All imaged from The Nation Thailand/ANN
BANGKOK, May 20 (The Nation Thailand/ANN): The reigning Miss Universe 2022, R'Bonney Nola Gabriel, has a message for all women: be the biggest cheerleaders for one another.
Gabriel arrived in Thailand a couple of days ago as part of her Miss Universe duties. This is her second visit to Thailand after winning the pageant, but it is the first time she agreed for a one-on-one interview with The Nation’s Farida Waller.
In a wide-ranging interview, which took place on Thursday at the JKN Empire building, the beauty queen speaks of her early years, her struggle to find herself, her crowning moment, and her message for women.
Gabriel is a US fashion designer and model who was crowned Miss Universe 2022 this year.
The beauty queen, who turned 29 in March, was the oldest to win the Miss Universe title.
Early Texas days
Gabriel was born in Houston, Texas. Despite the diversity in the city and the presence of a large Filipino-American community, she experienced difficulty assimilating. There were times when she felt that she did not belong there because of her half-Filipina and half-Caucasian roots.
Growing up in a household with three older brothers meant trying to impress them with boyish activities, such as skateboarding, BB guns, and video games.
"As children, we’re always trying to find ourselves. I remember when I was a kid, I would try every single trend and every stereotype. I had my punk rocker phase, my preppy girl phase, my sporty phase, and my tomboy phase. I was so curious about everything, and I think all of those errors and experiences have really shaped me into who I am today," said Gabriel.
Fashioning recycled fabrics
Prior to her pageant pursuits, Gabriel was a sewing instructor at the non-profit design house, Magpies & Peacocks, where she taught classes to survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking.
"Fabric scraps from throughout town would be collected and transformed into new pieces and collections at this design studio," said Gabriel.
Asked about the origin of the brand’s name, she responded cheerfully, "A peacock is beautiful, so that is the idea behind that. But it is all about taking recycled fabrics and making new fashions from them."
She further explained that she worked with the women at the design house to plan out collections and different designs. As a global ambassador, she wears all these pieces to raise awareness and tell people the story behind them.
Beauty olympics
The crowning moment of her life came on January 14 this year when she won the Miss Universe title at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Remembering her ecstasy, the beauty queen, who was earlier Miss Texas and then Miss USA before winning Miss Universe, said she was so shocked when her name was announced that she was not even sure if she had heard correctly.
"I am so grateful for every opportunity,” she said. “Being Miss Universe allows me to connect with many people around the world as well as gives me commercial opportunities for doing charity in every place that I go."
Gabriel compares a beauty pageant to a beauty Olympics. Like an athlete, every female works hard to appear at her best and be beautiful from the inside out.
"Confidence in yourself is something that takes time to develop; in my case, I had to develop it over time. The pageant is like the Olympics, so I trained non-stop every single day for the last two and a half years.”
"Walking takes time and practice. I practised almost every day. I would practise doing my hair and make-up every Friday. It took me three hours just to do my own hair. It was very hard for me." And then there is the important speaking skill. "I used to have a mock interview in front of a panel of judges twice a month as well as speaking classes every single Friday for the last two years," said Gabriel.
What it takes to succeed in a pageant?
"When I first started taking part in pageants, I was such a robot, and it didn't work for me."
She believes that showing one's own personality is the best way to win. Most girls believe that we must put on a professional persona and present ourselves in a professional way, but when a girl is not afraid to show her personality and is not concerned to mess up or be a little more raw, that is when she connects with the judges and stands out.
"Train as hard as possible, and you won’t regret it. You will feel that you did everything and that will give you confidence in the competition," Gabriel said.
Bullying on social media
Gabriel said that she experienced some bullying when she was growing up, but she had blocked that part of her life. The bullying she faces now after becoming Miss Universe is at another level.
"Because it [Miss Universe] is so competitive, every country really loves their representative, and when they do not win, the winner gets the hate," said Gabriel.
She had to adjust herself to get used to it and find more opportunities to show young girls and boys that if we get hate, it means that we are really putting ourselves out there and really playing big in life.
"I know it’s easier said than done, but focus on what you are doing. For me, I need to focus on my role as Miss Universe, and that has nothing to do with hate," said Gabriel.
She said she was determined not to let those who dislike her to pull her down because, at the end of the day, she said she only wants to be the best Miss Universe possible, and haters are not in her formula for success.
LGBTQ community
"We do have same-sex marriage in America, and that was so revolutionary, and it made me so happy for the LGBT community in my country," said Gabriel.
She said she would love to see Thailand move in that direction because “being accepting is insufficient”.
“Being accepted and treated equally is really what we need, not just in Thailand but for members of the community all over the world, since we should be able to love who we want to love and express ourselves in whichever way we want. If anything, we must accept people for their differences rather than simply tolerating them and continue to treat people as if they are persons.
"As for me, I don’t judge people just because of their sexuality or the way they act, as long as they’re not harming anyone. The LGBT community is not harming anyone, and I love them so much, so we need to continue using our voices for that,” said Gabriel.
Her message to women
Gabriel has a strong message for all women. ”There is no limit to our potential or what we can do. I think that a woman is born with every single capability to conquer her dreams. If somewhere along the way, society or some sort of experience tells us that we are not enough, that is when we are," said Gabriel.
She advised women to remove mental blocks so that they could really transform their lives. Her message to any woman is: “We must help each other identify our strengths, be the biggest cheerleaders of each other, and that’s when we rise up, are able to really conquer what we want, and tap into our greatest potential.”
Message for Thailand's next PM
With Thailand in a phase of political transition after the May 14 general election, she urged the new Thai prime minister to fight for women's rights in the country because “women are the greatest asset in a society”.
"Women need to believe that they can do anything, and if they have the tools to do so and are not blocked from whatever career path they want to take, you will really see a revolution in a woman's life," said Gabriel. - The Nation Thailand/ANN
