MVW CANDIDATE INTERVIEW 2022

MISS VIRTUAL WORLD CANDIDATE INTERVIEW 2022

Yhishara Cerise

Every year, many in Second Life submit their names to the MVW selection committee, hoping to be selected as a candidate. Some are familiar faces in the Second Life pageant world. For others, this is their very first time competing. The aspiring contestants all have different reasons for doing it, but they all start off with one thing in common: the dream of becoming the next “Miss Virtual World”.

Perhaps it is Vortice (MV♛ ITALY 2022) who said it best: “One day I saw a contest notice. A wonderful image of the winner of the year before, and I simply dreamed of being her. But you know, dreams are dreams. Something has to be done to make them happen, and so I decided to participate.”

Once they are selected to be candidates, the first step towards achieving that dream is choosing which country they wish to represent. Most choose to represent their home country as it represents the people and places they love and has meaning for them. For AngelinkaNega (MV♛ RUSSIA 2022) it goes even deeper than that. For her, it’s about representing the “people, cultural values, and achievements in development.”

The selection of country plays a role, as it is one of the many elements the various Misses must incorporate into the work they do in the competition, which takes the form of challenges. There are two significant ones: The Runway Challenge and the Branding Challenge.

For Martina Fiertze (MV♛ AUSTRIA 2022), “the Runway Challenge was the most important and valuable, because you had to implement the given topics in styling and presentation.”

However, for Christia Galicia (MV♛ PUERTO RICO 2022), it was the Branding Challenge that she found most significant: “It required things I didn’t know how to do, such as building— creating an idea and to be able to bring it together to present it to the judges. That was a very rewarding feeling I didn’t expect in the beginning but walked away with. I used to say, ‘I have no interest in building!’ I don’t say that anymore after that challenge, in fact it piqued my interest to learn more.” Mzzsapphire (MV♛ USA 2022) also felt this challenge was significant because it “allowed me to understand who and what BOSL is and stands for, not just fashion but values and standards.”

And that has been the whole point of the Miss Virtual World pageant since it’s inception. It’s not about the winner as much as what she can bring to the role. Annough Lykin (MV♛ GERMANY 2022) summed it up in this way: “As Miss Virtual World, you not only represent yourself but also BOSL. Therefore, I think the most important qualities are being kind to everyone, helping people with your knowledge and experience, and being true to yourself and loyal to what you have committed to.”

So, while having a beautiful avatar, impeccable styling skills, ‘on point’ posing while on the runway, and a polished appearance are very important, they are not the only qualities for which the judges of this competition are looking. Many in the Second Life modeling world are in possession of such abilities. Yet it’s the general personality of the candidate: how she treats others around her and how she treats her role within the pageant are equally important.

The reality is that only one candidate will have their name read out at the finale. So having a good attitude is important for all involved, not just the winner. When asked what their reaction would be if the contestant who they didn’t think would win is called on to be the next Miss Virtual World, they

MISS VIRTUAL WORLD CANDIDATE INTERVIEW 2022

all had a variation of the same thing to say: that they would be happy for the winner and applaud them.

In the words of AngelinkaNega (MV♛ RUSSIA 2022): “Any choice of Miss Virtual World Organization will be accepted with dignity. Every girl makes every effort and deserves this title. Each of us is already a winner and is proud to be the Miss Virtual World of our country. Participation in this competition is victory! I carefully evaluate myself and the other participants in the competition. It is obvious that everyone puts their soul into the competition, regardless of time and money, creating beauty that is designed to save our world! My words ‘bravo’ and ‘congratulations’ will be absolutely sincere!”

With all the contestants holding such a similar attitude, there’s no doubt that whoever wins, the title will be in good hands for 2022.

MODEL: ANNOUGH LYKIN (MV♛ GERMANY 2022)

MODEL: ANGELINKANEGA (MV♛ RUSSIA 2022)

MODEL: VORTICE (MV♛ ITALY 2022)

MODEL: MARTINA FIERTZE (MV♛ AUSTRIA 2022)

MODEL: CHRISTIA GALICIA (MV♛ PUERTO RICO 2022)

MODEL: MZZSAPPHIRE (MV♛ USA 2022)

A SANCTUARY FOR LOST CHILDREN

Sita Writer

“There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

In many ways, we are all children; it is so much fun to recall our inner child of boundless fun – those days where we feel like the wind, hell we are the wind and feel the sun and enjoy dancing on the sand… Alas, childhood is way too fleeting… even in Second life. There is no other place like Adoption Options 2.0 in SL: a haven for those that have an inner child. As Val Shepherd, co-owner of the agency with her husband, Jordin Shepherd, says, “We will take them all: lost, found, looking for family, looking for friends, not looking at all but want a safe place to go to. “

So why have an Adoption— whaaaat? even I wondered, until I thought about it… and yes, there is a very important need for a safe place for “kids”, no matter what their age is. Talking to Val, I have to agree as she told me, “Having something like Adoption Options is highly important to us for multiple reasons. One, there are so many ‘Adult’ sims here in game that the ‘kids’ don’t have a lot of places to go to relive their childhood. There are so many places on Second Life that are completely against ToS (Terms Of Service) for a ‘child’ to go. We wanted to make a safe place for the children to come and play games, watch movies, meet like-minded friends, and hopefully find a forever family!”

Sometimes, as we all know, RL creeps into SL. That is another reason why Val and Jordin maintain Adoption Options— “We have found that in real life, some of the staff have been out on the streets, in foster home after foster home, or adopted into families. Those people know firsthand what it’s like and have the best advice to give about how this business should be run.”

Initially, Adoption Options started in 2010 and, fast forward, reopened in 2018 and has been going strong ever since. Why? It is all about family… “Family means to us that, no matter what, no matter what is thrown at you, you talk everything out and you don’t just quit when things don’t go the way you wanted them to go. You don’t just up and leave your RL family because of a tiff, so why do people in SL think that’s OK? To us, family is not disposable. You work through the bad, you cherish the good, and you embrace the differences in each person in your family.”

At the end of the day, family is a feeling of where we belong… of where we want to be in any life. And at Adoption Option, you are always welcome. “We want people to feel welcome, and we want the kids to feel SAFE! We want to be the first-place people think of when they are wanting to adopt or be adopted.”