20-year-old Evita Patcey Edgar Delmundo is no stranger to bullying. When she was a child, cruel classmates called her “monster” and “chocolate chip cookie” because of the hairy dark brown moles and birthmarks that cover her entire body, but now the Malaysian, who works part-time at a local cat cafe, is defying the people who taunted her by auditioning for Miss Universe.
“In primary school, no one wanted to be friends with me,” she said. “I remember a teacher having to ask two girls to accompany me during recess, and they were whispering 'why do we have to treat her like a princess?’ It broke my heart. I told them that they don't have to follow me and they went off immediately. Basically, I was a lonely girl.”
She told Elle magazine that she learned to accept herself for who she was after attending a church camp when she was 16. “I really learned how to love myself and communicate with others,” said Evita, who had once considered having her moles removed. “This was probably the first time I truly started accepting who I was, how I look.”
Her audition for Miss Universe Malaysia was on June 17, and she’s currently waiting to find out if she’s progressed to the next round or not. But even if she doesn’t succeed, Evita says that it won’t dent her newfound confidence and she’ll continue to enter other beauty pageants in the future. “I’m just keeping my fingers crossed. If I don't get through, there's always another platform.” (h/t: dm, elle)
"In primary school, no one wanted to be friends with me," said Evita Delmundo. "It broke my heart. I was a lonely girl"
Image credits: Evita Delmundo
Classmates called her “monster” and “chocolate chip cookie” because of the hairy dark brown moles and birthmarks that cover her body
Image credits: Evita Delmundo
But now she's defying those who taunted her by auditioning for Miss Universe!
Image credits: Evita Delmundo
She learned to accept herself for who she was after attending a church camp when she was 16
Image credits: Evita Delmundo
“I really learned how to love myself and communicate with others,” said Evita, who had once considered having her moles removed
Image credits: Evita Delmundo
“This was probably the first time I truly started accepting who I was, how I look”
Image credits: Evita Delmundo
Her audition was on June 17 and she's now waiting for the results. We're all crossing our fingers!
Image credits: Evita Delmundo