Megan to leave for Miss World pageant on Sept 3

MANILA – Actress and television host Megan Young is set to fly to Indonesia on September 3 as she prepares for the Miss World beauty pageant. Young was named Miss World Philippines 2013 at a coronation night held at the Solaire Resort and Casino in Pasay City on Sunday. This year’s Miss World pageant is set to take place in Indonesia on September 28. “I’m leaving on September 3 for Indonesia, and the pageant will be on September 28,” Young said in an interview on the ABS-CBN morning show “Umagang Kay Ganda” on Wednesday. “Maraming salamat sa mga sumuporta sa akin.” “Please continue supporting me hanggang Indonesia. This is for the Philippines,” she added. Young, who earlier admitted that she has always wanted to join a beauty pageant, said she prepared not only for Miss World Philippines, but also for the international competition. “I really wanted to prepare na tuluy-tuloy na, para if ever I win, I’ll be ready na for the international pageant. So nagpre-prepare na ako a couple of months before the pageant started. Talagang diet, workout, posture, lahat ginagawa na namin,” she said. Young said she was willing to set her showbiz career aside to fulfill her dream of becoming a beauty queen. “It was a big risk for me kasi nga I’m in the [showbiz] industry and they’re like, ‘sayang naman ‘yung mga kinikita mo,’ ganyan. Pero lahat naman ‘yun superficial naman, ‘yung pera, ‘yung lahat ng ‘yan, ‘yung makakamit ko pagdating sa showbiz, like ‘yung mga material things. Sabi ko, ‘you know, I can put that aside.’ When you want your dreams to be fulfilled, you really have to risk something. “And I really had to risk my love for hosting, my love for acting, and put it aside muna. I wanted to focus on my dreams first,” she explained. While she was determined to win the crown, Young said the idea of losing the pageant crossed her mind. Either way, she said she would have no regrets about joining Miss World Philippines. “I wouldn’t regret it kasi siyempre, it’s the experience you get out of it. Of course I’ll feel said – I mean, anybody’s reaction would be that they would feel said about it. I’ll be upfront here,” she said. “But I wouldn’t regret it kasi in those three weeks that I was with the girls (fellow contestants), it was just amazing and I couldn’t replace it with anything else,” she added. The Philippines has yet to have a Miss World titlist, with only Gwendoline Ruais (2011) and Evangeline Pascual (1973) getting the closest to the crown. Click here for the Filipinas who made it to the semi-final and final rounds of the pageant.