VENUS RAJ : THE WINNER WITHIN

Less than three weeks from now, Philippine representative to the Miss Universe pageant Venus Raj will strut her stuff to bring honor to the country. The poor farm girl from Bicol will compete against some of the most glamorous women in the world. From walking barefoot on rice paddies, Venus will walk in high heels at the Miss Universe stage.
I hope Venus will do her best if only to show that she truly deserves to represent the country in the prestigious pageant. She barely made it to the pageant because of tremendous discrimination. From being an illegitimate child to not being fluent in English, Venus has fought hard to earn the right to represent the country. What worked for Venus is that she never denied her true status. She never denied that she is an illegitimate child. She never denied that her family is so poor that they have to depend on the kindness of neighbors to put food on their table. Perhaps, its her honesty and situation that made Filipinos identify and sympathize with her. Her family's abject poverty strikes a common cord with millions of Filipinos who barely have enough to eat. And her dethronement simply angered Filipinos who saw a poor girl's attempt to improve her situation only to be thwarted by the rich and powerful.
Venus' story runs pretty much like a soap opera. Hopefully, Venus, being the protagonist, comes out on top to give the soap opera a happy ending.