After overcoming more obstacles than ever, Kerry-Anne Ouellet wants to leave 2022 behind. The young woman from Chute-aux-Outardes now wants to take advantage of every opportunity outside of her comfort zone, such as her participation as a finalist in the Miss Canada 2023 competition.
Missing no opportunity to do what she loves and to surpass herself is what prompted Kerry-Anne Ouellet to register for Miss Canada. “My year 2022 has been terrible,” she confides. She had to do more than one mourning before getting back on the right foot in 2023.
Kerry-Anne Ouellet separated after a long relationship, in addition to seeing her parents also take different paths. The most difficult for her, however, was when in the summer of 2022, her best friend took her own life. A period of misunderstanding, questioning and questioning followed this hard ordeal.
“When someone close to you takes their own life, it also makes you question yourself. You pognes a big big hole of blackness and you really ask: am I good? With all that I had experienced, I questioned myself, ”says the young woman.
A turning point then allows him to look forward. “At one point, I went to see my doctor who had nothing to prescribe for me other than time,” she says. During this period, she received a phone call from her current employer offering her a position without her expecting it.
“I think the train passes there and I have no choice but to jump on it,” says Kerry-Anne, who is changing jobs and more than ever willing to try new things. “Everything has changed. It seemed like whatever came up as a new challenge, I had to do it, I needed to do it,” she continues.
She continues by affirming: “Yes, it makes you doubly want to live for that person. And it was she who made it all happen. When I got the answer from the competition, I told him: you, I know you’re behind that! »
An unexpected adventure
She never thought that Miss Canada would be a revelation for her. “I got a little caught up in my own game,” says Kerry-Anne. It was after reading an article with a participant from La Baie that the young woman was quickly struck by its content.
“I didn’t really know about this kind of competition. Even at my age, we’re still a little bit in the old mentality that it’s only focused on the physique and this kind of stereotype, ”she says.
On the other hand, she discovers there a depth that comes to join her, referring to the personality that is put forward. “In the article, she described well that it is a contest that is based on personality, attitude, camaraderie, how to stand out and especially on people who want to make a difference for an organization. or an important cause,” says Kerry-Anne.
Without telling anyone, she inquires about Miss Canada and registers in secret.
After an exchange by email, she receives a confirmation of her participation. “I was asked what I was most proud of getting up from. I simply replied that it is my year 2022, ”says the 28-year-old young woman.
“I’m proud to have risen from that. If 2023 has proven anything to me so far, it’s that when you reach the end, there really are some great things waiting for you. I have a terrible desire to live and get out of my comfort zone, ”she adds.
Her move to Miss Canada will also be her chance to support the North Shore Suicide Prevention Center.
impostor syndrome
“I felt like I had impostor syndrome, because I wondered why me,” says Kerry-Anne Ouellet. “I’m nothing special, I don’t have the physique of a Victoria’s Secret angel if I can put it that way,” she continues. It was at this moment that she was told that in 2023, the beauty of a woman is no longer simply judged by her exterior, but by so much more.
“I really didn’t think that contest was going to work,” said the one who checked the email several times to make sure it wasn’t a hoax. She even got in touch with the winner of the 2022 edition to ask her questions. The latter shared with the Nord-Côtière words that touched her straight to the heart: “She said to me: Stop feeling that you don’t deserve to go there. You are in your place. Stop worrying about it and give yourself the right to live it and accept it. »
The competition
Kerry-Anne Ouellet will travel to Brossard on May 18 to live this one-of-a-kind experience. “Yes, I can’t wait and I want to take advantage of it when I get there,” she confides. For now, it is possible to view her profile on the Miss Canada website and vote for the young woman.
The public’s vote counts for 15% of the participants’ final grade. “Then, we will live together there since 50% of the note will be judged during the stay, during group activities, for example”, she specifies. Finally, 35% of the mark will be evaluated during the gala on May 21.
