WELL-BEING By Mylene Mendoza-Dayrit
The Philippine STAR 12/20/2005
To be Miss Earth forever was one wish Priscilla Meirelles, 2004 titleholder, had. And though she relinquished her crown last October 23, for a lot of people, she is Earth’s eternal queen, especially because of her well-remembered answer to this question: "On a quiet night, you could hear the sounds of nature talking to you. What do you think is its message and what would you like to tell it back?"
"Nature is crying. Love is missing; people don’t respect nature and life. That is why nature is reacting to what people do to her. Love is what would solve our problems," was her heartfelt answer.
Priscilla, a medical student from Brazil, bested 60 other candidates in the 2004 pageant held here. She is training to become a plastic surgeon.
Beauty is something natural to Priscilla. Not only because God gifted her with a beautiful face and body, but also because she is brimming with sincerity and kindness. Real beauty has no pretenses. And lasting beauty is one that glows not only from a flawless face and body, but also from a pure soul. Though still in her early 20s, it is easy to see that Priscilla has the right foundation to remain beautiful forever.
We heard that a special friendship is blossoming between her and a famous male personality who is known for his clean and healthy lifestyle, perfect abs, quick wit, and a great smile. Yes, a perfect pair, indeed. A match made in heaven.
Which would you consider your best body part?
I love my eyes. Is that an acceptable answer?
Well, there is a workout for the eyes nowadays.
Of course, I like my eyes, but when I work out, I love to work out my legs. Brazilian girls are heavy at the back with anywhere from a medium to a big ass. So we need to work out to have better buttocks and legs. I do squats and a lot of lower body exercises.
Do you follow a special diet?
On a normal day, I have cereals, fruits, and sometimes bread for breakfast. It is not the typical Brazilian breakfast, but it’s what I take because I work on beauty and being in good shape. A Brazilian breakfast consists of a lot of breads, cakes, juices. We love to drink coffee with milk or cream.
Where you into sports when you were young?
Yes, basketball, volleyball, handball. More of group or team sports. I played indoor volleyball because where I grew up, we didn’t have a beach. I grew up in the Amazon forests. Very exotic.
Your height is perfect for volleyball.
Yes, I am 5’8." Not the Filipino 5’8." (Laughs.) Because here, when you say you are 5’10," you can take off a few centimeters from that to get the real height.
Do you still play regularly?
I stopped four years ago because I entered medical school. I just go to the gym at night. I feel good because I am an evening person. Working out at night is better for me than in the morning.
What time do you wake up?
6 a.m. or 6:30.
And you are still full of energy in the evening?
I am young! My life is very crazy right now so I cannot really be in the gym as much as I want to. I cannot specify the time I will be free to work out. When I leave the house, I bring my rubber shoes and gym clothes with me so that when time allows, I can drop by the gym.
How do you find the local gyms?
The gym here is amazing. The gym I work out in back home in Brazil is good, but the gym here is much better. You have all the best machines and I love the boxing ring. I am crazy about the boxing class.
Any other family member with an active lifestyle?
My mother is starting, too. I am pushing her because she works a lot. She studies, she runs a company plus she is my manager. She was with me, but she had to fly back home because she has many things to do there. My brother is very active. He is into a lot of sports.
Do you have a body part you want to improve?
I would like to tone my abs and firm my buttocks. Since I came here (August), all I could do was diet because I could not work out due to a very hectic schedule. I had to offset my lack of workout with diet. But since I started to work out, I eat what I like. I permit myself to enjoy life.
Any indulgences?
I love bread and cakes, chocolates, and ice cream. I am crazy about ice cream. I just eat a little bit when I have a craving. I believe that if you work out regularly, you should allow yourself to indulge on weekends. It’s healthy to be good and disciplined the whole week and then cheat and let go on weekends!
Should exercise be important to people?
Your body is important. Not only the body, but also the soul. When you go to the gym and work out, that is very healthy. It helps you move on day by day in all kinds of activities that you do. So it is very important to take care of yourself and be healthy. It gives you energy, confidence, and style. Before, people went to the gym to get a better figure. Now, it’s more for wellness, health, prevention of sickness. If you do not like going to the gym, you can do sports or other activities that will improve your health.
What was your advantage in the 2004 pageant?
I gave 100 percent of my energy to whatever I was doing. A beauty pageant is not all beauty, it is more the total package so you need to know how to carry yourself, how to talk to people, how to win the attention of the public in general and also the judges, how to be good friends with the other girls aside, of course, from being pretty and having a nice body.
What is great about your reign as Miss Earth?
The winner should be intelligent and ready to work for the cause of the environment. That is basically what Miss Earth is about, the protection of the environment. I was involved in a lot of clean-up projects all around the Philippines. I am in love with this country because people are so nice, kind, and lovely. But just like Brazil, there are lots of problems that need to be solved.
What can you say about Filipino men?
Filipino men are very gentle. This is very dangerous. (Laughs.) They are very friendly. Filipinos are muy simpatico!
Are you staying?
Our family is Catholic so I have to go home and spend Christmas with my family. But I will be back in March!
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