{"id":80470,"date":"2017-09-28T09:45:46","date_gmt":"2017-09-28T07:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=80470"},"modified":"2026-02-10T16:54:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T15:54:58","slug":"more-than-appealing-for-world-peace-in-bikini","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/09\/28\/more-than-appealing-for-world-peace-in-bikini\/","title":{"rendered":"More than appealing for world peace in bikini"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Moo Miero and Elize de Jong.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Everyone knows stories of students who also have a (top) sporting career alongside their studies. Training rather than lying in bed and studying instead of drinking beer. But athletes aren\u2019t the only students with other priorities than passing their next exam.<\/p>\n

Moo Miero and Elize de Jong earn lots of Air Miles on their way to new modelling jobs, beauty pageants and photo shoots. One moment they are students mingling with other students, the next they are in a totally different world, with totally different people, needs and expectations. How do they cope with these contradictions? And wouldn\u2019t it be better to choose one of the two lives?<\/p>\n

The start<\/h3>

Moo: \u201cAfter secondary school, I\u2019d had enough of the Netherlands and went to Bali. I lived there among the locals, and had an amazing time. But then the money dried up. At that point, a friend asked me if I\u2019d like to fly to Jakarta for a photo shoot. And that was the start of my modelling career. Over the next two years, I was able to live in Southeast Asia and travel from the money I earned from modelling. Nice hotels, crazy parties \u2013 things that an eighteen year old girl can\u2019t normally afford.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Nice hotels, crazy parties \u2013 things that an eighteen year old girl can\u2019t normally afford\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Elize: \u201cAs a student, I\u2019ve always had a job in the port, as \u2018radio operator shore\u2019 at the ECT container terminal, a man\u2019s world in all respects. I instruct the crane operator about what is in the containers and their destinations \u2013 great fun. In 2015 \u2013 I\u2019d just come to the university \u2013 I came across the \u2018Miss Beauty South Holland\u2019 beauty pageant. That\u2019d be a laugh, I thought. So I entered \u2013 and thought nothing more about it. Except I won, and since then, things have snowballed: I\u2019m now entering for international beauty pageants. Last year, for example, I joined the \u2018Miss Global Beauty Queen Korea\u2019 in South Korea.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study<\/h3>
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Moo: \u201cI discovered that it wasn\u2019t so much modelling that I dreamed of, but more the lifestyle. And yet \u2013 however strange this sounds to the outside world \u2013 it got a bit boring. I wanted to use my brain more, wanted to learn something new, and it didn\u2019t really matter what. When I was back in the Netherlands on holiday, I decided to enrol for a law degree. I\u2019m now starting my master in Information law, the creative side of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elize: \u201cAbove all, studying is a sensible choice. And being sensible is something I try to be. Because once you\u2019re over 26, your modelling career usually finishes. But for now I have a whole world besides studying, as well as a life besides modelling. I like that, because there\u2019s so much more to life than just studying or just posing for photos. I find my fellow students are often only concerned with going out. They have a much more carefree life and don\u2019t understand that there are also lots of other things.\u201d<\/p>\n

The combination of two worlds<\/h3>

Elize: \u201cCombining studying and modelling is pretty hard. There\u2019s not much support from the university. Study advisors tend to like what I do, but that\u2019s it. That\u2019s why I often feel that I\u2019m missing out in both worlds. I miss exams because of the beauty pageants, and sometimes I may follow up a night working on the crane with a photo shoot. And that\u2019s not good either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Combining studying and modelling is pretty hard. There\u2019s not much support from the university\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Moo: \u201cPeople from the modelling world don\u2019t always understand why I went back to studying. I always try to explain that it\u2019s really nice to learn things. Sometimes you can\u2019t avoid misconceptions: in the modelling world, I\u2019ve often been spoken to as if I was stupid. But it\u2019s no use trying to explain; you only make life more difficult. And at the university, they often don\u2019t understand the modelling world either, although reactions are usually positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The misconceptions<\/h3>
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Moo: \u201cIt\u2019s particularly annoying when people think that it all just fell into my lap. That\u2019s the most common reaction I hear from fellow students. In fact, I\u2019ve worked really hard, got my grades and at the same time had another life with its own commitments. And yes, sometimes it\u2019s just about my appearance. But it involves much more than just parading in a bikini. Although there are always people who think that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elize: \u201cModelling competitions are no longer the cattle markets they probably used to be. It\u2019s really not all about standing in your bikini appealing for world peace. During international competitions, you also talk to the local population or you visit development projects. So it\u2019s much more about content and what you\u2019ve got to say, but not everyone realises that. That\u2019s why I don\u2019t always immediately tell other students that I do modelling work. It\u2019s not that I\u2019m ashamed of it; in fact I\u2019m very proud of what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The future<\/h3>

Moo: \u201cOver the past three years, I\u2019ve really only worked and studied \u2013 not very much else. That doesn\u2019t matter, although it\u2019s obviously a pity that I haven\u2019t had such a good social life as the people around me. I\u2019ve clearly chosen to focus on these two careers and that\u2019s what I\u2019ll continue to do. I want to complete a master, continue modelling and then start my own business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elize: \u201cTo be honest, I do regret how I\u2019ve approached it. Looking back, after getting my propaedeutic diploma, I should have focused on my modelling career for a few years and then completed my studies without the stress. But I thought: I\u2019ve got a brain, so I must use it. Now I seem to miss out in both worlds. I\u2019m not sure what to do now; perhaps I still need to make a choice.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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\"Moo Moo Miero<\/strong> (23) completed her bachelor in Law. She started modelling at the age of ten and appeared in several commercials and TV programmes as a child. She wrote a monthly column for Erasmus Magazine.<\/p>\n

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\"EliseElize de Jong<\/strong> (22) is in the second year of the Law programme. Her modelling career started two years ago, when she became \u2018Miss Beauty South Holland\u2019. Since then, she\u2019s regularly ended up in the top five of other (inter)national competitions. She also works at a container terminal in the port of Rotterdam.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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