A balance of the two

By Marissa V. Foster

The second out of four siblings for her parents, there is not just one word to describe Ronecca Arjune’s upbringing. She was very daring and adventurous while playing with her siblings, studious because most of her childhood focused on schooling and she was always the eager one to always learn new things. At the tender age of eight, she started dance school. She performed on many stages which brought about many wins. Her inner ‘tomboy’ made her want to learn how to ride a bike, play cricket, climb trees, ride horses and take baths in the trenches but she also loved to play dress-up. She would put on new clothes, do her makeup and wear her favourite pair of heels just to walk over to the photo studio to have her pictures taken.

Arjune secured a place at New Amsterdam Multilateral (NAMS) in the year 2013. She stressed that she missed her dream school by a few marks but was still determined to shine. In grade nine, she entered into Miss Multi pageant where she was the youngest among the girls. This did not deter the young girl, as she emerged as Miss Multi 2016 where she was awarded best smile and best costume. Her platform was based on suicide awareness and prevention, as it was quite prevalent at the time. In that very year, she went to compete in the Miss New Amsterdam Inter High pageant where she was crowned queen again, she also copped the Miss Intelligent award along with best creative wear. Ronecca used this platform to promote positive self-image. Both pageants have given her a new purpose; she found that she now had young females who looked up to her and that has pushed her to become a better version of herself.

Her childhood vision of becoming a general surgeon which is very much alive right now has kept her aligned. Hence, she joined the general-science stream at NAMS. Ronecca can also balance her studies and extracurricular activities as she was also a debater in high school and this led her to emerge as the best speaker at a Local Government Forum in 2017.

Upon graduating high school in 2018, she successfully came to the fore as valedictorian at the New Amsterdam Multilateral by passing sixteen subjects. Arjune also received the awards for being an all-rounder, Best Graduating Student, Best Biology Student, Best Agricultural Science Student, Best English B Student and Top General Stream Student.

What posed the greatest challenge for Arjune was holding on to all the negatives she has been told. This has held her back tremendously as she allowed these words to determine who she was. “It was then I came up with a quote which has helped her to persevere. That quote is the mountains in front of you are not for you to carry but for you to climb,’” she said. Ronecca managed to turn negatives into positives. She climbed her mountains and used those words as stepping stones to get to the top. In addition to this, she had a hard time recovering from her decisions in the past. However, she now realizes that ‘sitting back’ and regretting past choices does not change the fact that she made/did them.

She was set to start medical studies in July 2019 in China but also wanted to compete in another pageant on an international stage where she can represent Guyana. Eventually, Arjune postponed her studies for the following year since. Ronecca did her research to find a pageant that would best compliment all that she is when she stumbled upon Miss World Guyana. This competition was chosen for a very specific reason and that was its beauty with a purpose project. Her beauty with a purpose project takes the name Four Walls for All which as you envisioned is being able to provide a shelter for the persons on the street/without a home along with their other needs; food, clothing, love, affection and education.

This project was not chosen or given to her, but it stemmed from her heart; a heart that hopes to revive humanity and advocate for the most underrepresented group of persons; in this case—the homeless. Eager to give back, she thought of those who are actually without and ways in which she can help. She uses this pageant to satisfy her deepest desire, which is making a difference in our beautiful country. Her project was launched on June 12, 2019, and currently facilitates an active feeding program where she helps over 30 persons each session. The general conceptualisation is that the homeless or persons on the street are drug addicts/ alcoholics.

However, over the months working with these persons, she realised that they are just people who had really unfortunate events that they were never able to recover from.

Currently, she also has a passion for sharing my knowledge and I found that purpose being fulfilled in my Sunday School. She is a teacher to 15 children where she not only teaches religion but life skills. Her advice to persons with similar challenges and stories is to, “not carry their mountains but instead climb them. Your mountains are your problems, your situations, your hindrances. Do not carry these, it will only weigh you down. Look at them in front of you, and climb right over it. You cannot climb with weight on your back. Whatever you feel is holding you back, lose it.”

This beauty with a brain will be pursuing her medical studies in China after which she hopes to dedicate other services to humanity, travel the world and aid medical assistance to those who need it. Ronecca is a current participant in the MWG pageant which is expected to be held in 2020 and uses the hashtag #Roneccaforthecrown to help promote her platform. The pageants she participates in are not just competitions for her, she uses her platforms alongside her intellectual skills to help those who are in need.