UPBEAT MUSIC Captions by Alana Drayton. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2016 UPBEAT MUSIC CONTINUES # La, la-la, la, la, la, la, # la-la, la, la, la-la. # La, la-la, la, la-la. # Beauty pageants aren't what they used to be in the 1980s. Now it's about being a well-rounded person with inner strength and outer beauty. My name is Abby Sturgin. I'm 18 years old. I'm half Laos and half Pakeha. Monday to Friday, I study a Bachelor of Business, and the rest of the time, I'm committed to being a contestant at the Miss World NZ competition. For me, it was hard growing up. My Western friends would consider me just Asian, and my Laos family would consider me as just white. I entered Miss West Auckland, and I won that. It was eye-opening for me to see that I was accepted for who I was, and from that, I believe in myself a lot more. Going into Miss World NZ, I'm going to need a lot more self-confidence. But I'm really excited about this challenge that's coming up, and I'm up for it. UPBEAT POP MUSIC Miss World NZ ` Desmond, the pageant organiser, and the team are all expecting a lot from not only myself but all the other contestants as well. We're looking for the overall woman. There are several different, uh, sections in Miss World. There's a sporting event; there's Beauty With A Purpose, which is the main one; uh, top model; get used to public speaking; and your commitment to raising money for charity is` is the main consideration. This year, we've decided to support Ronald McDonald House. What really warms my heart is the Beauty With A Purpose. It's really good to see that we can help others who are less fortunate than us and just give our time and give a good service to them is really cool. What made you choose Miss World in particular as opposed to other beauty pageants? I think Miss World really caught my eye just because they really focus on the social issues globally. That's my goal ` to help people, and` not just in our country but on a global scale. The main thing is to be yourself and just do your best. My mother, Dang, is Buddhist, and for the last two years, I have been volunteering at the Laos temple. I believe that's it's a responsibility for people to give back to the community, and in Buddhism, that's a really important principle. I've been to Laos a few times, and throughout those time when I was little, I still felt like... I was not accepted for being Laos. Here, it's kinda the same. I still feel a bit out of place, cos I don't know the prayers, and I don't know much about the faith. All those kinds of things are really new to me. I'd like to learn more about it. My mum and dad met about 20 years ago. I have three older half-siblings that are full Laos, and I have a full younger sister who is half like me. My Mum's family's quite large. Growing up, I did look a bit different to them. Well, you can see the difference here. Look at how dark their skin is compared with yours. Yeah, I was very... light-skinned. Well, you still are. I still am, yeah. Mm. Cos you kind of look Laos, but not quite. Yeah, it just made me upset. Does make you feel kind of left out. Yeah. Cos you're not really` don't look the same as the rest of the family. The other kids at school call you Asian. Yep. (CHUCKLES) Instead of white, which is the opposite of what my family was calling me. Not to deliberately make me feel crap about myself. No, I don't think they were trying to upset you. > Yeah. No. Honestly, I don't think I paid much attention to that. < Well, you don't, like` Cos it doesn't make any difference to me, of course. Is it` Like, as a kid, you're gonna find it as an insult, cos you don't know the difference between the two. Mm, but I know that you had trouble around those` certainly from 9 years old up until about 15 or so. And there was bit of struggle with that. It was` life was getting a little bit difficult. You OK? > < (SNIFFLES) < (SIGHS) (SNIFFLES) What's up? > (SNIFFLES) I don't know. I just find it hard to talk about it sometimes. OK. > (SNIFFLES) You know, it's just about how that made you a bit stronger. Maybe because you were sort of embracing the Lao culture a little bit at the temple,... < Yeah. ...and that, sort of, gave you a little bit more of a place, rather than, you know, not just being part European and part Lao. Yeah. You feel like you belong there a little bit. When I, um, think back to those times of everyone doing that to me ` I don't know, I just turned it into a positive and... wanted to show them that I could be both instead of just one. Yeah. But I'm really proud of you. It's great. (SNIFFLES) REFLECTIVE MUSIC OK? Better? Yeah. < Abby, are you OK? Abby, I see you been actually talking to Dad. Yeah. Are you all right now, or...? It's just a sensitive subject for me. When I come here, I can't speak English. I have to learn myself. I have to learn to strong up myself. You have to be strong ` what you come from, and who are you. You have to understand more about Lao culture and go see Lao people about it. Yeah. You so lucky. You got half Lao and half Kiwi. Yeah. Maybe I'm lucky too. I got nice` um, got pretty daughter like you. (LAUGHS) Thanks. To be like that, I hope you be strong girl, then. Thanks. OK? (CHUCKLES) OK. SOFT ELECTRONICA MUSIC My mum's a really strong person. She inspires me to be a strong person as well. I feel lucky that I'm half-half. It really shows that I'm unique as a person, and in Miss World NZ, I'm looking at bringing my Laos culture as part of a talent, hopefully. It's a great opportunity to show my mum and her side of the family that I'm committed to learning about the culture more and that I enjoy learning about it, because it's my heritage. It's where I'm from, and I also` Because of what she does to me, I wanna do the same thing for my children as well. UPBEAT TECHNO MUSIC The Miss World NZ competition is in full swing now. Today is sports day, and that's pretty much where we get to prove to the Miss World NZ committee how sporty and fit we are. It is a competition, so that means someone is going to win this. That gives them a bit of a boost for the final score. I have no idea what we're doing today, and I'm really nervous about it, because it could be anything. I'm gonna do my best and, hopefully... come first. Five, four, three ` standing up! ` two, one, standing up, down, hold, hold. standing up, down, hold, hold. hold, hold. LIVELY CHATTER Nice. Three, four. Two more! < Keep on! Stand up, Abby. Yeah, that's it. WOMAN: You can do this. One more! Breathe, Abby. You got this. 13. Come on! Let's go, Abby. Let's go, Abby! You can do it! Six! There we are. CHEERS, APPLAUSE Aw. So, today was really interesting. It was really hard for me to know that my fitness level wasn't as high as I thought it would be. It was definitely good to experience it all together. Just the moral support really motivated me to complete my task. So, it was intense. I was lying over there, and, honestly, just trying to get control of my breathing was really difficult. It took ages. It was really good to push yourself, wasn't it, and great to see everyone else and how hard they were working. < Yeah. And everyone was struggling but kept pushing through. I just tried to keep pushing myself, and near the end, I had a bit of a cry, (LAUGHS) cos I was just so proud of myself, so, yeah. What are you guys doing for talent? I don't really have many talents that I can do on a stage, to be honest. (LAUGHS) I do more horse riding and sports and, you know. What were you thinking of doing? I was thinking of doing a cultural dance from my Laos background, so I was gonna wear the traditional dress and get someone to teach me how to do the moves, but I'm not too sure if that's allowed. Do you think I should go ask? Definitely. It would be so great if you could do something like that. Yeah, I'd love to do it. HIP-HOP BEAT Ella is a previous winner of the competition and is now a mentor and organiser. A lot of the girls are doing either singing, dancing ` hip-hop or jazz ` for the talent, and I was wondering if I could do something different from my background ` a cultural dance. Um, I'll have to speak to the team about it,... OK. ...because we follow the Miss World format,... Yeah. > ...and if you win and wanna go on to Miss World, you wouldn't be allowed to do it there, but, of course, we embrace all cultures. Yeah. I was a winner, and I'm half-German, half-Kiwi, and I incorporated that into my journey. Um, so we'd like to look at doing something. Um, so you can present it. Whether we create a new category or we allow you to do it for the judges as a special thing ` yeah, we'll figure something out for you. Have you been exploring it for a while, or has this journey kind of made you wanna explore it further? Growing up, I didn't really know much about the Buddhist side of my family. Yeah, this will just really help the Laos community see that I am capable of doing it. Of course. I lived in Asia, and they're huge pageant fans. (LAUGHS) Yeah. So I completely appreciate that, and I think it's wonderful that you wanna explore that. Thank you. And, yeah, so I'd love to do everything that we can. It's exciting that I can somehow bring in my Laos culture into the competition. My auntie Sue is going to teach me a traditional Laos dance, and I just hope I don't make a fool of myself. (SPEAKS LAO) one, two, three. One, two, tree. (SPEAKS LAO) (SPEAKS LAO) In the Buddhist faith, to have beauty on the outside is to project the beauty from the inside, My auntie Siritha is the person I go to for advice when it comes to Buddhist faith and Laos culture. She is introducing me to the community leader, Tong Young. I am really pleased that you are interesting to learn some more about the, uh, Buddhist philosophy behind` about, uh, beauty. Beauty by sitting; beauty by the walking; and beauty by meditation. Not just the beauty from outside but also beauty from inside as well. The really important thing is if you can control your mind, you can control your body as well. Now, can you walk towards me but be controlled. Walk normal your` your... Yeah. Make sure you control your mind. Don't let your body move without you` you know that you're in. If you are not concentrate, maybe you don't know what you are doing. For your Buddhism, particularly at the stage, or whatever, that's really important that you must be concentrate. I'm really proud of you today. You did show that you have commitment. I just wanted to invite you to the Laos New Year next week. Um, and you can tell them about your journey at Miss World and your goal of what you wanna get out from there. OK. Yeah, it` uh... I feel a bit nervous, because I've always struggled with public speaking. I've always found it really hard to speak in front of` with, like, if it's just a small group or a big group, I've always struggled with that. Yeah. (CHUCKLES) Yeah, you just have to get yourself out there and do it. OK, I'll try my best. (LAUGHS) Today, I learned how to walk with grace and to use the` the power of the mind. This meditation will be very useful for calming me in the competition. I got my first blessing from the monks as well, and it was just really amazing to know that I was accepted for being a Laos girl. It does feel like the right time to start doing all these things. I'm still young, you know, and I can still use it for the rest of my life, and I feel like I need to keep pushing myself to connect with my community and... even if that means pushing through fears of not fitting in. FAST-PACED TRADITIONAL LAOS MUSIC Today, it's Laos New Year's. It's really important for the Laos community. Every year, we have a festival at the temple, and it's about new year, new you, and lots of food and music. ALL CHEER Today's a really big day for me. I'm going to represent myself in front of the entire Laos community. I'm really anxious and scared, nervous, about doing the speech today. I know it's only for a few seconds, but a few seconds is a long time for me when I have to speak in front of the whole entire community, so, yeah, I'm really scared about it, but I'll see how it goes. WOMAN SPEAKS LAO TENSE MUSIC Um, hello. My name's Abby. SHAKILY: Um, I'm Miss West Auckland, and at the moment, I'm in the middle of entering Miss World NZ. Um, I came here today to see if you guys would like to support me at Miss World NZ, which is on the 4th of June. Um, yeah, and... I'm also asking for donations, because I'm collecting money for Ronald McDonald House, which is a charity for Miss World NZ, and we're really charity-focused on that, so it would be really kind if you could help me. Thank you. UNEASY MUSIC Today, I felt like a bit of a fail. I felt a lot of pressure coming from everyone that was there. Just, a lot of people, like, telling me in my ear, like, 'Come on! You need to do it. You need to do it.' And it was just` It didn't really help me have confidence in myself to speak in front of that many people. I don't know, I just felt... like I was being judged a lot with the way that I spoke and the way I was presenting myself to everyone as well. I just felt... all eyes were on me. I need to learn from the public speaking incident that I had today, especially if I want to win Miss World NZ. UPBEAT MUSIC So, tonight, all the Miss World contestants are here at the Ronald McDonald House. We're going to be cooking for the families. It' really exciting for us, just because it's part of our Beauty With A Purpose. Ronald McDonald House is a home for families all over the country and from the Pacific who have experienced their child being really ill, so they've been rushed to Auckland Hospital, and this is the closest place they can stay at. Tonight, because I'm gonna be performing my Laos dance, I'm super nervous, but I'm excited, because I want to show them who I am, and I'm not shy of my culture. It's just amazing to do it. TRADITIONAL LAOS MUSIC PLAYS MUSIC CONTINUES APPLAUSE Thank you. (LAUGHS) UPBEAT DANCE MUSIC Today is the day of the final night. I'm... really nervous. (LAUGHS) Over the past few months, learning about my mum's side of the family and Buddhism, I feel like I've gotten closer with my family now that they've realised how willing I was to learn about it, and what they taught me helped me bring in something new into this competition and show everyone that I'm different. UPBEAT TECHNO MUSIC A lot of people from my mum's side of the family are going to be there tonight. I feel really blessed that I have so many Laos people coming to support me, and if I didn't have that, I wouldn't be able to do the best I can. ladies and gentlemen, meet the 2016 Miss World finalists! FAST-PACED TECHNO MUSIC Abby Sturgin, Miss West Auckland 2015. CHEERS, APPLAUSE If I did win, being the first Laos-Kiwi girl to win would be awesome, and it just shows that no matter what culture you are, no matter where you're from, you have a chance to win. All right, I'm gonna call out the six who will go through to be competing for the actual title of Miss World. We had the judges scores in the pre-judging and from tonight and also from the Beauty With A Purpose fundraising efforts. I'll now announce the top six finalists. Number 12, Cossie Brown! Number 13, Karla de Beer! Number 7, Ariel Pearse. Number 3, Kristy Toy! Number 5, Jess Tyson. Number 1, Abby Sturgin. I'm so excited to be in top six. I cannot believe that just happened. To hear my name being called out ` now my weakest part is coming up. I have to answer a question in front of the audience, and that's really hard for me, cos I've always struggled with public speaking. From an individual perspective, I believe that helping the poor is probably one of the most important things in the world. Millions of children are in poverty. One things that really stands out to me is building shelters for children who don't have clothes, food, water, the basic` just the basic needs. Having those things helps their future, and I believe that an organisation that would suit this is Save the Children. I really believe that joining with them can really help the future with these children. Thank you. CHEERS, APPLAUSE Well answered. APPLAUSE FADES TENSE MUSIC Right, there are only three places. Second Runner Up, Cossie Brown! First Runner Up, Jess Tyson! APPLAUSE TENSE MUSIC CONTINUES Well, it is my pleasure to announce that Miss World NZ 2016 is... Karla de Beer! CHEERS, APPLAUSE TRIUMPHANT MUSIC PLAYS I'm feeling really relieved that it's over, because... I dunno, I've just been waiting for this day to happen. Just getting to the top six was just... wow. It was really amazing for me. My family were screaming so loud, and that really helped my confidence. Showing them that I was willing to learn about Buddhism and more about my culture just really felt awesome. I've learned so many new things over the past few months. I feel different in so many ways. I don't feel the need to fit in with anyone anymore. I mean, if people wanna accept me for me, then that's great, and if they don't, then that's fine. Just me. Me as Abby. (LAUGHS) Yeah. Captions by Alana Drayton. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2016