Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach is coming home on Jan. 23, and Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. is preparing a warm welcome for her.

As a countdown, here are our favorite Pia-isms, our favorite quotes from our previous interviews with her and her post-Miss Universe television appearances in the United States and the Philippines.

On preparing for the Miss Universe pageant: “Ngayon pa lang sinasabi na nila ano ’yung magiging placement ko sa Miss Universe. Guys, you have to give me some time to prepare… Things could change, things are going to change. But people are so excited that it puts a lot of pressure.”

On being Filipino: “I’m the first Miss Universe Philippines na mestiza. I’m the first one with a foreign-sounding last name. Actually, ibang-iba ako sa mold ng Miss Universe Philippines. I know that. I know that I’m not the prototype… I’m not literally pure Filipino but my heart is 100 percent. That’s what I want people to know, that’s what I want Filipino fans to know. Magkababayan po tayo. Diretso po ako mag-Tagalog, kumakain po ako ng kanin at kaya ko pong sumakay ng jeep, sumasakay po ako ng tricycle papuntang school.”

On reaching for your dreams: “Kahit sabihin natin hindi beauty queen ang dream mo, if you want something, you have to keep trying, and you must be stubborn about your goals but flexible with your methods. Take every chance you can because you never know. And once you’ve been given that chance—it could be a job, an opportunity to go abroad or to graduate or masagot ka ng nililigawan mo, it could be anything—when you get it, huwag mong kalimutan all the sacrifices you had to make to get there. Don’t take it for granted, don’t waste it. Remember all the things you had to go through to get that. Don’t rub it in, but just remember so you’re humbled by it.”
Room full of girls

On the part of the Miss Universe pageant she was most excited about:

“Meeting the other girls… Imagine how rare it is to be in a room full of girls and basically, all the countries are there. How cool is that? That’s crazy. Everybody flew in to be in that room. I think that’s cool. I’m looking forward to that.”
The part of the pageant she was most nervous about: “Tawagan ng winner, I guess. (laughs) That makes me nervous.”

On women empowerment: “Women empowerment is my advocacy… I can do whatever I want. And I hope that’s the kind of message that I send to other girls, too. That you can do whatever you want. You don’t have to hold back.”

On dating: “I don’t understand the concept that women kinda wait for a Prince Charming or a knight in shining armor to come along and save us and give us the happily ever after. Come on! It’s nice to have a companion who would be supportive, I appreciate that. If a guy ever comes along and supports me and inspires me and motivates me, then I welcome that, I am open to that, that would be great. But I don’t want to be defined by who I’m dating, who I’m with. That’s blank’s girlfriend. Hey, I have a name, and I have a job, okay? And I do stuff outside of the relationship.”

On finding real friends: “You’re gonna meet a lot of people but you can only trust a few… and you can’t lose those people because they’re the ones who are gonna keep you sane.”

On the question-and-answer segment of pageants: “It’s not rocket science, ’di ba? They’re vague, and basically what it calls for is for you to go to your core.”

On not winning… and then winning the crown: “I’m pretty sure I did my country proud, and that’s good enough for me. But when he announced that I was in fact the winner, of course I was even more excited. I mean, I joined Miss Universe because I wanted to win. I finally got it, and it took me a long time to get here. It took me three attempts in Miss Philippines…When I was backstage, because when everything was happening onstage, everything was happening so fast. I kept asking my now manager Esther, ‘Did I really win? Is this final? Are you going to come back and take the crown away?’”

On her first New Year in New York: “I did something very touristy, I watched the ball drop. I was very close to it, I could see it. And I was watching and thinking, ‘OK, at which part does it actually drop?’ I was waiting for it. I was looking at the clock…I didn’t realize where the ball went until afterwards…I had to review my video to find out what happened to the ball. I thought it was actually going to fall from the building.”
Not complaining

On the bad side of winning: “That Ariadna’s hurt.” (Good Day New York)

On her crown: “Well, it’s a little bit heavy, but I’m not complaining. It can stay there for a long time.” (Good Morning America)

On the past Christmas being her happiest: “Oo naman, kasi natupad ko ’yung pangarap ko at pangarap ng maraming Pilipino; tsaka ako, excited na talaga akong umuwi kasi siguro doon ko talaga mararamdaman na ito na, nauwi ko na yung korona para sa Pilipinas.” (Umagang Kay Ganda)

On the meaning of her Miss Universe crown: “This is like the fruit of my labor, all my hard work and dedication—and it’s not just a symbol of everything that I’ve worked for… The relevance of beauty pageants in the Philippines is that it gives people hope. It’s like watching Manny Pacquiao win a fight. That’s how it is for Filipinos when they see a beauty queen make it in the international scene, especially Miss Universe.” (Fox & Friends)

On what she wants to tell Ariadna: “I hope that she realizes that this will open doors for her, and I think that she will go far. I know it hurts.” (Entertainment Tonight)

If she sleeps with her crown on: “OK not on, but beside me. Yeah, I’ve done it. I have to admit. I’m sorry, guys.” (Entertainment Tonight)

On Steve Harvey: “Well, I can’t wait to see him again. I definitely want to let him know that he’s welcome to visit the Philippines any time he wants. Maybe I’ll take him around myself, and I’m excited to see him back for Miss Universe. I think he’s a breath of fresh air. He’s just what we need. The girls, we feel relaxed when he’s around cracking jokes, and it makes our personality come out more, and that’s also beneficial to the judges as well as the audience, people who are watching.” (Extra)

On Steve Harvey’s apology: “He approached me and he apologized. I thought that was very nice of him. He didn’t have to. But I accepted his apology, and I think what he did was, he admitted the mistake, he apologized, he fixed it right away; and I thought that spoke a huge deal about his character.” (Inside Edition)

On bringing about world peace: “By telling people that communication is the best way to achieve world peace. I think that the reason why there is war is because of conflict, and that’s because of miscommunication.” (CNN’s Rapidfire Q&A)

If she were an animal she’d be: The Philippine eagle. Very strong. (CNN’s Rapidfire Q&A)

On sharing the crown: “It will be very difficult for two girls to share the crown, because it’s not just a crown but a responsibility, and the job of a Miss Universe.” (Nightline)

Compiled by Pam Pastor and Vaughn Alviar