FOR 23-year-old Aaliyah Douglas, life is about embracing challenges and allowing them to bring out the positives in every situation. As long as something seems too difficult or makes her anxious, that’s the very thing she’d eventually decide to jump on, and, so far, she’s found that such things have led her to nothing but success.

Her latest feat was being crowned the ‘Miss Region Three Pageant 2024’ winner, which she had just happened to see on someone’s WhatsApp status. Immediately, she reflected, the thought of entering the pageant made her jittery.

“I started getting anxiety, but I told myself this is exactly why I should go for it because you never know what’s in store. So I said, win or lose, I will give it a try. I challenged myself to it and look at the outcome,” she shared in an interview with Pepperpot Magazine.

She didn’t tell people she would audition because just hearing her talk about it elicited some negative comments. So she kept it to herself, went ahead and auditioned, and got accepted.

Born and raised at Goed Fortuin, a small village on the West Bank Demerara neighbouring Schoonard and Versailles, Aaliyah is an American University of Peace Studies student pursuing a professional counselling diploma.

Although she liked music, dancing and athletics since her nursery school days, she decided to put those interests on hold when she finished school to focus on work and more studies.

“I want to be a therapist and do counselling. I want to be an all-rounder and be able to assist people not only with talk therapy but to do things physically to help them. I like being involved in various things at once, keeping myself active,” she shared.

“From childhood I wanted to be independent and achieve great things for myself. That’s why I am always pushing for great things that will reward me and help me feel good about myself,” the ambitious Aaliyah, who is already a small business owner of AD Prints and Copying Centre, said.

“I was challenging myself doing things I feared and that anxiety would take me over, so I said to myself that everything I get a little anxiety about, I am going to do it because that is keeping me from achieving great things. Anxiety is a big man, so I said I am going after everything that anxiety keeps me from,” she added.

Aaliyah said she wanted to inspire others and leave an impact. “Even though you have challenges, you can still get a good story out of it. The harder it gets is the sweeter the victory will be, so I use that as motivation to keep going.”

As she focused on the recent pageant, she also had to find time for work, studies, and her business, and even though it got overwhelming at times, resulting in tears, Aaliyah said she pushed through, knowing that it was just for a time.

Her advice to others with similar circumstances is “Challenge yourself; come out of your comfort zone. You don’t know what you’re capable of until you step out.”