Miss Guyana, Mia Rahaman, did not make the final selection for the Miss Universe title in Puerto Rico on Wednesday night, to the disappointment of herself and many who thought she stood an excellent chance.

“I feel I have let a lot of people down, but my life still goes on”, Mia told the Chronicle yesterday.

Mai said she cried and cried a whole lot and was depressed enough not to attend the Coronation Ball or the Marc Anthony party that followed the pageant.

However, she said she was over that and feels she didn’t miss much as the Coronation ball was all about people standing around and cameras flashing.

“It’s been a great experience here in Puerto Rico. Looking back, I am proud that what I came here for I achieved - that is representing and promoting my country”.

“When it came down to announcing the sixth person to continue in the competition, I knew I couldn’t make it anymore”, Mia said.

She said she fully supports the crowned Miss Russia as Miss Universe. However, she did not have nice things to say about one of the top ten delegates.

“You know, thinking about it, I might have been a bad student, but I’m a good teacher. It might sound ironic, but let’s just say I came to Miss Universe and I know what it is about and I would not fail in giving the next Miss Guyana/Universe the preparation I think she will need”, she said.

Even though Mia did not make the top ten, her presence was surely felt in Puerto Rico. “I know I made an impression”, she said.

Mia said the judges for the preliminary competition liked her and complimented her about her beauty and her radiant smile.

“Guyana came back after three years in a very strong competition and managed to be relatively noticed. Her preliminary presentation was good and her interview might have been one of the best”, Internet magazine Global Beauties said of her.

Mia has been asked by New York magazine Smooth, owned by two Jamaicans, to pose for the cover of one of their upcoming issues.

When she leaves Puerto Rico today, Mia is headed for New York, will take a vacation, and then return to Guyana.

“On the lighter side of things, if I would have been Miss Universe, I would be owned for a year and that’s not for the free-spirited, fun-loving person that I am,” Mia told the Chronicle. - (NEIL MARKS).