Alysia Salley has always felt like a typical Greek kid, growing up in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.
Visiting her yiayia and pappou every day after school with her cousins, Greek was a language she was once fluent in, but it took her years to come to terms with her identity. In that she felt Greek, but didn’t look it.
The stunning young Australian -with roots from Kalamata in Greece, Ghana and the Ivory Coast- has come a long way since those early days and is now witnessing all that is possible when she gets out of her comfort zone and puts herself out to there.
She is one of the seven contestants chosen last Friday, to represent Victoria in Miss Universe Australia, that will take her to Vietnam and then to the finals in August, where Miss Universe Australia will be crowned.
“I grew up around my Greek family, Greek culture, Greek music, I went to Greek school. I feel like any typical Greek kid here feels in Australia, but obviously when people look at me, they don’t see me as a Greek kid. So, I kind of struggled with a lot of identity issues when I was younger.”
Her father who is from Ghana and the Ivory Coast, has minimal relatives here and hence Alysia wasn’t exposed to the West African side of her family. Her first experience was during her recent trip to Ghana which she describes as surreal, and a trip of a lifetime.
“I felt like it really connected me to my race. I got to see where my dad was from, where he grew up. I got to meet his side of the family for the first time, which was amazing.”
Today, Alysia says that she has learned to embrace and celebrate her cultural heritage from both sides of her family.
“I feel like it’s just what makes me different. One of the reasons I wanted to enter Miss Universe Australia, was because I feel like Australia is very diverse, and that I’m just a depiction of that. My parents met here in Melbourne. My dad moved here, and my mum, she’s a product of the 1960s migration from Greece to Australia. So, I feel like I’m just a representation of what happens when two cultures meet.”
Australia she adds is very multicultural. “It’s not the ‘blond-haired, blue-eyed’ sort of depiction of what an Australian woman looks like. We come in all sizes, skin tones, hair textures, even afros, like mine!”
Alysia’s journey into modelling started a little more than a year ago, after her friends urged her to enter a competition as part of the Melbourne Fashion Week. She ended up winning, and sharing the top prize with another model.
Putting herself in the spotlight has been a positive experience so far with its own share of challenges in respect to self-doubt, fear of judgement and wondering if it is the right thing to do.
“I really tried to push myself out of my comfort zone, because I know that you never get to experience all these amazing opportunities if you’re worried about what other people think of you.”
“Beauty is fleeting, it fades, and at the end of your life, you want to be remembered for the person you were and not what you looked like. I think the way you treat others, the way you carry yourself and behave and help others. I feel like that is what true inner beauty is.”
This mentality, she continues, comes from her faith.
“I grew a lot closer to my faith last year. I am Greek Orthodox. And I feel like that’s what the religion teaches. My faith and my religion is very important to me and it’s helped me through some very hard times.”
Having experienced racism first hand, Alysia is passionate about using this platform to raise awareness about its impact and supporting others who experience it.
“I hear from both groups, actually, from black people and from white people, and I really want to bring attention to that and to the importance of inclusivity.”
These experiences though, have only made her stronger. “You learn not to listen to others or let people get to you. It’s obviously hard to hear, but it is one of those things that make you stronger and make you believe in yourself, because if you don’t, no one else will.”
Being strong is also essential for a career in modelling.
“It’s a very tough industry. You’re going to face rejection a lot. It’s very normal. It’s important not to listen to other people when they discourage you. I’ve been discouraged a lot. But I don’t let that stop me. And it has brought me so far.”
In her message to the young women that look up to her, Alysia stressed how important it is to stay true to your beliefs and not to let social media trends influence you.
“I would want to reiterate, to young girls especially, not to get sucked into the trends on social media. It’s a trap, because it’s never ending.”
Who knows what the future holds for Alysia Salley? Enjoying this journey with the other wonderful contestants, she says that everything seems to be happening at the same time.
Computers and technology is another area that fascinates the 21-year-old Australian beauty contestant who is studying Cyber Security at University. After the privacy breaches with Optus and then Medibank, she wanted to find out more about how to protect herself and others online, a profession she finds extremely important for the future.
