Gay pageantera behind the spotlight
Pageantry is popular in the Philippines. It can be seen in different corners of the country as Filipinos claim that it’s one of the ways to present their advocacies. With their love to address an issue and their excitement to watch beautiful angels on stage, pageants are done anywhere. As for this reason, more and more pageantera are born.
Letty Mae Mcgarry, a resident of Francia, Iriga City, Camarines Sur is one of them. She’s an angel, a caring, loving, out-going and a sweet individual. At the age of 10, she already knew that she’s different. How the way she act, she talk, she walk, it is completely unique in comparison to all her guy friends.
Now, at the age of 22, she finally found where she belongs. She’s a gay pageantera and she’s definitely a monster on stage. At her very young age, she already won different awards and even pageants. One example of it is her title as the first Miss NNHS GADDESS 2018 in her previous school.
It’s a wrap, that’s what all she can say. However, with all this merry go around feeling of acceptance, fun and winning, her life behind that spotlight differs.
Quick story of a Gay pageantera
According to her, everyone won’t stop criticizing you. She shared during the interview that she experienced being downgraded instead of being encouraged.
“There’s a time that I decided not to join beauty pageants again because my mentor told me that “Huwag ka nang sumali. Hindi ka naman qualified diyan at hindi ka naman mananalo [dahil] isa kang talunan.”, she said while having tears in her eyes.
How disappointing right? It is so depressing to know that of all the people you thought would understand and support you, you would realize that they are also the first to belittle you.
In addition to that incident, she also shared that as soon as her pageant ends, she now starts to become a son, a sibling, a cousin, a friend, and a stranger to anyone in her surroundings. In short, her normal life is back and just like every single person, she also faces time to time problems at home, at school, and anywhere.
“I have so much struggles and challenges encountered in my life especially when I am in our house.”, she stated.
Her problems may be similar to what other persons experience but it differs on how she takes it. In her mind, it is a motivation, not a start of any of her downfall.
Upon having this kind of instances and this perspective, it is indeed a mark that she’s a real pageantera — not only on stage but in real life. As a matter of fact, this is where she shines the most and luckily, this is where she wins.
Learn how to get things in your control.
Humans will always and will encounter problems in their lives. It is normal, it is necessary but honestly speaking, our life will only depend on us whether we like it or not. It’s either we control things in our hands or we let these things control us. We just had to choose our fate, that’s it.
Remember that behind every smile a person show, also hides a thousands of battle we obviously don’t know. May he or she is an actor, a celebrity a pageantera or anyone who’s fund of undergoing a quick experience of special treatment, they also carry a huge baggage of problem.
Let us be kind, maybe it’s too clichĆ© to say but it can make a change. All the love, angels. Spread no hate, just acceptance and pure intentions.
Nathalie Shien is a 4th year BUeƱo taking a degree in Journalism under the Department of Print and Broadcast Media at the College of Arts and Letters. She is a well motivated individual who finds writing as one of her favorite things to do. It is her past time hobby to write literary works such as poems, short stories and many more. Aside from this, she loves to talk with people, socialize with them as she saw that it is a great help to understand someone's story. Besides, her desire to become a great writer improved as she joined their school-based organization namely as Bicol Organization of Neo-Journalists (BONJour).