Miss Samoa Performing Arts and Creative Excellence, Todahrabah Eniata is not really a "beauty pageant" kind of girl but her passion to get more youth participation changed her mind.

Her passion for performing arts and the willingness to encourage more youth to express themselves freely through the arts inspired and led to her participation in this year's Miss Samoa pageant. 

The eldest daughter in a family of two hailing from the villages of Lalomanu (Aleipata) and Leulumoega, Sa'asa'i (Savai'i), she currently resides in Vaitele-Tai said that this was something she never thought she would be doing. 

She told this newspaper in an interview on Tuesday that both her grandmother and mother were contestants in the Miss Samoa pageant in the past.

However, the 23-year-old emphasised that did not influence her decision to compete in this year's pageant, while admitting that this year's pageant was not an easy decision for her.

"When I was asked to join, I immediately declined and said no," the Ms. Eniata said. 

But the thought of using this platform to advocate for an important issue dear to her heart changed her decision. 

"I know that this will be a great once in a lifetime experience for me and I want to utilise it to explore myself and give back to the community or show them what I am capable of as a young Samoan woman. 

"Ultimately, the goal is to advocate for the inclusion of performing arts within our schools because not all kids are good at expressing themselves through writing. They can also express through performing arts and that is something I want to push for."

Miss S.P.A.C.E. also wants to send out a powerful message to the young people of Samoa, especially those who are gifted with skills in the artistic field. 

"Being an artist or a performer is not just a hobby," she said. "It can be a career path and it's something that we need to develop from the grassroot levels because there's a lot of talents out there.

"Some are being hidden as we don't have the support and opportunities to expand and explore those skills and talents. 

"But that's something I want to push for; for our people to be able to come out and pursue their passion and express themselves through performing arts."

Given that her mother, Malaefono Iteli was a former Miss Samoa contestant in 1998, she is being coached by her mother as well as her supportive team at S.P.A.C.E. 

A shy person growing up, Ms. Eniata admitted that she was never good at public events or communicating with other people, let alone standing in front of an audience. 

But being one of the performers for S.P.A.C.E. has helped boost her confidence and she is looking to build on that through the Miss Samoa pageant. 

As one of the only two local contestants, out of the eight contestants vying for this year's crown, Ms. Eniata said that she will do her best and use the platform to advocate for the performing arts. 

"The thing about pageants is that at the end of the day this platform is for young beautiful ladies to advocate for the issues that are dear to their hearts," she said. 

"So whoever wins, wins and will have the support of all the communities and the country. This is a massive platform given to the young Samoan ladies and they can take those issues to a regional level with Miss Pacific Islands.

"So it's a great opportunity for me and I know that with God and with my amazing team, we will do great."