Abigail Santos: 11 Years Already?

11 years ago, today, I was a shy 18 year old girl freaking out about being on stage in front of hundreds of people in a swimsuit.

Got your attention?

May 5, 2002 - Miss Philippines pageant

11 years ago tomorrow, I was a shy 18 year old girl who overcame those nerves and was crowned Miss Philippines - Toronto (PIDC to be exact and the first with that title).

Newly crowned Miss

I am shy. I have always been shy. To those of you who know me, I'm not lying ... I may be loud and confident now, but deep down, the girl inside is still shy. I don't think I'll ever get over that - does anyone? BUT the important thing is, I got over the nervousness, the stage fright, the idea of having people I know and don't know looking at me. I got over it, I had too. Being thrust in the spotlight does that to a person.

Talent Portion - been dancing
since I was 7

I had no choice and on top of that, I had no formal training. I was basically called up to stages in front of an intimate gatherings without preparation or knowledge and hoped to the good Lord that everything would go well. I was told I would be the MAIN master of ceremonies for the largest Filipino festival in Canada without a clue as to how to MC anything! I was told I had to dance and MC concerts with big name Filipino stars at sold out concerts without a) knowing who they were and b) what I was realllllly suppose to do. But I did all of these, and more!


The Q&A Portion aka Make it or break it This is what I was scared of...b/c I was shy!

I dove into everything that year head first! Something scary before, but now, it's what I prefer to do :) I was told I exceeded expectations and I learned to love everything about what I was doing in the spotlight. Which is the reason I do what I do now. Today I'm involved in many organizations as a communications consultant, event coordinator, media liaison, directress, and I'm even a sought out MC!

"And the winner is.....(longest wait ever).....Candidate #3"

To this day, no matter what I find myself getting involved in, I have my one year experience as a pageant contestant and a "Beauty Queen" to thank. I don't know what type of person I would be today had I not gone through this once in a lifetime process...probably still that shy girl. It may sound cliche, but it's true!

Rebecka 1st RU, Me Miss, Christie 2nd RU
Both fantastic and beautiful!!!

The organization that I have to give big props too is: Philippine Independence Day Council http://pidctoronto.com/


The best girls! During one of our many Monday night practices in Markham *missing Kim


Awarding Portion...who will it be? All of these women are beautiful, in and out!

The making of the swimsuit portion...

Practice...I think we spent more time on the swimsuit routine then any other portion of the pageant
Pageant night: when it's your turn, take a deep breath, go out on the stage and own it. Your personality comes out best in this portion, so have fun!
Once everyone has presented themselves, get ready for the "routine". We did our dance (did I mention we did a dance?) to J-Lo's "Aint it funny"