Miss Earth United States 2018 is all set to organize its grand finale on 14th July 2018 where delegates from all over the States will compete for the national crown. Andreia Gibau, the reigning Miss Earth United States, will crown her successor at the end of the event finale.
But before that, here we have Miss Michigan Earth United States 2018 Jasmina Cunmulaj sharing her experience and journey of being the national delegate of Miss Earth United States 2018 in an exclusive interview with Angelopedia.
Q. How does it feel to be the winner of Miss Michigan Earth United States 2018 and a delegate of Miss Earth United States 2018?
I feel so grateful for this opportunity to represent Michigan at Miss Earth United States. Knowing that this pageant has such a genuinely wholesome and driven purpose is what makes me so proud!
Q. What is the best lesson you’ve learnt in your journey as the delegate of Miss Earth United States 2018?
I have learned that being myself is the best lesson. In this journey of life in general, we need to find out who we are born to be, and embrace that with all of our hearts. This past year has been an eye opening experience for me as I have been blessed with this opportunity to be Miss Michigan Earth United States. In the end, what matters is that we lived our lives to our fullest potential, being completely ourselves.
Q. What is the one thing that keeps you going and inspires you to be the best version of yourself?
Everyday I have to take a moment to realize how lucky I am to be doing the things I do. From being able to have a college education, to representing Michigan, and basic things like even having water to drink or a roof over my head. The people out there who do not have these things are what inspire me to keep going and be the best version of myself. I know that not everyone has these opportunities, and so with that, I would like to ensure that I become an advocate for those who cannot speak up and fight for themselves for a better life. My motivation has become the young girls and boys of this world.
Q. We would love to know more about your advocacy to save the Planet Earth and what drove you to choose it?
This has been one of the most exciting years of my life, thus far. Being able to have my own non-profit organization has been such a wonderful experience and privilege. My advocacy is a non-profit called The Flower Girls (www.theflowergirls.org) and it aims to inspire the female youth of today to go out into this world and be advocates for change for the Earth itself. Through the organization, we have monthly meetings with the young girls to participate in green-clean-ups, education about the environment and ways to fight back against climate change. Also, we have other female role models who play an important part in being eco-friendly come in and speak to our girls. My mission is to not only inspire these young girls to make a difference within the environment, but to make a difference within their generation and generations to come, with confidence, poise, and a passion to help the world we live in.
I decided to use this as my advocacy because as a Developmental Psychology major in school, I knew that my love for children could not be subsided. I wanted to truly find a way to make a large impact on the environment, and the young girls today. It takes mankind to fix what mankind has destroyed, so we need to start with our youth to lead this change.
Q. How would you like to represent yourself at the national stage of Miss Earth United States 2018?
I would like to represent myself as a young woman who is full of genuine intention to make a difference. At the conclusion of MEUS, I want to be the woman that all young girls can look up to and say “I want to be like her when I grow up!” Because when I know I have reached and inspired a young girl in that way, then I have truly won.
Q. Who is your ideal, if any and what values of theirs do you wish you could inculcate in your own life, and teach the next generation?
I would like to choose two or three…but all have essentially stemmed from one, which would be my Mother. Coming from former war-torn Yugoslavia, my Mother has exemplified all things a strong woman carries. She, aside from her actual outer beauty, is one of the most respected, loving and kind women I am so lucky to know and have as a Mother. The two people I mentioned prior would be the late Princess Diana, and Saint Mother Teresa. Growing up, my Mother has taken traits from them, such as philanthropic motives, compassion, and love. I am so grateful for my Mother introducing me to the values and qualities of these role models. I hope to carry those traits and qualities from all three for the rest of my life, and pass them down to future generations.
Q. If you could be invisible for a day, how would you like to spend it?
I would love to travel everywhere and hop from flight to flight! There are so many places I want to see in this world, and with my busy schedule lately I haven’t had the time to be able to visit them! So with that invisibility for a day, I would take advantage of that and travel!
Q. Would you like to share your most special childhood memory with us?
Many of my childhood memories come from being outdoors, since I spent a majority of my childhood summers back home in Montenegro. I would say riding horses in an open field as a young girl with my best friend Sarah is something I will always cherish to this day. There is nothing more in this world that I love than being on a horses back in a field that stretches so far beyond view. Life as an adult gets filled with responsibilities (good ones), and we take our free and precious youthful times for granted.
Q. What or who empowers you to be yourself and work hard everyday?
My Mother is my biggest inspiration and empowers me in so many ways. She constantly keeps me grounded and humble, but also knows what to say to get me focused and motivated. I know that she has sacrificed a great deal of her life for me to get this far, so making her proud is the least I could do in return.
Q. What is the one thing you can label as your guilty pleasure?
I am known in my family for cooking and baking, but also known for loving to eat healthy. So when I do find a bit of spare time, I am always finding new recipes to make and test out. My guilty pleasure steps in when those recipes are desserts…especially pie. I blame this on my European roots!
Q. We’re sure that this competition is another milestone in your life. What is that one thing that you ultimately want to achieve?
I ultimately want to be a human rights activist and make a genuine, impactful change for children and women. Those two specific areas may seem to receive a lot of attention, but numbers and statistics do not match up to that attention and are frequently much lower. I want to take my passion, education, and motivation and combine those qualities to ultimately achieve success, not for myself, but for all those who are in dire need. If there is one thing I have learned in this life, it is that we need to always put others before ourselves. When we do that, the happiness and relief from those people becomes our true success in return.
Q. If you are granted 3 wishes right now, what would you ask for?
1) World Peace 2) The end to Climate Change 3) A garden with endless white roses and hydrangeas
Q. Lastly, is there any message that you would like to give to your fans of Angelopedia?
Thank you so much for taking the time to interview me and also share my story! The message for the fans of Angelopedia I would like to leave you all with would be to find your passion in life, and use it to motivate you in everything you do. The Flower Girls is my passion, and that has become the motivation and future goal that leads me to do everything I do! Use your voice and your heart, and your thoughts and actions will not be unheard nor unseen. In the end, what matters is that you did what you were driven to do with full force (as long as you do not hurt others in the process) and you feel complete in your heart. You never know how your courage and passion can change others, too!