Masbate

Kisses Delavin: Born survivor!

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte

Masbate's representative to this year's Miss Universe Philippines quest, Kirsten Danielle Delavin, is a body of wonder! She hurdled an auto-immune disease at six years old with only a 5% survival rate. She, too, was the strongest of her parent's zygotes and went on to full term after eight failed pregnancies.

At 17, she hurdled all the bashing as a housemate of the PBB household. With still more nasty feedback in her present journey as MUPh aspirant, it is no wonder she preferred to be off social media and focus on her bid for the crown.

In the recently-concluded interview challenge, Kisses shared her life's story in a capsule. In her 45-second introduction, Kisses said that "I am a miracle baby and the only one who survived after eight failed pregnancies. When I was six-years-old, I was diagnosed with viral encephalitis with only a five per cent chance of living and I survived.

"The Universe has been very kind to me, and I think it's my job to give back that kindness," shared the 22-year-old DLSU coed, pointing out to all and sundry that this Miss Universe dream of hers has been with her even at a very young age.

She has temporarily stopped her schooling for this term to focus on her MUPh journey. Prior to her joining the national pageant, she was engrossed in finishing her Accountancy course.

During the interview challenge, she was asked what she would tell people who think that pageants foster stereotypes. "I think that belief is in itself a stereotype. There is no good thing nor bad thing, it is how you think about it.

"And, actually, in joining a beauty pageant, and being your truer self, that is the best way to break that stereotype. It's all in the mind. It's about expressing yourself in being truly who you are."

According to Shakespeare, "the eyes are the windows of the soul." She was then asked, "What would people see if we looked into your eyes?"

"I absolutely love that quote. The eyes are the first thing I see when I look at someone. And in my eyes, people can see that I am ready for this. I view the Miss Universe job as something that I was born to do. That I will be putting my whole heart into it," was her unwavering reply.

In an interview with Miss Universe Philippines 2014 MJ Lastimosa on Kumu, the Davaoeña beauty told Kisses she has a hard time shifting through Twitter to look for the questions fans wanted to ask her because the very same questions all became trending topics.

And finally, she was asked the common question for all the candidates, "How has the pandemic challenged you?"

"Being away from my work - which is in showbiz - I get to meet people everyday and make them smile. So one-and-a-half years of not being able to do that has been very sad. But, I was able to recalibrate and remember who I was with and inspired before I was in showbiz. And I think it's very important to really . . . (last part of her reply was muted as it went beyond the 30-second time frame)

In an industry like showbusiness, where people come and go, it is surprising to note that her supporters from when she started are still her strongest supporters 'til now. In the past, fans and supporters were known to root for their favorites only on the specific season where their 'idols' competed in searches or when they were part of a series, and then went on to find a new one to fawn over.

Catch Kisses' Purple Chair interview (Part 2 of 3) with king-of-talk Boy Abunda last Sept 10.

Stay tuned, too, for the upcoming updates from the MUPh organization, as well as it's calendar of events and activities leading to the September 25 final show.

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Images from Facebook/MUPh