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Photo Credit: Fadil Berisha Even with her background in drama, modeling, and dancing, being a pageant queen was never one of Catriona's dreams. "I never grew up with the dream to enter pageantry or being a beauty queen. Even when I grew up as a teenager, I still didn't have an interest in pageantry," she says. "Before the age of 20, I thought pageants were just a show. All I saw was that final coronation night." But as Catriona got older, her views about pageantry changed and she began to see it was much more than just a coronation. Catriona had a friend go through it in 2014 and saw how much preparation goes into it, as well as the duties and the one-year job that comes with the coronation. "It took a very close friend of mine to join a national pageant for me to see what kind of voice beauty queens had in the Philippines." Catriona realized how important pageantry is in the Philippines. "When beauty queens speak, the public listens." At the time, she was volunteering with a charity and realized she could combine her passion for her charity with the platform of pageantry. Around that same time, Catriona noticed a shift in pageantry —contestant's stories were being emphasized more, to her, almost as much as their physical attributes. The shift made Catriona take pageantry more seriously. When Catriona is on stage, she exudes beauty and grace —she makes it look easy. "We are just women up there; we are not super beings. It does take a lot of effort to look that put together and that beautiful." Being on stage and exuding confidence is something she works hard at, and is not something she believes she was born with. She confesses to being a naturally shy person. "I'm very quiet. I'm very simple." For Catriona, it's a persona she puts on every time she goes on stage. But the moment she steps onto that stage, she is ready for any thing. Though she has never slipped, she does have a plan, if it ever happens. "I would just get up and keep going. I feel that it's a test of grace under pressure. And I feel like the judges look for more in a woman's character, rather than if she can walk perfectly on stage. It's not just the physical attributes that can get a woman heard, it's really what you have to say." You could say that Catriona is the most beautiful woman in the world, since she holds