Farrah Faye Mian: Smart and beautiful Tubigon wins Miss Bohol Sandugo crown again
It was one of the best batches ever, with the 19 girls giving the judges a hard time picking the winners. Fresh, young and talented, there were seven candidates who finished salutatorians, two high school valedictorians and three with honors. There were registered nurses and a licensed teacher who graduated magna cum laude.
And the winner is….
Miss Tubigon Farrah Faye Abarquez Mian, 17 (5’6, 114 lbs., 32-24-35), was crowned Miss Bohol Sandugo 2011.
At 15, she won the title as Miss Bohol Association of Catholic Schools (BACS) Personality 2009 representing Holy Family of Nazareth School- Tubigon, Bohol.
At 16, she gained the title of Miss Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) Meet in 2010 and Anyag sa Tubigon 2010.
A part time model in Cebu and a medical technology student, she brought her hometown the Miss Bohol Sandugo crown for the second-time. It was Amir Sol who got the crown for Tubigon for the first time in 2010.
"Thank you Bohol, this is the most wonderful moment of my life," said Farrah with tears in her eyes now that she is proclaimed Bohol’s Finest Daughter and included in the Miss Bohol Sandugo Honor Roll.
Farrah was also declared Miss Talent. Other winners were Miss Loon Ely Rose Apple Angcon who finished first runner-up, while Catigbian’s Aimee Ann Anunciado was second runner-up.
The Miss Bohol Sandugo 2011 beauties: (left to right) Ely Rose Apple Angcon (first runner-up), Farrah Maye Mian (Miss Bohol Sandugo 2011), Aimee Ann Anunciado (second runner-up)
A few days after she was crowned at glittering ceremonies at the Bohol Cultural Center last July 16, Farrah is available for another round of grueling Q&A. This time with Bared.
Would you rather be smart but not too beautiful, or beautiful but not too smart?
I'd rather be smart but not too beautiful. For me, beauty is nothing without brains; wit and character has always been something that I have always wanted, even until now. A person's physical appearance is all too temporary but when you have the brains, there are no limitations as to the things that you can accomplish.
Why are you taking up medical technology?
“I'm taking up medical technology as a springboard for medicine. I've always wanted to be a doctor and I believe that medical technology offers not only the adequate amount of training but it also gives me the best medical experience which, if I am to survive med school and truly be a doctor someday, I have to undergo and overcome. I chose to study in Cebu mainly because there were no schools offering medical technology in Bohol and partly because Velez College is one of the top performing schools in terms of medical education.”
So, you have to read a lot of medical books.
“I do, more than I thought I ever would in this life! Right now, I have three purely medical books used by doctors and pre-med students alike and it's so thick! That doesn't even include the other compiled notes given by our teachers but still, the dream lives on.”
Farrah Faye Abarquez Mian, the 30th Miss Bohol Sandugo, is now included in the Miss Bohol Sandugo Honor Roll. Foto by:Glenn Tumanda Gamayot
What do you think is the smartest thing that you’ve done so far?
“I think the smartest thing I've done so far was choosing the Holy Family of Nazareth School as my institution. Without it, I wouldn't be standing on this pedestal. they have not only trained me well academically but they also molded me as a person with Christian values.”
What do you think is the biggest decision that you’ve made in your life?
“The biggest decision I've ever made in my life, I think, was taking up medical technology in Velez. It's 10 times harder than I thought it would be but I'm still here, and I’m starting to think that this is where I truly belong.”
Have you always wanted to be a beauty queen since you were small?
(Smiles) “When I was small, I didn’t actually think nor imagine that I would ever be a beauty queen. I watched Miss Tubigon once and only once when I was about 5-7 years old. I was blinded by the glittering lights and the pretty ladies on stage and in a way I guess I thought that those things would never happen to me. I'm starting to actually believe in the saying ‘be careful what you wish for cause you just might get it’!”
Aside from winning the Miss Bohol Sandugo title, what do you think have you achieved so far?
“I think more than this title, my greatest achievement lies in being a 10% beauty queen and a 90% something else entirely. I'm a simple person and yet I have huge dreams that I think every person should have because why should we aim for the moon and land on the stars when we can always aim on the moon and still land on the moon? One’s perception is the only thing that is stopping him/her from achieving his/her greatest fantasies.”
What advocacy experience do you have? Maybe you have an important message to share ... and Miss Bohol Sandugo would be the venue or forum to start your advocacies.
(Smiles again) “I do. I've always been an environmental advocate and I believe in animal rights as well and that was the main reason why I became a vegetarian in the past year. I think animals should be treated well and should be given equal rights because they too have a life. It is unjust that we disregard them and treat them as beings lower than they deserve. I also think that in this extremely technological age, preserving the gifts that Mother Nature has given to us is the only answer to all our environmental problems. Starting in simple but potent ways, like planting trees, throwing one's garbage in the right place, cleaning our surroundings will actually help determine not only our future but also the future of our children and grandchildren, and I sure still want them to see the world as I see it now.”
When did you realize that you are a Miss Bohol Sandugo? During the coronation night? Or the morning after?
(Smiling even widely) “It was after a few days, when my classmates and even my teachers here in Cebu actually started talking about it and kept mentioning that astonishing fact. Until now I think I still haven’t fully grasped the fact that I am the Miss Bohol Sandugo, it’s a huge responsibility and I think I still don’t understand the implications of carrying such a great title.”
Do you have secrets sustaining your poise, your grace under pressure, especially during the crucial points in any contest?
“Prayer. That's my only secret. We are the captain of our own ship but in the end, it is always the Lord who decides what will become of us in the future.”
Do you have a plan to join higher beauty pageants like Bb. Pilipinas and Miss World-Philippines?
(Thinks)“Maybe after med school. I'm an academician now and I have to finish what I've started before I start another journey.”
What is your best asset and why?
“I don’t actually have a greatest asset.” (Laughs)
Who’s your beauty queen role model?
“My beauty queen role model is Anna Theresa Licaros who was a magna cum laude in the university of the Philippines in mass communications and who, shortly after she arrived here in the Philippines after joining the Miss Universe Pageant, chose to enroll for law rather than to have a press conference. like her, I actually believe that education comes first for it is the only thing that even your greatest fiend cannot take away from you.”
Any other woman whom you admire?
“That would be my aunt. She was the one who was always there for me and I pretty much grew up under her supervision. I love the way she handles stress and how she's so strong despite the challenges that she has to face every single day of her life.”
How’s your boyfriend now that you are Miss Bohol Sandugo?
(Laughs) “Oh, he's stressed alright. We’re in a long distance relationship but I think that winning this pageant won’t actually affect the way I feel about him.”
As Miss Bohol Sandugo, what qualities of the Boholano youth would you highlight?
“His/her open-mindedness. The Boholano youth adapts to changes faster than a neuron sensing a stimulus in the receptors of the body but even so, they still honor their past and continue to practice their traditions, one I myself would always do and in the future, something I will teach my children as well.”
Young people today are liberated and adventurous, willing to try everything. What's your stand on pre-marital sex?
“I think sex is a sacred gift given only to married people. It’s okay to be adventurous but we must know our limitations.”
How about RH Bill?
“But in terms of the RH Bill, I can’t really decide because as a Christian, I must honor the Lord's commandments but as a person living in a third world country, I also think that is practical and that it would greatly affect the future of this country.”
What is your stand on divorce in the Philippines?
“I do not believe in nor agree with divorce. I believe that what God has joined, only God can separate and that rings true as the groom and the bride profess their vows when they say "till death do us part." Marriage is the largest step in any relationship and I think before making that decision, you must know in yourself if you are ready and if you really love the person you're marrying.”
If you were to change something in yourself, what would it be?
“If I had the chance to change something, I would change the way I had spent my free time. I would have had the chance to learn how to play the piano and the violin, but I guess with school going on now I would never have the time.”
What’s your type of a man?
“I’m not really very specific but I'd like him to be tall and smart. I think a guy who is actually good with words is very hard to find nowadays and there is nothing more boring than a guy who barely talks. I'd also like him to be a doctor (fingers crossed till then!) since it would be easier for me if my boyfriend would have the same job as I did since we would already have an understanding when it comes to medicine and our passion for it.”
What is the essence of Miss Bohol Sandugo?
“The essence of the Miss Bohol Sandugo is being a great, if not legendary example of and to the women of Bohol. I say this generally and without bias as I think that it is one of the greatest achievements a woman can have in her lifetime for winning this title means that she is not only a woman of beauty but also of wit and character who will be the ambassadress of goodwill not only to her fellow Boholanos but also to the diverse people of the Philippines. She will in herself carry the true grace and mystery that surrounds every Boholana and she will not only be an example, but also be a sign that the practice of Boholano cultures and traditions remain steadfast even in this new millennium of technological advancement.”
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