That’s how Miss Guyana World 2002, Odessa Phillips, feels after being crowned on September 7.

Within just one short week of her reign, it appears that the joys and obligations of queen are quickly beginning to sink in.

The 19-year-old beauty has already visited Army headquarters, Camp Ayanganna, as well as the majestic Kaieteur Falls.

The telephone keeps ringing, communicating messages of support from family, friends and well-wishers.

Her Vergenoegen, East Bank Essequibo villagers are ecstatic about her win. They first showed their appreciation with a huge village party and a grand motorcade.

Odessa, however, must also maintain an exercise regimen to ensure she is in tip-top shape for the Miss World contest. So, come tomorrow, she’ll be back in the gym working out!

She is also absorbing all she could about Nigeria, which is hosting the Miss World Pageant in November. The reigning Miss World is Nigerian, Agbani Darego. There is a growing body of persons calling for a boycott of the pageant because of the death sentence handed down by a Muslim court in Nigeria on a young unwed mother, Amina Lawal.

Five delegates have already pulled out of the pageant. Although she is against the sentence meted out to the young woman, Odessa does not feel there should be a boycott of the contest.

"This is the real world. It’s really an injustice and I personally hope that the woman (Lawal) is successful in her appeal which is being supported by the Nigeria Government," she said.

"Miss World has been a platform for great achievements of those who participated and I certainly think that there should not be a boycott of the event. But of course, that's only my opinion," she added.

Odessa won the title from a bevy of nine other beauties. The judges thought she stood out, and, really, in the words of the pageant's Coordinator and Artistic Director, "the best girl won".
In preliminary judging competitions that included evening gown and intelligence, Odessa earned a place in the top five.

On pageant night, out of the five, she was definitely the most stunning on stage.

Her gown was surely the best of the night and her height of 5'9" complemented her regal bearing. She had no difficulty in carrying her gold body-hugging gown, which featured green undertones. The top and bottom of the gown were decorated with peacock feathers.

Odessa gave no masterpiece of an answer to the final question, but the confidence with which she handled the question, and herself, throughout the night is probably what clinched the title for her.

To her credit, she has taken in stride criticisms about her response to the final question.

Speaking with the Chronicle about her childhood, Odessa said she was cherished and loved by her family who told her that she was beautiful and that she also brought joy to them.

Her father, George Phillips is a Sergeant in the Guyana Defence Force, while her mother, Barbara, is headteacher of the Parika Nursery School.

As a child, Odessa said she liked buying "flutie" on the way to school or church as the red colouring would stain her lips and so she could pretend she was wearing lipstick!

She enjoyed outdoor games like `hop-scotch’ and `Chinese skipping’.

Most of her childhood friends were boys, but she was not to be mistaken for a boy, as her bouncing plaits and dresses with matching ribbons clearly distinguished her.

Odessa is inspired by actress Angela Lansbury who starred as Jessica Fletcher in 'Murder She Wrote". She also liked Raymond Burr who starred as Perry Mason. Both of them fought for the underdog - one an amateur sleuth and the other as a lawyer. This sparked her interest in becoming a successful lawyer.

Odessa is pursuing a degree in law at the University of Guyana. This is her final year, but she has to take this semester off to represent her country at Miss World.

She will leave Guyana on October 10 for London and will be honoured at a special dinner with the Guyanese community there.