Heroes

Right now, I want to write something about people I admire.  Some of them, I can consider my heroes.  Of course, a lot of people inspires me, including my mentors (Maam Nicole and Ate Pam, I miss them a lot), but to categorize them in their respective crafts was really hard.  I hope I did well with this.

I admire my parents when it comes to parenting.  Of course! I don't know if I'm a good daughter.  The only thing I know is I try to be a good person all the time so people won't question my parents how they raised me.

When it comes to selflessness, I admire Bro. Bo Sanchez.  He is not selfish to share to other people his knowledge of how to become rich as he is.  He also shares all the blessings he's been receiving to poor people.  I admire that he wants to be a blessing to others.

When it comes to fitness, I love Cory Quirino. How old is she again? 58?! Well, well.  I admire that she takes care of her health and wellness, keeping herself beautiful and young all these years.

When it comes to business, I truly admire Socorro C. Ramos (Nanay Coring), the matriarch of National Bookstore (the Philippines leading retailer of books, office supplies, and greeting cards).  She built the business from scratch. Out of that small store, she dreamt to become big time in business world.  Her innate entrepreneurial skills made her successful.  Though, tough times came that she and her husband needed to rebuild National Book Store thrice; they didn't give up.  Right now, they have ventured to several businesses including music stores, Tower Records and Music One, Gift Gate (the home of Hello Kitty and Swatch), and Crossings Department Store.

When it comes to understanding technology, I admire my favorite Taiwanese actor, Jimmy Lin.  He knows a lot when it comes to cool and new gadgets.  He even uses these in his business and actually creating big buckets out of being a techie geek.

When it comes to managing money, I admire Francisco Colayco.  He teaches ways to manage money and increase your money flow.

When the going gets tough, I admire Ninoy Aquino. The first time  I saw his tragic death was through Betamax (you have a hint of my age).  I think that was a news recorded by my uncle.  Of course, I didn't understand back then.  It was just when I grew up, after the death of Cory Aquino and PNoy's campaign for 2010 presidential election, I got interested with his life.  Somehow, in a very, very little circumstance, I was also a victim of politics.  I wanted to speak out, but the people who were against me were powerful in my former company.  They truly power tripped and hurt a lot of former employees.  What I did, I left the company with dignity and respect from my other colleagues.  As we all know, even death was chasing Ninoy, but he still came back here in his own country and wasn't afraid to face death for his fellow Filipinos.  Truly a hero.

When it comes to great meal and cooking, I admire my mom, Tita Sophie, Atoy (my mom's brother and Tita Sophie's husband), and Tito Ben (RIP) (he was the one who made me eat kinilaw which I never ate when I was young).  I think they're (we're) a family of great cooks.  I hope I got those genes in cooking.  What I admire about them is that when I appreciate a certain dish they make, the following week or several weeks later or even during special occasions, they will surely make that dish especially for me.  Well, it's because I'm really appreciative when I feel great about certain stuff.

When it comes to music (composing songs in particular) I admire Ryan Cayabyab (my favorite songs that he composed are Smokey Mountain songs and Kay Ganda Ng Musika), Trina Belamide (You've Made Me Stronger and World Youth Day 1995 theme Tell the World of His Love) and Jimmy Antiporda (Maybe and Hurting Inside).  I love their songs.  I love how they put lyrics as well as the melody in their songs. No wonder, they're undoubtedly the three most certified award-winning composers in the Philippines.  They composed a lot of OPM classics and I love OPM.

My generosity hero would still be Bro. Bo Sanchez as mentioned above.

Enviable lifestyle hero, I can't think of any.  I guess Oprah Winfrey.  You all know why.  She's a woman of style and substance.

Do you know Elle Woods?  She is the main character in the film Legally Blonde played by Reese Witherspoon.  What I like about her accomplishments in this movie, she was tagged to be insensible, sluggish, stupid, etc because she was blonde.  Her boyfriend dumped her and replaced her with a law student in Harvard University.  In order to win her boyfriend back, she tried (with all her might) to pass the Harvard's  entrance exam.  Though she had her way in, still her boyfriend and his new girlfriend looked down on her.  Anyway, for full synopsis of the film go here Legally Blonde.  I love how Elle progressed in this film.  I think she accomplished something out of being "just a blonde."

For travelling, I don't have any but I like to travel different places.

For incredible self-expression, I admire Korean actress (Kim Tae Hee). Well, she's my idol.  She's pretty and intelligent at the same time.  She's very true to herself.  I love watching her series.  I think she's an average actress but her presence in her series is really appealing.

For writing, I admire Paulo Coelho and Bo Sanchez.  I love The Alchemist.  His novels can be related to real world.  I love Bo Sanchez's books.  Everytime I read of them, I feel I'm actually listening to him as he speaks, with all those jokes in parentheses.  It's like he's really talking to me, advising me, and telling me how beautiful life is.

For simplicity, (sorry for being young at heart) I admire a fiction hero Kaori Rokumeikan (White Swan of Chojin Sentai Jetman).  I  admire her because she came from a wealthy family.  Although, during the first few episodes, she just thought of being a Jetman as a past time from her boring life.  But as the series progressed, she found a warrior was truly inside of her.  Amidst of lack of experience in fighting (she was raised a princess after all), she was still willing to fight to protect the Earth from alien invaders.  Thus, Gai Yuuki fell in love with him.  Yeah right, I'm promoting Gai Yuuki, one of my Japanese action hero crushes.

For spirituality, yes again, Bro. Bo.  His spiritualism led me to experience and be a part of the happiest place on earth, The Feast.  I thank God for meeting a lot of great people with the same belief in Christ, praising Him, and giving back the glory to Him.

For success, Charice and Sarah Geronimo. There are a lot of great singers in the Philippines, but I can really say who can make it big to stardom. It's not just the talent; it's the heart along that gift. When I saw Charice sang "Bring Back The Times" (originally sang by Dessa) in Little Big Star, I knew she could go a long way.  Maybe, I have that star-value instinct (believe me).  That's what I also felt when Sarah Geronimo belted Celine Dion's "To Love You More" during Search For A Star finals night. These two performers are proofs that  if you have that passion and faith, you can move mountains to reach your dreams.

This is the first task of my first lesson.  Honestly, I find this very exciting.  I hope to learn more tomorrow. Thanks a lot, Bro. Jomar.