In time, nothing is more important than the present. However, hindsight is 20/20 (this came up in my conversation with Stig during our shoot). So here I am, going through archived work and I found this gem of a story from 2012! This editorial was actually the first ever published work I have from Manila. It was published in a national broadsheet called The Philippine Star, in their Allure section.
It was my second shoot with Randy Ortiz, Philippine fashion maven. He introduced me then to Luis Espiritu who styled the shoot and later on became a valued guide as well.
That time, I was working a nine to five job with one of the top Filipino companies, media conglomerate, ABS-CBN. You see, I graduated with a degree in Integrated Marketing Communications and decided to pause my passion for the sake of having a steady income. It went on for around three years, my corporate life. But alas, the winds of change took me elsewhere.
It was a great crossroads in my life when I decided to part with the company. Because at the back of my head, my mind was saying, “You have a steady income here and it’s a great company to be part of in Manila.” However, my heart was saying, “You know, this is not for you to spend the rest of your life on.”
I chose the voice of my heart.
And walked away from what would define as a corporate life.
The struggle in passion is real though, oh-so-real! Did you know that the etymology of the word in Latin is “pati” which means “suffer” – interesting, isn’t it? So be careful of your passions, for those are the things that will also bring you to suffer. Ask yourself whether your passion is worth the suffering you will subject yourself to in the process of achieving your dreams.
The struggle is real and ongoing.
The path I choose to be in is not a paved one.
But now is not the time to talk about my struggles.
Now is the time to just be… Be in a state of gratefulness.
Models: Valerie & Alejandro
Styling: Luis Espiritu
HMUA: Katchie Mejias
Fashion: Randy Ortiz
Photography: Ritz Marie