A young woman from Anglesey hopes to break down socioeconomic barriers by competing in this year's Miss Wales. 21-year-old Melissa Cain from Amlwch came from a disadvantaged upbringing. According to Melissa, as a child she was given hand-me-down clothes and didn't get her first mobile phone until she was 18 years old.
Her mother would earn just enough to put food on the table. Now, Melissa who is a geography student in Liverpool, hopes to use the Miss Wales competition as an opportunity to show young girls and women from similar backgrounds that they too can do anything they set their mind to. Every year, the winner of Miss Wales is chosen over a three-day event which involves various events such as a charity ball and a catwalk show. The winner then goes on to qualify for Miss World, which is said to be the longest and largest pageant in the world.
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The last time Wales won Miss World was in 1974 when Helen Morgan from Barry took the crown. Sophie Moulds from Ferndale came close in 2012 when she was placed first runner up. Last year's winner and current titleholder is 21-year-old Darcey Corria from Barry, who became the first woman of colour to be crowned Miss Wales.
Having never competed in a pageantry competition before now, Melissa has described the experience as "surreal" but "exciting". She hopes she can bring the crown back to north Wales, a place that is very close to her heart. "Anglesey means absolutely everything to me," she told Wales Online.
"I live in Liverpool now, but am planning to move back to Anglesey with my partner. Living in a city, you realise how much you love and appreciate your home, the countryside and the quietness of it." Melissa has 10 siblings from both her mother and father's side. Having mostly been brought up in her mum's home after her parents separated, Melissa was the youngest sibling and realised early on that her family struggled financially, which had an effect on Melissa's mental health.
She said: "I know that we didn’t have a lot of money growing up, we never really got the same thing as other kids that were in school with us, for example we didn’t get our first mobile phones until we were the age of 18 as we would have to pay for it ourselves, all my clothes were from my sisters and we would be missing out on school trips. It was quite difficult growing up.
"I suffered from really bad anxiety to the point that I didn’t go to school all together - I missed about two years of school. My attendance at both primary and secondary school was quite bad. In hindsight, I regret it but at the time I couldn’t force myself to go. When I would go to school I’d either have a panic attack or go home early.
"That has stuck with me but over time a little bit of confidence came with age, I started to realise that materialistic things - they didn’t really matter, as much as other important things like your health and family. I wanted to do Miss Wales because I wanted to prove that it doesn’t matter if you have a disadvantaged background, you can achieve it. I want to show that you can do it, and you shouldn’t hold back because of your upbringing."
The Miss Wales 2023 final will take place in April this year, with events set to take place in the Holland House Hotel in Cardiff and The Riverfront in Newport. In the run up to the final, the girls will undertake a series of challenges including raising money for the Miss World charity - Beauty With A Purpose, which helps underprivileged children and is an initiative that resonates with Melissa.
According to the Miss Wales hopeful, she is still in disbelief that she has made it to the final. She said: "This is the first thing I have ever done in the pageantry industry. To be honest, I never considered myself for it and never thought I could do it.
"For confidence reasons, I thought I’d be shut down, and for money reasons I thought it would hold me back financially. But I did it on a whim, without thinking much of it and then I got the email that told me I had an interview and then that I had made it to the finals. It still feels so surreal.
"I think it’s so good that the pageantry world is becoming a more inclusive and diverse environment, but more could be done to include people from different socioeconomic backgrounds because some people are left behind, not just from the pageantry world but from other fields as well.
"I want to prove to people from disadvantaged areas that they shouldn't feel they can only be what their childhood taught them, restricted or stuck in a box. I want to prove myself and my younger self that I can do it. Even if I don't win, just being here is enough."
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