Good morning, afternoon, and evening to everyone! I am 
For today, we're going to talk about how the Miss Teen pageant in Baclayan went! I hope you'll enjoy reading this, and I hope you'll be inspired as well.
You will know if the place is celebrating a festival if there's so many bandaritas (a triangular flag with different colored papers or just colored plastics that are tied in a rope). Bandaritas are a sign to let everyone know that the place is currently having its fiesta. It is also a design to make the place look beautiful.
If we're talking about a festival, of course there are different events that will be held just to celebrate it! Actually, it will depend on the certain place and what they will do to let the people living there feel a little extra and for them to have fun as well. This event is like a tradition in Baclayan; a fiesta here isn't a fiesta if there won't be an event like this.
For preparation, the organizers set up the stage, speakers, and their designs to look more stunning and presentable for the event. They even taught or choreographed the teenagers that joined the competition how to correctly pose and walk on stage. They remind every candidate on stage what they will do once the event starts. I questioned my cousin here, and he said that it took up to approximately 5 days just to practice with the candidates and organize the event for the night. There was even an competition called "Hot Mama" last time, but it was already done when we got here, so sad I didn't witness those good-looking mothers who participated in the event.
(Sorry, I didn't take a picture with the candidates while they were practicing since I know that it's illegal to take pictures with a person without their permission. I only waited for the event to start because I knew that taking pictures of the candidates would be allowed.)
Even though the event still hasn't started yet, the crowd was already clapping, and they kept on cheering for the girls, knowing that they were just behind the stage. It was their way to show how much they support the candidates and to let them feel comfortable and hyped up.
To start the event formally, the two emcees asked us to stand up for the prayer and national anthem as a sign of respect. After that, a small introduction of the judges began until the candidates were called to do their thing on the stage. It was their introduction number, which is a dance of "Islang Pantropiko" by the girl group called 'bini'.
I saw my childhood friend slaying and looking so gorgeous while walking on the stage. I was so shocked by how her appearance has changed over the past few years. The last time I talked to her, we were still so young. It's kind of hard to admit that I just lost one precious friend of mine when I was a kid. It's been a long time since we talked due to the fact that we are so shy to approach one another. Right now, all I can do is cheer for her and support her on her own path in life. We may not see each other often, but I am so proud of her for what she has become and will become.
It was a fun and interesting event. I was in awe the whole time because the participants were so pretty. If I were a boy, I could fall in love in an instant (just kidding).
The pretty girls in their long gown 😍
The question and answer portion came, but unfortunately, because of their nervousness, not all candidates have fully expressed their answers well. But it's understandable, and we still cheered for them because we know that they tried their very best just to come up with an answer.
At 12 a.m., the awarding ceremony is finally starting. I am so proud of each candidate because they worked so hard just to get that. I'm even laughing because every time the emcee announces a winner with a thrill, the crowd keeps on shouting different numbers.
My childhood friend won different minor, major, and special awards. I can't recall what her awards were, but I am pretty sure she got called out four times to get an award. She was even the 2nd runner-up, and almost everyone was cheering for her—a well-deserved award! And oh, before I forget, her name is Aila (pretty name, right? I know), and she's been participating in this kind of event ever since we're still young.
SECOND RUNNER UP, CANDIDATE NO.2!!!
FIRST RUNNER UP IS CANDIDATE NO.1!!!
THE MS.TEEN 2024 IS CANDIDATE NO.7!!!🥳
After the event, I've already slept since it's pretty late and I have to wake up early the next day to help. This event reminded me that we should be confident and trust ourselves, no matter what other people are going to say. We should also accept the failures in our lives as long as we know to ourselves that we did great and did our best. At all times, our destiny will be on our side.
That's all for today. Thank you so much for reading this!
Disclaimer: Not all the pictures are mine; credits go to the rightful owners of some of the pictures—my aunties, Baclayan residents and their group page.