LIFESTYLE EDITORIAL
16/02/24
SUCCESS STORY: “I AM NOT FROM A WONDERLAND BUT IT LIVES IN ME”
Editor-in-chief MARGARITA MOISEEVA
Art director ALEXANDER TROFIMOV
I was born in Latgale, the city of Daugavpils. All of my family members were very creative, they worked in the spheres of art and culture. Although the city is very culturally and religiously diverse, and, despite the fact that I was born in a multinational family, I have received my education in a Latvian kindergarten and graduated the Latvian gymnasium. My parents gave me all the opportunities to develop my talents. Since childhood I studied classical ballet and danced in the folk-dance group “Ermaniši”, participated in the “Latvian School Youth Song and Dance Festival”. Patriotic spirits and the love for the motherland were nurtured in me by my parents. My mother worked in a sphere of culture and always told me about the importance of preserving. cultural and historical heritage of our country and passing it to a younger generation.
My mother played an important role in the evolvement of my personality. Quoting Lewis Carroll, she always stood by my side: “Don’t be sad, “said Alice. Sooner or later, everything will be clear, everything will fall linto into p place and build a single beautiful circuit as lace. It will become clear why it was needed, because everything will be right”.- Alice from Wonderland. Being a teenager, it was tricky to me to comprehend these philosophical quotes from the book, but as I grew older, I gained deep wisdom and knowledge. I did not get my name in honour of the Carroll’s Alice, but some fragments of the story resonate with my life events.
I started skating at the age of 5. I did my first steps on a frozen pond in a new neighbourhood where we just moved. My first coach was my mother who had a great experience in it. I started ice skating when the ice arena was built in Daugavpils. Unfortunately, the capital’s specialists were in no hurry to come to our city to train young skaters, this is understandable, because here everything had to start from scratch. Ice skating became an integral part of my life, but I could not speak of great achievements at that time at all. After graduating school, I decided to follow my family’s path and become a coach. I entered the pedagogical institute, started working at a sports school with my first students, and together with my
mother developed figure skating in Daugavpils. I wanted to help my students to reach goals I could not reach myself, to pass on not only the professional skills and steely. character, but also the love for the motherland, our culture and anthem – the values instilled by my parents. I have always pursued perfection: there was only one place in my life and that is the first place. Professionalism and having my personal exclusive style were. significant to me in my work. My original style remains distinctive up to the present day.
My aim was to train at least one world-class athlete who can represent our country at the Winter Olympics. I understood that this would take more than a dozen years. My higher educations in pedagogy. ice skating and education management, knowledge gained over more than 15 years of work in a sports school as a head figure skating coach, my highest coaching and teaching qualifications, participation in scientific conferences, seminars and sports camps gave a big impetus to the development of figure skating in Daugavpils. Many talented athletes and coaches have grown up throughout that period. I am proud of being part of their success.
In parallel with my professional coaching work, I decided to give a try give a try and participate in the beauty contest Miss Latvia 2006. At that moment the contest was extremely popular. The castings took place for several days. Girls wishing to show themselves and getting the title of the most beautiful girl in the country were coming from all over Latvia. At that time, I could not Imagine what kind of adventure I
undertook and what kind of arduous work it would require. Throughout 5 years I participated in three castings, failed two of them, carried out painful smile correction procedures and treatment of the chemical burn.
Throughout 1825 days, i.e. for 5 years, I lived with the dream of being on the Miss World stage, among the most beautiful women in the world. Getting the Miss Latvia award was just a step to ascending my own Olympus-the place where I am now and continue my ascent. And, finally, Year 2011 and I was acknowledged as the most beautiful woman of the country.
I hope to write later about my thorny path in my book. In 2011 I represented Latvia at the Miss World 2011. It was hard, stressful and unclear for a newbie, but I managed to gather my spirit and energy to battle with the participants from 150 countries thanks to my professional skills. Girls wearing posh dresses, diamonds and feathers compete on the stage every day. World leaders in the beauty sphere, professional coaches stand behind them. Girls without this kind of support can be noticed and made people stare only having personal talents and originality. In a talent show, I performed a contemporary dance 1 danced on pointe to the fantastic music “Broken Sorrow,” in a white Japanese kimono with the flag of the Land of the Rising Sun on my back. The dance begins with the mourning words how the entire world shed tears over Japan which suffered from the Fukushima nuclear disaster. I entered the top 20 of the best talent shows in nomination for the originality of my idea and choreographic skills. Then, after exhausting sports tests on our physical abilities and qualities, I got into the top 24 of the strongest and most resilient girls who would continue to compete in the final of sport competition.
Then I won the first place in all the individual disciplines like speed swimming, sprinting, carrying body weights, shot put, obstacle course and many other physical tests. The victories led my team of six people to a gold medal in the category of sports. It was a moment of great happiness. After that, there was the casting of national dances and costumes; luckily, I was honoured to be selected among the ten top-rank countries to demonstrate some fragments of their national dance on the final stage. It was the moment of truth was dancing that Latvian folk dance (painfully familiar) which I once performed at The Latvian Song and Dance Festival, and now i am dancing it on the world multimillion stage. At that moment I realized that it was the same lace my mother was telling me about.
Finally, the lace was woven, and it became clear why I needed this thorny five year path to get on this stage, why I performed folk dances in the school years and what meaning stands behind the perseverance of cultural heritage. At the Miss World I worked hard like athletes fighting for their medals at the sport competition for their country, their people, their flag. Then I was not aware of pitfalls and cruel world of scandalous behind-the- scenes and political games in this industry. Having no preparation, experience and support, relying only on my personal moral and volitional qualities, I was brought face to face with my dream of standing on the stage among the most beautiful women in the world. But the reality dissonated with my expectations it hits me hard morally and spiritually. All the painfully earned points disappeared and the ratings evaporated, and everything was drawn anew the way the World of Beauty wished to.
I did not imagine that other mechanisms ruled on that stage. They are driven by the countries in which the cult of beauty is elevated to an absolute. They have been developing the beauty industry for many decades, and it, in turn, brings a fabulous benefits. Later, I learned the “hidden” lessons of this experience. Now I feel
free to declare that the beauty pageant not a fairytale about a sparkle crowns and gorgeous dresses. It is a story about your personality, your dedication, self-sacrifice, and self-discipline. In other words, the story about who you are, and the road you are going to, and how strong your spirit is.
Participation in the Miss World 2011 totally changed me and provided me with a storehouse of knowledge and unique experience, as well as gave me opportunity to win a gold medal in sport competition section. I wish it became the part of my glory gallery which I then hand on to my city Daugavpils.
Soon afterwards, I flew to Latin America. It was my first flight over the ocean, I triumphed in an international beauty contest in Peru, the country in which you can see the New Wonders of the World. As the list of places I visited increased, as the list of my triumphs. and titles was multiplied. I am grateful to Pagentry World for giving me opportunity to visit more than 50 countries in a five continents.
As of today, I can declare boldly that I am the most titled Miss Latvia in the history of our country. My collection consists of more than 20 crowns and 30 titles from all over the world. In 2023 I represented Latvia at three international beauty pageants, received three new crowns and seven titles. The victory at Miss Business Global 2023 in Vietnam was sensational. I became the first winner in the history of this pageant.
All these achievements are based on my love for my family, for my Motherland and my field of work. Self-discipline, self-development and determination, leadership character and fortitude were raised in me thanks to sports and challenges I have gone through.
I am an absolute perfectionist-if you tackle a job, become the best in it, or just don’t waste time on it at all. I am thankful to my parents for helping me to become a good personality, to get a unique profession and help the World by working with children and quide them to their own path of success, so that they become ambitious, hardworking and motivated people and the harmony and synergy bind many human qualities in them.
Stand out from the crowd with your achievements is challenging in a modern society. Successful, talented and beautiful people have never been loved, are not loved and will never been loved. You have to learn how to live with a heavy load, and not just live, but to enjoy your life. Any professional psychologist may say “People may forgive a lot, but they will never forgive beauty”. The problem lies not in the people who have succeeded, but in those, who rush at the foot of your Olympus waiting for your fall.
People are throwing stones at me, but I continue to pick them up and build a protective wall from those who do not understand that no one has ever fallen on the peak of the mountain from the heaven. It becomes accessible only to the bravest, selfless people who ascend the peak overcoming challenges, losses, condemnation, envy, worries and love. My path is not understood by many people, and that makes sense, because it is mine.
Photographer JURIS JUSTS
|
|
