Beauty Pageant Winner Now an Army Officer, Netizens Go Gaga Over Lt. Garima Yadav’s Life Journey

Written by Anjala Farahath  • 

Did you know that a shark grows only up to 8 inches in a fish tank but can grow up to 8 feet in an ocean? Just like the fish tank limits the shark’s growth, we limit ourselves with the notions of the society. If we confine ourselves amidst the pages of the society’s rulebook, we will never be able to grow to our true potential. On that note, let’s talk about Garima Yadav, a former beauty pageant winner who is now an army officer. In 2017, she won a pageant titled India’s Miss Charming Face. One would think that she would settle for the world of fame and fashion, but she didn’t. She chose the path that her heart pined for.

The beauty pageant phenomenon began in 1921, in the United States of America. From then, till now, there are 4 globally recognized primary beauty pageants — Miss Earth, Miss International, Miss Universe and, of course, Miss World. Of these, Miss World is the oldest beauty pageant. These pageants are meant to test a person’s traits, personality, and beauty. If you have the perfect smile, smooth and silky tresses, long and slender legs, you can participate in these pageants. And if you win, you will have the brightest light shining on you, and the world going gaga over you

Often, we have seen beauty pageant winners continuing their careers in the realm of modeling, fashion, entertainment, etc. But, Garima Yadav broke the stereotypes and went on to join the Indian armed forces. We have seen many pageant winners like Priyanka Chopra, Navneet Kaur Dhillon, etc., who are daughters of army officials, but this is a first where a beauty pageant winner has moved on to become a Lieutenant. Her journey is one that’s amusing and inspiring all at once.

Her Entry Into Modelling

Image: Instagram @ssbcrackofficial

Garima completed her schooling at Army Public School Shimla. She then joined the prestigious St. Stephen’s College in Delhi for an Undergraduate degree in Economics. However, she always had an inclination towards the civil services, and she wanted to work for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). But, as fate would have it, she didn’t clear the IAS Mains. However, she didn’t lose heart. While preparing for her exams she took up a part-time job as an emcee for events. It was during this phase that she got selected for the beauty pageant, India’s Miss Charming Face. She won the pageant in 2017 and was also selected for the next pageant in Italy, its international counterpart. But she chose not to go.

Army Over Beauty Pageant

When Garima failed to clear the IAS mains, she got recommended to the Army in her first attempt. She cleared the CDS (Combined Defence Services) exam in her first attempt. The CDS exam is conducted twice in a year by the UPSC for recruitment into the Indian Military Academy, Officers Training Academy, Indian Naval Academy, and Indian Air Force Academy.

Garima says that maybe army was her true calling. As a child of a single mother, she always wanted to make her mother proud. She sought inspiration in her mother as she always motivated her in all her ups and downs of life. Instead of going ahead with the international pageant, she chose to go to Chennai, Officers Training Academy. She confessed that during her initial training at the academy, she had a tough time. Her physical fitness wasn’t up to the mark and she had to undergo rigorous training, brave the unfavorable weather conditions and prove herself in the academy. She didn’t give up. In the next couple of months, she improved drastically. She ranked second amongst all the women in the All India Rank of Officers Training Academy.

How The Netizens Reacted

Now, we’re already swooned by Lieutenant Garima Yadav and her determination and perseverance. We aren’t surprised to see the Twitterverse go gaga over her. Here’s what some of the tweets looked like.-

Are you in need of some motivation? Here’s some:

She truly inspired many

And some thought that she’s beautiful as a beauty pageant winner and as army officer too

Bold and Beautiful

While many lauded her brave move, other sent out words of respect. She has indeed inspired many. Like one of the twitterati folks said, she is a true celebrity!

Looking at her journey, we can rightly say that a woman is all she wants to be. Nothing and none can stop her from being what she aspires to be. In both the realms, Garima had to prove her mettle in terms of physical attributes. While one demanded her to be strong, the other required her to be beautiful. She proved that she can be both, much like every woman out there. So, people let this be a lesson for you. Go be who you want to be and don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.

In the words of Lt. Garima Yadav, “ People have a wrong conception that you have to be good at all sports, physically strong to get selected in the SSB, that’s not true, you just should be willing to accept your weaknesses and work on them, should always endeavor to get better and better every day. One should be honest, positive, creative, and solution-orientated; that’s all you need rest everything will follow.”

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