Woman Who Is True to Herself and Is Comfortable in Her Own Skin Is Beautiful - Angel Goyal

Want to become a writer at Eat My News? Here is an opportunity to join the Board of Young Leaders Program by Eat My News. Click here to know more: ​ bit.ly/boardofyoungleaders

1. Tell us about your background and journey.

Well, I’m a girl from the mountains. I’m from Rampur bsr. It’s a small town in Himachal Pradesh. Currently, I’m living and working in Mumbai. By qualification, I’m a software engineer and by profession a model. 

People always ask me how come modeling after doing B.tech? But I feel education is very important for any individual and it helps in your all-around development. 

And at that point, I didn’t know how do I start my career in modeling or should I go to Mumbai or take classes, and at that point so much of awareness was not there. So I decided that I’ll do engineering and my parents also told me that finish your studies first and then do whatever you like.

2. Did you always dream about entering a beauty pageant and were you confident about winning?

I never dreamt about entering a beauty pageant but yes when I was a little kid I used to get so fascinated by watching all these beauty queens wearing tiaras on television so I guess I kind of manifested it. 

But I always wanted to do modeling so it was a stepping stone for me. My mom told me about Miss Himachal pageant when I came back home during my summer break in 2014. I was in my 7th semester. And she asked me to go for the audition And I remember I didn’t have my stuff with me. 

My heels, dresses, and everything was in the hostel. So I randomly went for the audition where everyone was wearing heels and I was the only one walking in sneakers. But I was confident in my skin and I got selected for the next round.

And yes deep down I knew that I gave my best in everything I could so there was this little hope in my heart that I could win. But all my other fellow contestants were also brilliant so it was a tough competition and I’m glad I won. 

3. What sacrifices and challenges that people don't know of does it take to participate in a beauty competition?

There are many challenges and sacrifices that people have to face. Sometimes their family doesn’t support them. Sometimes they are worried about what society is gonna say. Sometimes they are not confident about themselves. 

Everybody’s journey is different but I was very fortunate that I didn’t have to face any challenge as such. My family was very supportive. Even my college Jaypee university did support me a lot because I had to take one month's leave from the college for the pageant training. 

And all my fellow contestants were very cordial, supportive, and kind. Yes, the whole journey was different altogether. It was a new experience for me. I didn’t know at that time how to walk in 5-inch heels or how to do make up. 

I guess that was the only challenge I had to face, but the whole journey was really fun. I was exploring new things and I was just going with the flow and I was happy that I was given this opportunity where I could learn something new.

4. What is your definition of beauty and media portrayal of the same?

Beauty according to me is not just about physical appearance there’s so much more to it. Beautiful is a woman or any person who has distinctive personality. Who is confident, kind and compassionate. Woman who is true to herself and is comfortable in her own skin is beautiful. 

You need to be happy with yourself and you need to like what you see in the mirror. It’s not just about looking beautiful. It’s about your aura of "feeling" beautiful and "feeling" good. 

So for me "Feeling good is the new looking good".

And the way media portrays beauty I feel it focuses more on your physical appearance. We live in the age where there is so much pressure of looking good all the time, or to look perfect in your pictures or to have this perfect body. 

So people are either not happy with themselves or they are constantly comparing themselves to other people and are not satisfied with who they are and what they have. 

Especially in the world of social media where everyone is trying to develop or portray that perfect image of themselves and most of the time what you see is not even real and I wanna tell all these young girls that don’t take all of this very seriously and most importantly don’t let it define you.

I feel beauty lies in imperfection. And It’s completely fine if you’re not tall or slim or if you don’t have a flawless skin as long as you love yourself because nobody is perfectly perfect. 

5. What would be your advice to all aspiring models, artists, and pageant aspirants?

1. My advice to all the aspiring models and all these young boys and girls is that don’t take life too seriously. And don’t worry about things that you can’t control. Be confident, give your best, never lie to yourself, and leave the rest.
2. Your job is to give your 100% and to work on yourself. Many opportunities will come in your way. Some will work in your favor, some won’t. But don’t ever lose hope because You don’t know what’s there in the box for you. Just keep going.

6. What is your idea of success or your mantra in life?

My idea of success is to be financially stable, and most importantly to know the purpose of life. One should love what he/she is doing and be happy with who you are.

- Angel Goyal

  IG: angel_goyal

- Interviewed By: Anurag Jaiswal