HER NEW PURPOSE

A woman striking on her own well beyond her storied reign, Megan Young continues to live out her truth one new day and one thrilling adventure at a time

- PORTIA LADRIDO

Four women in mountains of gloss and fabric hold hands; drum rolls while hearts beat as the camera dollies across the stage. “Philippines!” shouts the chairwoman of the Miss World Organization. A tightly held top bun, a swinging pair of chandelier earrings and tears pricking the corner of her eyes, our very own Megan Young was crowned.

It has been four years since the long-lashed, olive-skinned actress wowed the world with her grace. Nations have endured political, economic and cultural upheavals. Leaders have changed. Rockstars have died. Apps have come and gone. Megan, all glammed up in yellow pantsuit, sits posed on a high metal chair—ostensibly, the same.

“In terms of my personal life, I would say not much has changed —just the fact that my circle is even tighter now and I’m closer to a lot of people around me. But me? I’m still goofy and I’m still a little bit wacko from time to time. So I don’t think much has changed within me, it’s more of the surrounding factors that have changed,” she says.

The inexplicable sincerity that radiates from her eyes, the extra curve that appear on her upper lip when she’s about to smile, and the voice that seems to crack when she talks about a topic she holds dear—all still coming from the same woman who took center stage and sat on the white, cushioned throne.

Her walls are down; a very rare feat for a beauty queen and an actress. There is no air of pretense. There is an ease that can only be displayed by one who is at peace with the self; a kind of peace in the knowledge that we are human— vulnerable and imperfect.