'It's surreal!' Laura Lehmann talks about Miss World PH win

ABS-CBN News Posted at Sep 04 2017 04:26 PM

MANILA – Former courtside reporter and host Laura Lehmann still could not believe that she was crowned Miss World Philippines over the weekend.
“Surreal. That’s the only word I can use to describe the feeling right now. This is a dream to me and I feel like it’s going to end any moment,” she said in an Instagram post on Monday. “I woke up this morning just like you – with my oversized pajamas, ripped blankets, and two dogs beside me, not believing someone as normal like me had a crown on her head.”
Lehmann, who studied Psychology at the Ateneo de Manila University, first competed in Binibining Pilipinas 2014 and finished first runner-up.

Explaining why she decided to give pageants another try and join Miss World Philippines 2017, she wrote: “A Miss World queen is just a girl, like me, like you, with a passion, with a purpose, and a dream. She is someone who loves her country and someone who wants to help make the world a little lighter, a little brighter, in whatever way she can.”
“I know that there is a lot of hate and sadness in the world today, but I have always believed that people are good by nature. They are deserving of all the smiles and all the happiness in the world. I joined this pageant because I truly believe in everything it stands for,” she added.
During the question and answer round of Miss World Philippines 2017, Lehmann was asked to respond to people “who believe that pageants do not provide an opportunity to empower women.”

She answered: “To anyone who doesn’t believe in pageants, I would ask them to take a look at the girls that we had on stage tonight. Because we had lawyers, we had architects, we had women of substance who are here to day not only because of what they look like, but also because of what’s in their heart, what’s in their mind, and because they brought forth ‘Beauty with a Purpose’ projects.”
“They are here fighting to represent the Philippines and become the best version of a Filipina. And to me, that is something to celebrate, not protest,” she ended.
Lehmann is set to represent the Philippines in the Miss World pageant in China this November.
Actress-model Megan Young, who competed in 2013, is the only Filipina so far who has been successful in bringing home the Miss World crown.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/life/09/04/17/its-surreal-laura-lehmann-talks-about-miss-world-ph-win