Lizmarie Persaud

I've always wanted to do modeling since I was very young. I believe that I like fashion, I liked dressing up, and just kind of taking pictures, and just kind of being and taking care of myself. I feel like modeling and pageants and that pageant life really shows you that discipline that you need, and it builds that confidence as well in you. It's not only beauty, I feel like it's so much more than that. It builds your confidence, it builds your discipline, it just shapes you into a whole different woman when you go into that lifestyle, especially the pageant lifestyle. I also wanted to have something for myself, and I felt like that was a good little way to do that, because you do public speaking as well and you're taught how to do public speaking. I grew up in a Christian home, and my parents didn't want me to do pageants and modeling because they thought it was something vain, and something that as Christian women we shouldn't be doing, we should be dressed modestly. But that also empowered me to want to do pageants and modeling, because I feel like we can still be beautiful and be a Christian woman and still represent ourselves in a modest way too. We don't have to expose ourselves like some other models maybe will. Growing up in a Christian home, I did want to achieve more in life and use my potential that God has given me. I felt like I was really good in that area of modeling and doing pageantry, so that's why I decided to use the skills that God gave me. In retail, I've gained a lot of experience working with all types of people and communicating very well with people. I think that having a retail job really teaches you how to deal with other people and get along with other people. There's so many different people that come into the store every day, and we need to know how to talk to them and help them. I think that retail could be stressful at times, but it's also very beneficial for our growth and our personal enrichment.