
Jessy moved to Singapore due to her job and by working in Singapore, she had the proper certifications to be eligible to join the beauty pageant.
Source: Jessy Lee
According to the stunning lady, she wasn’t the only non-citizen in the pageant but they were all working and living in Singapore, for sure.
“We were all treated equally. In fact, the organiser even called me to explain how regardless of nationality, we have the valid permit to be in this competition.
“We have relevant PR or long-term permits, which made us qualify to be in it (the pageant).
“I really appreciate and respect the decision of the organiser to accept applicants of different nationalities because it clearly represents Singapore’s identity as a multi-nation and multi-racial country.”
Source: Jessy Lee
Although Jessy worked super hard, she unfortunately did not win the Miss Singapore title. However, she did win two other subsidiary titles, which she holds dearly.
She was crowned Miss Popularity and Miss Body Fit.
“I was overwhelmed by the online support that got me the Miss Popularity title. I literally have supporters, friends of friends, and strangers from all around the world sending me supportive messages.
“Thus, this award goes to them.
“As for Miss Body Fit, it will be my biggest personal achievement. From ‘fatty’ and ‘hamburger’ to Miss Body Fit, I really appreciate my trainers from Janesis Fitness for giving me the right motivation every time.”
Source: Jessy Lee
However, this isn’t the end of Jessy Lee. In fact, it is only the beginning!
“This pageant did give me a lot of insights to this industry. It also opened up a lot of gateways where I can explore my passion.
“I may not have won the pageant but I definitely won over myself, stepping out of my comfort zone and finally, pursuing what seems an impossible passion back then.
“While #jessyleepageantjourney may have ended, I will not give up on my passion and hopefully one day, you’ll see my production on the big screen and believe that dreams do bring you far.”
Source: Jessy Lee
“As long as it does not clash with my work schedule, I’ll be pursuing my passion as an emcee, commercial model or brand ambassador and actor. When there’s an opportunity, I’ll grab it!”
Lastly, Jessy encourages everyone to go after our aspirations and to ignore all the haters.
“I’ve only heard of phrases like ‘dream big’ and ‘dare to dream’ but it’s sad to see some keyboard warriors write ‘stop dreaming’.
“If this world stops dreaming, we will stay put in our comfort zones and never improve. This world needs dreams to change, to be better!”
Source: Jessy Lee
Indeed, we should all stop feeling too comfortable and instead, strive to be better than we already are. In the end, the only person stopping us from achieving our goals is ourselves.
It all starts with us!
Read more: M’sian Girl Grew Up Being Called ‘Fat’, Doesn’t Want Others To Suffer The Same
