Beauty with Brains

19 January 2024

Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences

1. How has the experience of participating in the Miss World Malaysia competition contributed to your personal and professional growth?

Miss World Malaysia is one of the biggest pageants held in Malaysia. It has a vast platform because the winners (our dear queens essentially) would represent the country on an international stage. A queen should always be equipped with enhanced grace, charisma, and sensitivity towards the life within her and the life around her. Instilling and embracing these elements within me has boosted my self-esteem, allowing me to carry myself better and effortlessly.

Being part of a beauty pageant means that I should be very well-versed in my time management and adaptation skills— beauty pageants are always filled with surprises, and we are expected to portray the best versions of ourselves at all times. Thus, participating in Miss World has helped me improve my time management skills as rapid decision-making skills are needed frequently, which also brings about the necessity to adapt to every situation or challenge we come across throughout the competition.

Miss World was one of those platforms that made me understand myself better and in a much more profound manner. Through Miss World, I gained clarity and insights about what truly matters to me and the exact change I want to bring about in this life. Besides that, I also understood my fashion sense and style better, which has been a great help in curating a wardrobe that is authentic to me.

2. How did you balance your responsibilities as a medical student with the demands of participating in the Miss World Malaysia competition? Are there specific challenges you faced?

I remember that since the start of 2023, I promised to participate in Miss World this year. Only a few, except for six of my close friends, knew I attended the Miss World Malaysia 2023 audition. As it was my final year in medicine school, I knew that my parents would not be happy about it. Hence, the reason why I didn't tell them that I was one of the finalists for Miss World Malaysia 2023 until I got the official email from the Miss World Malaysia organisation itself. They were shocked, and I agree that they were even more worried than I was about getting days off from school to attend the pageant week held in Sabah. It took me a good 2-hour phone call with my parents to convince them to leave for Sabah for ten days to compete, and I also had to promise them that I would not let my passion for beauty pageants and modelling jeopardise my career as a doctor.

Miss World Malaysia 2023 pageant week commenced on 18 August 2023 and lasted until 24 August 2023, and the grand coronation night was held on 25 August 2023. Our flight back home was scheduled for 27 August 2023. Thus, a formal email was sent to the School of Medicine to request the ten days' leave of absence I would need. My request was accepted, and my dear lecturers granted me a leave of absence, provided that I replace all classes I missed during my absence once I returned from Sabah. Replacing classes meant that I had to work during the weekends as well, and this whole situation was the most challenging for me as I lacked rest and was mostly sleep-deprived during that period.

I am very grateful that I could hold on to my responsibilities as a medical student and as one of the finalists of Miss World Malaysia 2023. It boosted my self-esteem and gave me profound satisfaction as I handled both responsibilities with discipline, hard work, and resilience. I didn't have to choose one over the other.

3. Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in medicine and participate in beauty pageants?

When I first started modelling in 2018, my motivation was to overcome the individuals who had subjected me to bullying based on my appearance and skin tone. Both primary and high school are, to date, mere nightmares to me as I was always said to be one of the ugliest people on earth, and if I were not a smart kid, I would be worth nothing at all. Safe to say, I started modelling for the wrong reasons, but 18-year-old Vaishu just wanted to bust the whole myth about her being one of the most physically unattractive people to be alive.

Medicine has been my dream since age 8 (yes, very early on), and I have never seen myself doing anything else but medicine. I have always felt that I was truly meant to be a doctor. Growing up, I gained a profound interest in women's reproductive health and decided to pursue a career as an obstetrics and gynaecology specialist. When I was 19, I became passionate about spirituality, which guided me to understand and gain insights into mental health, a very important aspect of every individual's life. Since then, I have always been working on my healing journey, and I always made sure that I am always there for family and friends who are going through mental health issues. Back in July 2022, I had one of the darkest phases of my life as I suffered from severe depression. It took me nine months to regain myself, and during that phase of my life, completing year 4 in medicine was such a struggle. My healing journey was enhanced throughout my three-month stay in Australia in early 2023 as I spent abundant time in solitude, and I will be forever grateful for that. My love towards mental health intensified after that.

I gave a glimpse of my personal life as I wanted to convey that the reason I joined Miss World this year was extremely different from when I first started modelling. My 'Beauty With A Purpose' campaign during Miss World Malaysia 2023 was to spread mental health awareness and clarity to individuals, especially primary and high school students. I learned through my healing journey that I never really healed from the traumas that I had when I was a child and that led to my depression back in 2022. As hurtful as my life experiences were, they were the reason behind the woman I am today. If it were not for my mental health issues, I wouldn't have had such profound passion and clarity towards mental health, and I always prioritise attending to anyone reaching out for help with their mental health issues.

4. How do you envision balancing your roles and responsibilities in the near future?

Pursuing a career in medicine while pursuing my dream of being a beauty queen and an established model has its hardships, but it is not impossible. Life has taught me repeatedly that giving up and leaving are always options in every circumstance. We all have the utmost liberty to give up or leave at any stage or phase of life. However, it is important to understand that some of the most painful moments arise before we shine bright (as cliché as it sounds, it is the truth).

I believe in giving ourselves grace, especially on days we are unable to stand ever so strongly. All of us have strength within us, but knowing when to sit back before we continue our journey is pivotal. Without grace, strength is quite fragile. I always tell myself that if I am feeling pain or dealing with a hardship, I am allowed to feel my emotions at that moment to gain clarity, which would help me navigate my next approach better. Slowing down doesn’t mean that you are not strong. It simply means you love yourself enough to sit back, rest, feel, understand, and navigate life.

In my personal opinion, I have always felt being strong while disregarding your emotional state in the present moment is a catalyst for giving up easily. Hence, I will always balance my roles and responsibilities with the grace I have learned to give myself throughout the years to visualise my next step with better clarity.

5. Do you aim to undertake specific goals or projects in the coming years?

As mentioned previously, I have a great passion towards mental health. I am now establishing my own non-governmental organisation (NGO) that aims to spread mental health awareness and clarity, as awareness of an issue is not enough. We need to establish clarity as well to know what exactly has to be done to tweak and solve the issue. I aim to establish my NGO and conduct talks regarding mental health, especially in schools. My ultimate dream is to progress through this journey and to bring about mental health education in primary and high schools.

A statement that I always tell myself is, “We may not be the sole reason for a change to take place. However, we can always be the first step towards that change.” To every individual out there, as they say, dream big but never fear to act upon it. We can never be fully ready or equipped. However, it is important to understand that we are all a work in progress and will get there through resilience, consistency and determination. The secret is always to show up and to do it despite the fear. Give yourself grace, and never be hard on yourself. Remember that practice brings about progression, which should always be our goal in life, never perfection.

I would have never believed if my current reality had been narrated to me five years back as 19-year-old Vaishu was never brave enough to imagine the life that I am living now. Fortunately, the many challenging and personality-embracing events that took place in my life have created the very being that I am now and made my current reality possible. It is indeed a great honour that life has provided me.