On May 1, Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray invited her 5.4 million Instagram fans to shoot her a question via Instagram Stories. Catriona, who is currently in the United States, was at the Miss USA rehearsals and had a bit of downtime for a short Q&A!
Catriona loves receiving snail mail and fans can get their hands on a Catriona postcard and maybe a note from the reigning Miss Universe herself. Last April, Catriona sent out some postcards to lucky fans and she even used her own postage stamp! Catriona shared the address where fans can send her letters.
When asked about hosting at the CHI Lounge, Catriona shared that she’ll be doing hosting duties for the Miss USA pageant that’s happening on May 2.
A fan commented that Catriona has a rich vocabulary. Catriona attributed her vocabulary range to her love of reading.
Newly-crowned Miss Teen USA 2019 Kaleigh Garris also made an appearance on Catriona’s feed. She said, “We got a new sister to come to the apartment and visit me in New York.”
Last December 2018, we learned that Catriona has scoliosis—a condition wher a person’s spine has a sideways curve. Because of that, training for the now-famous lava walk was a challenge for Catriona as she cried during the first few times she tried it. When asked how she maintains her good posture, Catriona said she does several exercises to maintain her posture.
Winning the title of Miss Universe comes with a lot of responsibilities, and one of those is having the grace and confidence to come up onstage or in front of a camera to talk. In overcoming stage fright, Catriona said, “Stage fright is a completely normal reaction for most of us when we get up on stage, and being nervous just means that you care [about] what you’re doing. So just breathe through it. It’s completely normal and do your best and have fun.”
Apart from doing events and media appearances, another fun perk of being Miss Universe is getting to travel and see the world. When asked about the next country she’s visiting, Catriona shared, “South America, a few spots in Asia, so that will be really exciting, and maybe a European trip.”
The road to a pageant crown is never an easy task as it comes with challenges. Catriona’s advice to young pageant aspirants? Learn and gain the experience.
“Learn as much from the experience that you possibly can because only one girl will walk away with that title. So you’ll want to have an experience that you’ve learned and grown, so that no matter what happens, you’re a winner, regardless,” Catriona said.
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