Q&A With Miss Universe Philippines 2018 Catriona Gray:
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
I think it’s completely defined by yourself. For me, I'm happy when I'm pursuing an ambition. I'm a very ambitious person, so I really need that in my life. Also when I’m surrounded by my loved ones and when I'm giving back in some way. It’s so fulfilling to be able to share the blessings that you have—whether they be small or big. There is a feeling of fulfilment that comes from it that I don’t feel anything else can really fill.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
I'm very over-analytical. But in some ways, I also find that it’s a strength. My over-analytical trait also ties in to being a perfectionist, just mostly with achieveing in my career. I'm also a creative so I have a vision that I wanna pursue and I wanna materialize that, so I get frustrated if I don’t. I learned that about myself in the last couple of years, so it doesn’t affect me the same way it used to. But yes, sometimes, there are moments when I need to tell myself to take a step back, relax, and just let things unfold organically. You can't control everything and everyone.
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
One, my dad. He has been such an inspirational figure to me all my life. I've seen him overcome so many things. I've seen him put himself in situations that are not nice just to provide for us as a family. He’s always so wise, and no matter what challenge or difficulty we go through, or he goes through, he has this amazing mindset that he can be everything, and so far he has. For me, growing up, seeing that in my life, it's very inspirational.
Other than him, someone I look up to is Lea Salonga. I grew up listening to her voice on the cassette tapes of "Miss Saigon" which is my dad’s favorite musical and it so happens to be mine as well. She really connected to me in the music sense. Even though I was really young—I didn’t understand the message of "Miss Saigon," obviously, it’s a bit mature for a young girl, and I didn’t even know what the words she was singing meant—as soon as I heard her, something connected to me. She was this young Filipina who just brought all the eyes of the world to the Philippines and to Asia. As a little girl who was interested in music, she was an inspiration.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
It would be that he is ambitious but also supports you in what you wanna do. I think it's very hard to find someone like that, because usually when someone is ambitious, he wants a partner who’s constant while they go and pursue things; he wants you there to just be constant for them. I think it’s really special when you can find someone who’s ambitious but also pushes you to be ambitious.
My boyfriend and I, we’ve been together so long but we’ve kind of been with each other during the maturing stage, going into adulthood when we were unsure, we didn’t know what we were doing, things weren’t working out sometimes, and we were just figuring out our footing. And now that we both have our footing, we really push each other to succeed and that’s a wonderful environment to be in because you have that constant support and you have someone to tell you to “do this, keep going, keep working.”
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why?
I always see things to improve on, and that’s normal. If you take away all of that, how are you gonna change or evolve as a person? But I guess it would be that sometimes I am a bit hard on myself. And that just comes from my over-analytical nature. I'm learning to deal with it.
What do you think is your best quality?
That I'm very self-aware. I feel that I'm always aware of how my actions affect others, or I make an effort to try and be aware and try to understand people. Like, if someone acts out, I always try to understand that maybe they’re going through something, maybe it wasn’t intended that way, or maybe it was a miscommunication. I try and understand why and how things happen. And also, that’s what made me turn to charity work, that inner awareness that I need to be doing something.
What is your greatest regret?
I don’t have one. I mean, that’s really what made me join again. I didn’t want to have a regret—"What if I joined? What if I could’ve gotten Miss Universe Philippines?" I hope my story inspires other people too. A lot of people are trying to put you down, but you can always break through it. The only person who can decide on your fate is you.
What is your motto?
If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. I believe that in everything you do, you should give your 120%, and I believe that only happens if you yourself decide to do it. No one can push you to do something, no one else can influence you. Once you decide that you wanna pursue something, give it a 100%, so you don’t have any regrets.