The episode opened with a trending photo of EM Enriquez, a flight attendant whose line of job was greatly affected by the pandemic. EM was forced to sell fruits online to get by. Her story is a beautiful reminder that we still have control over our lives, no matter what it brings us.
To kick off the second season of “I Feel U,” Toni Gonzaga and guests talk about their stand on destiny and hard work.
Angely Dub
The life of Angely Dub is a goal to many millennial netizens. She started putting up her travel agency at the age of 19 and gets to explore the world for a living. With the global impact of the coronavirus pandemic, however, Angely’s tourism-based business had to temporarily shut down.
She loved travelling even before it became a hit on social media. Growing up independent, Angely decided to combine her passion for travelling and her business skills.
Therefore, it was a devastating moment to see the business she built with love and effort closed down in a snap. Yet, naturally resilient, Angely did not dwell much on the problems. She said thinking about the sad events will only attract more negativity. Instead, she focused on what was left and how she could start anew.
Her remaining resources and resilience gave birth to an online food business “Bulilit Kitchen.” Angely remembers seeing her mom laugh at the idea. Even she thought it was impossible at first but the response from her followers was overwhelming. “Hindi ko in-expect kasi wala akong alam sa kitchen. Hindi ko in-expect na dahil sa work na ginawa ko since ten years ago, kahit ano pala gawin ko may tiwala na sa’kin ‘yung tao.”
This beautiful result, Angely credits to both destiny and hard work. “Naniniwala akong we make our own paths. Even if we have dreams but if we don’t create our own road where we can drive on, nothing’s gonna happen. Feeling ko destiny is the guide, hardwork is the foundation,” Angeli expressed.
Kim Molina
Growing up with an innate passion for singing and the dream to become a doctor, Kim Molina was torn with which path to take on. She comes from a family of singers and her father is a dentist, so she dreamt of pursuing both. But thinking she could only choose one, Kim picked medicine, until a series of life-changing events brought her to where she really belongs.
Kim grew up in the Saudi Arabia where her father is still based at the moment. As a little kid, she would sing as a front act to Pinoy celebrities. In 2006, she joined TFC Pop Star where she met the same talent scout who brought her to WYCOPA in 2009.
“Hindi ko na alam gagawin ko. Gusto ko mag-doctor at the same time gusto ko kumanta. Nag-try ako mag-theater, biglaan lang din kasi I tried to audition for Miss Saigon,” shared Kim, whose name was taken from Lea Salonga’s character in the said play.
The rest, as they say, is history. From stage, Kim showcased her acting chops on the small screen. There have been a few adjustments as she transitioned from a theater actress to on-screen star. For one, bigger movements are required on stage than when taping for television. Kim bit by bit moved to the top until she landed her first lead roles via “Jowable” and “MOMOL Nights.”
Before that, she appeared in the film “Camp Sawi,” one of her most memorable projects. “Kilig-kilig kasi first movie ko ‘yun na nasa poster ako tapos may standee sa sinehan,” she enthused.
According to Kim, “Jowable” was shot in a theater-like treatment wherein the scenes were done in single takes. In “MOMOL Nights,” Kim was witnessed showing her daring and funny sides to create her own brand of material – sexy yet charming.
Kim’s intimate scenes with Kit Thompson in that movie made her cry and felt guilty that she had to call her boyfriend Jerald Napoles. “Umiyak ako kasi feeling ko nag-cheat ako kay Jerald. Hindi ako sanay. Tumawag ako kay Je, nag-sorry ako.” Her beau’s hilarious response was, “Huwag kang mag-alala, si Kit Thompson naman ‘yan.”
Kim and Jerald’s love story started six years ago when they were both cast in the theater play “Rak of Aegis.” They kept their relationship a secret at first but their actions spoke the truth, as what their good friend Yumi Lacsamana shared.
In the eyes of their friends and colleagues, Kim and Jerald are a perfect match. “They complement each other. May mga bagay na hindi sila magkatugma pero pag magkasama sila, it’s the right blend. Si Kim, she’s a baby, then Je is matured enough to understand Kim,” said Yumi, who is also their housemate.
Yumi added that both Kim and Jerald, or KimJe, know how to pour all their love to one another. She revealed that Jerald is more caring while Kim is more clingy and dramatic.
Jerald would agree to Yumi, confirming that Kim is a jealous type. “Nanaginip siya na may ginawa akong masama sa panaginip niya, ‘pag gising ko po parte na po ako nu’ng nangyari sa panaginip,” Jerald recounted.
The lovebirds’ fun-loving personalities help them overcome the negative effects of the current pandemic, besides Kim’s natural caring ways. Asked what made him fall for her, Jerald mentioned Kim’s tight relationship with her family. “Product ako ng broken family, so kapag nakikita ko kung gaano niya kamahal ‘yung pamilya niya, para akong spectator na naghahangad din ng ganoon.”
KimJe shares the same stand about destiny. They both believe that destiny must be nurtured with hard work. “If doon ka masaya, pagtrabahuan mo at kailangan buo ang loob mo,” Kim added.
Julia Barretto
Coming from a famous showbiz clan, Julia Barretto believes being an actress is imprinted in her destiny. She remembers crying and begging her parents to allow her accept an acting project at the age of 9. Her mom and dad wouldn’t let her at first, trying to spare her from the tides of showbiz. But no matter how much her parents tried to keep her away from the limelight, Julia couldn’t resist where destiny was leading her to.
True to her parents’ worry, Julia found herself dealing with the less glamorous side of the business. Last year has been the most intense season of her ‘buhay-artista,’ so far. Julia got all sorts of hate comments after having been involved in a controversial love triangle.
Looking back on what happened, Julia could only be grateful than bitter. She would rather choose to focus on the better, bigger things ahead than complain about the past. “It’s true that when you have a grateful heart, instead of questioning the things that are happening to you, instead of complaining, parang grateful ka na lang na nanagyayari sa’yo ‘to because you know that its preparing you for the bigger battles in life,” she mused on.
Thanks to her family who acted as her biggest support system, Julia was able to surpass that turbulent phase and even picked up lessons from it. The 23-year-old actress stressed that things eventually get better, so there’s no need to get stuck in a difficult situation.
The quarantine period helped Julia relax from all the noise of yesteryear. She’s busy improving her own house’s modern interior and she loves just staying at her “place of calm and safe haven.”
Also on the show is Dani Barretto, who expressed how proud she is of Julia’s independent living. Dani shared that her younger sister has become more responsible and a better cook now that she’s running her own household. She also mentioned that Julia is a sweet aunt to her daughter Millie.
The two have always been close and they couldn’t think of a time when they had a fight. It helps that Dani is a good listener and her siblings trust her pieces of advice. Among the many qualities they share is their unbreakable strength, which they attribute to their mom Marjorie Barretto.
“I’m glad that we were raised by a strong mother. She was such a role model to us na lahat kami, we just knew how to react. Siya ‘yung reason kung bakit lahat kami ganito katapang, hindi pumapatol,” said Dani. She added that through Marjorie, they learned that staying intact as a family is more important than putting up a fight. Now that she’s a mother herself, Dani’s appreciation for Marjorie grew all the more.
“Si Mommy sets that peaceful circle na kami lang talaga, my siblings and her. When we’re in that bubble, nothing else matters. She’s our anchor. She’ll never let us see her break at all because she knows the moment she crumbles, we’ll all crumble,” added Julia. The greater the turbulence, the more they hold on to each other.
With all they’ve gone through individually and as a family, Julia and Dani are now equipped with more valuable life lessons they could use as they move further in their destiny “There’s no end in the road called life. You have to allow yourself to grow, surrender, and eventually evolve. I learned that there’s no reason to be afraid of starting over. There’s no reason to be afraid of change,” Julia expressed.
Dani further expound on how trials make them better individuals. “Ang daming pinagdaanan ng family namin for last year. But it passed, okay din naman. There are just moments in your life that you have to go through this but after that, you grow from that, you learn from that, and you turn out to be a whole different person.”
Julia believes that everything eventually falls into their rightful place, so there’s no need to panic. And when asked about her stand on destiny, Julia thought, “I’m really a strong believer of destiny. I believe wherever you are meant to be, talagang hahatakin ka ng life towards your destiny kahit ayaw mo, eh. It’s pushing you towards your destiny.” But then again, she emphasized that we still have control over our decisions and things we want to work out.