New Zealander Ariel Pearse recently completed 18 months volunteer service as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
As she continues her tertiary education in Canberra, and prepares to participate in the Miss World New Zealand competition, she reflects on what matters most to her in her life—and how she wants to help others in the future.
In a recent interview with Omika Australia, she said.
"I want to be an example of how someone who still has strong values and lives moral principles can achieve within the world.
"We are so pulled back by our fears, our fears hold us back and some of us feel like we don’t fit in or belong, but we can succeed.
"Being a member of the (LDS) church, having what other people call restrictions, being able to live through them – one of the things is modesty. Too often we are controlled by what other people think and often times girls dress in a way that they feel they will be more accepted and more beautiful – I believe if we take the power back and choose what we want to wear, we empower ourselves.
"When I was little I remember I’d always feel anxiety about the future and what was going to happen – I always wanted to help people since I was young, that was all I desired.
"When I got home (from my mission), my desire to help people really increased, I wanted to do more, I’ve always been able to do that (help others) in my own sphere, and I’d like to expand my ability to do that."
Image credit: Ariel Pearse, Facebook, Miss World New Zealand 2016.