'Confidence is the most expensive thing you can wear': Miss Universe India Kazia Liz Mejo

She once walked into a room looking for the nearest corner, hoping nobody would notice her. Today, Kazia Liz Mejo walks into a room wearing the Miss Universe India crown and preparing to take the stage for India at Miss Universe.

But the 19-year-old says the biggest transformation in her journey has had little to do with beauty and much more to do with learning to believe in herself.

Speaking at THE WEEK’s mental health initiative, ‘Healthy Young Mind, Healthy India’, Mejo opened up about her struggles with insecurity, the pressure of public scrutiny, body image and the failure that changed her understanding of success.

“I was the least confident person you would have met,” she said in conversation with Shubhangi Shah, senior correspondent of THE WEEK, recalling how she would enter a room and immediately look for a corner, hoping to go unnoticed.

As a child, Mejo says she struggled to look at herself in the mirror without seeing her imperfections. Her curly, thick hair and dusky complexion became points of criticism, feeding a narrative that she was somehow not good enough.

At one point, she says, she went nearly two years without taking a picture of herself without a Snapchat filter.

Her journey to the crown, therefore, was also a journey towards self-acceptance.

‘Confidence is the most expensive thing you can wear’

Mejo says she initially had to “fake” confidence. She repeatedly told herself that she was the best, until the words slowly became belief.

“Confidence is the most expensive thing you can wear,” she said, explaining that confidence is ultimately about the presence and energy a person carries into a room.

For someone who once struggled to be seen, being in the public eye is now an opportunity to be heard. But the spotlight has also brought its own pressures. Mejo says people will always have opinions and there is no way to satisfy everyone. Even at 19, she faced comments that she was too young to compete at Miss Universe India and should have waited.

There were moments when even she began questioning her decision. What pulled her through was a deeper sense of purpose.

The failure that changed her

Her biggest lesson, however, came from a competition she did not win. In 2025, Mejo represented India at Miss International and finished as first runner-up. For someone who describes herself as intensely competitive, the result was difficult to accept. She had given the competition everything she had — and was just one point away from the winner.

The experience forced her to rethink what it meant to give something 100 per cent. Growing up, she had heard her mother say: if you do something, do it 100 per cent or don’t do it at all. Mejo had interpreted that as meaning she had to win.

She now sees it differently.

Giving 100 per cent, she says, means giving your best, performing with your heart, enjoying the process and walking away knowing you did everything possible. “Success is to be content, to be happy with the journey and the progress that you have,” she said.

No perfect beauty formula

Mejo is also challenging the idea that there is a single formula for looking or living like a beauty queen. She does not follow a rigid diet. If she wants cake, she eats cake.

Her approach is to listen to her body rather than allow influencers or fitness trends to dictate what is perfect.

That same sense of balance extends to her life outside pageantry. A second-year law student at Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Mejo has trained in classical dance for 13 years and also plays the violin and drums. She has pursued singing and acting as well.

She admits she thrives under pressure, even enjoying the adrenaline of having an examination followed by an event.

For her, the difference lies in perspective: not asking How will I manage all this?, but recognising that being given an opportunity is itself a privilege.

More than a crown

For Mejo, the Miss Universe platform is ultimately about more than a title. She wants to use the spotlight to speak, rather than simply be seen. Her own experiences have made her acutely aware of how deeply words can affect people. Comments made to her as a child, she says, remain etched in her memory even today.

Her message is particularly relevant to conversations around mental health: mistakes should not be allowed to define an entire life. “Mistakes are just a part of your story. It’s not your entire story,” she said. “It’s what moulds your story, moulds your character.”

Now, as her Miss Universe preparations move into full swing, Mejo has her eyes firmly set on the crown and on bringing India its fourth Miss Universe title.

But her idea of success goes beyond winning. It is about being able to look into the mirror at the end of the day and be happy with the person looking back.

For the girl who once wanted to disappear into the corner of a room, that may already be her biggest victory.