Venus Raj opens up on how she conquered bullying

MANILA, Philippines - Venus Raj is now known as the beauty queen who placed fourth runner-up in the Miss Universe pageant in 2010. 

 

But with her dusky complexion and towering height, the 27-year-old stunner reveals she was bullied as a child.

 

In an interview during the Miss Possibilities pageant on Wednesday, Venus said she was called names by her peers growing up.

 

"They used to call me kapre, aswang, ganyan, because I am tall. And those factors really affected my self-confidence when I was growing up," she shared.

 

Venus said that there are many factors why people are not confident about themselves. For her, the teasing that she received when she was young was the main reason why she initially did not want to venture into beauty pageants.

 

When asked how she got over it, Venus said she learned to shut down the negativities by listening to people who only has something good to say about her and by "raising her self-awareness."

 

"Kailangan aware ka sa self mo, na kung ano ka talaga. And very important yung family mo na dapat supportive sila of you and of the things that you are doing," she said.

 

Raj attended Miss Possibilities pageant to raise awareness on the important roles of people with special needs and to show her support for young girls who struggle with self confidence.

 

READ: Asia's first pageant for young women with special needs held in Manila

 

Being an advocate of redefining true beauty, she commended the organizers for having a pageant that is very different from the usual ones.

 

"We have a lot of beauty pageant in the Philippines...pero, we only judge the physical appearance, how they walk, how they carry their dresses, their gowns. But do we really have the criteria where we can really see how beautiful their inner beauty is? Wala eh. So, I am just so happy to be a part of this," she said.

 

In her own words, "confidence is not seen on how you carry your dress...but about the inner being, something that is not seen by many."