MJ Lastimosa continues to learn and ride the waves of life

Last week, we taped Season 2 of Lutong Daza for NET25 with my cousin, Sandy Daza. One of our guests was MJ Lastimosa, Miss Universe Philippines 2014. It was the first time I met her and I couldn’t help but notice her big, beautiful, light brown eyes.

When I asked her if she had any foreign blood, she told me her father is Saudi Arabian while her mother is Filipina. As a child, she lived in Manila, but when her parents moved to Saudi Arabia, she was left in the care of her older sister and her uncle who was living in North Cotabato.

She admitted that her uncle was very strict since he was raising six girls (including her and her sister) in a war-torn province at that time. It was this kind of environment that led her to work and excel in school. Fortunately, she received a DOST (Department of Science and Technology) scholarship and graduated with a Bachelor Science degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Mindanao.

All throughout her college life, she tried to avoid joining the intra-college beauty contest despite the persistence of her classmates and professors. Eventually, through the tenacity of her peers, she had no choice but to succumb to their pleas. Joining a beauty contest never crossed her mind, she was a simple girl with simple dreams. She won Mutya ng University of Mindanao in 2006 and from then on, there was no stopping her from winning various beauty titles until her Binibining Pilipinas stints.

MJ thrived in the College of Engineering and graduated on schedule. According to her, she doesn’t walk away from math problems easily and that’s the same approach she took when she started embracing the pageant girl in her. She pursued, persevered, and it took her three long years to finally walk the international stage of Miss Universe. Unknown to many, in 2011, MJ placed second runner-up in Bb. Pilipinas.

In 2012, she was among the Top 12 finalists and in 2014, she won the title Miss Universe 2014 along with the Best in Swimsuit award. In 2015, it was MJ who crowned Pia Wurtzbach as her successor.

MJ mentioned that there are moments when she misses being an engineer, but she admitted that with the ever-evolving technology, the things she learned in computer engineering are probably obsolete by now.

Like most beauty queens, MJ has found herself in show business. She is grateful for the opportunities that have come her way, and she continues to learn and ride the waves of life.

MJ is also a certified vegan. A vegan only eats plant-based foods or, in other words, foods that don’t have “parents.” It started in 2012, when a friend from the United States lent her a video documentary of how doctors were using food as medicine. She got so emotional after watching the video that she went cold and fully committed herself to a plant-based lifestyle.

To her, the irony was that prior to watching the documentary, she was not a big fan of vegetables and loved munching on chicken! For the past 10 years, she has gone shopping in weekend markets looking for fresh fruits and vegetables, learning new vegan recipes and reading up on the latest research on food healing.

Lastly, when I asked her if she had any plans of settling down soon, she said she’s quite picky with her suitors. However, she’s not closing her doors and if the door of love opens, she’ll be glad to walk right in.