iamsuperbianca

the accidental everything.

My life has taken unexpected, surprising, accidental twists and turns. As I try my best to roll with the punches, I have learned to enjoy the ride and make the most out of it all.

11 years! My first ever ad for Pantene in 2000, and my latest ad for Meg in 2011.

My sister told me about a contest, and I won the modelling contract.

I was a freshman in college, and I was walking in the mall with my sister. Some might call it the “usual model discovery story”, but for me, it was anything but usual. People don’t believe me when I say that I am a very shy person, but I really am! Plus, I looked very awkward my whole grade school and high school life and never considered myself to be model-worthy. After some prodding from my sister, I had my photo and info taken at a contest booth in the mall. To my surprise, a week after, I found myself the winner of a search that would fly me to Kuala Lumpur to meet other winners from the Asean region to shoot a major shampoo tri-media campaign. How lucky can a girl be?! It was way beyond any dream I could ever have for myself, and it “accidentally” happened. My start in the world of modelling came at a time of my life when I was just trying to be comfortable in my own skin, and when I was still trying to find which of my interests I would pursue as a possible career. Modelling definitely helped me boost my confidence and it opened my world in ways I never knew possible. So many of the friends and workmates I hold dearest to me I met in this industry. And I will be thankful forever.

I still can't believe I had the chance to host alongside the "King of Talk". Such a blessing.

My dream was to work off cam, instead I ended up on cam.

I graduated college with a major in Communications and a minor in Philosophy. My dream was really to be a writer slash director, and to pursue further film studies after a bit of experience in local production work. My first job in ABS-CBN came when I was a junior in college. I worked part-time as a brainstormer for the Creative Development Group. Basically, we would come up with concepts for new TV shows to pitch to management. I sat in whole day meetings, squeezed my creative juices out, stayed at the office until midnight, wrote sample scripts, and literally ran after bosses to present concepts. After a year of doing that job, and take note I was still modelling on the side, I was asked by my now-friend and then-handler Jet Valle if I wanted to try out to be on TV. Again, I am a painfully shy person, but by that time I had around three years of modelling experience, so I already knew how to “turn on” my confidence. My older brother JC was at that time, a host for the now-defunct morning show “Breakfast”, so I said, maybe I can try out hosting. A movie review show, morning show, youth debate show, housemate stint later, I now find myself proudly hosting entertainment newscasts like SNN and E Live, and the local franchise of the worldwide hit reality show Big Brother. Who would’ve thought? I just feel so blessed!

The Diary of a Supergirl Wannabe, eight years and counting! :p

I simply enjoyed writing and taking photos, now it is a site uniquely my own.

It was in high school when  I discovered that I enjoy writing. Whether it be my class play or video presentation, doodles on my notebook, or a bit of fiction, I found that I liked expressing myself through words. Fast forward to when I was a Junior in college, and online social networking sites weren't big at all. A batchmate of mine, Ala Paredes, introduced me to blogger. The thought of having an "online journal" appealed to me because I've always wanted to keep a journal, but never had the patience to fill it up. So something online seemed like a right fit for me, because instead of an actual notebook I had to keep and bring around with me, all I had to do was click, click, click to see my journal. So it was in September of 2003 that my blogsite was born. I decided to name my blog "superbianca.blogspot.com", with the disclaimer, "the diary of a supergirl wannabe". Fast forward again to this day day, my blog is actually eight years old this month! Wow. I never imagined my blog would live this long! Plus, in the industry I am in, not a lot of my colleagues have blogs. I would like to think my blog, now the domain but still "the diary of a supergirl wannabe", is something that makes me different and sets me apart.


And just when I thought things couldn't get any better, just this October, I was given my own Sunday column in The Philippine Star. (Whoa. This one I still have trouble trying to wrap my head around. It's like I'm in a dream!!!!) Thank you to my editor Millet Mananquil for believing in me and what I have to say. You can read my past articles on my tumblr site.

One of the photos in my Travel Tumbling Shot Collection. This was taken in SoHo, New York City.

All I wanted was to escape, instead I became a traveler.

I was heartbroken. I won't get into specific details about when and with who, but I was. We've all been there. Every place I was in, every song or movie I saw, every friend I came across, everything reminded me of my heartbreak. I wanted to get away. I wanted to go far, far away from it all. Yes, it was "escaping" my problems, but I wanted to do it. So I went far away. I went on trips when my work schedule had three, four, or five days off. I went around the country, around Asia, across the ocean. I went with friends, I went alone. Sure enough, in time, my heartaches went away. And without knowing it, it hit me. I gained something wonderful from it all. The love for travel. Seeing so many new places, learning about different cultures, meeting so many interesting people, and knowing yourself even more. Traveling is like going to school all over again and being a student of life. Its an enriching personal experience unlike any other. I'm now thankful for that heartbreak, because it helped me evolve into the eager traveler I am today. The wealth of experience and memories I now have, and am looking forward to have, is priceless.

At a storytelling session in a day care center in Manila for the UNICEF ECCD Program.

I was just doing my little part, but ended up taking on a bigger role.

My mom brought me and my siblings up making sure that we knew how to share. If we knew how to share our toys, we would get more toys. If we didn't share, no more toys. That simple. Little did I know that this upbringing would have a big impact on my life. When I started working as a model and host, I started to grow my money saved. There came a time that I felt that I had enough to "share" a bit, and so I started this personal project of giving school supplies to underprivileged kids. What started as a simple gift-giving in Christmas of 2005 became a bi-annual event that still goes on to this day. When some of my supporters heard about this, they offered their help as well. I wanted their donations to go to a worthwhile, trustworthy project, and by some act of destiny, I met people from UNICEF, and the funds I raised went to libraries and day care packages for UNICEF beneficiaries in 2007. After a few more fundraising projects, in March 2010, it was my great honor and privilege to be appointed Special Advocate for Children by UNICEF Philippines. Its surreal to me to this day, but I both proudly and humbly carry the title.

October, my first issue as official Editor-At-Large.

I love browsing through magazines, now I’m an editor.

I don't consider myself to be a fashionista nor do I know what trends will be big when. But I am sure that love beautiful clothes and I definitely enjoy reading magazines. I love the beautiful photos, seeing how the models pose, learning about the new products, I love the colors, the layouts, the articles, and seeing how I can make the looks that I  see fit my personal style. I've written a few articles as contributor to a couple of local magazines, and I've been doing fashion and beauty editorials since I started modeling in 2000. A few months ago, in a totally unexpected turn of events, I was invited by the Mega Publishing Group for a meeting. And now, I proudly share with you all that I am Editor-At-Large of Meg Magazine. Whaaaat?! Yup. Conceptualizing, shooting, writing, finalizing. My two issues so far are the September and October issues of Meg. I still can't believe it, but I am a part of it all. Like I wrote earlier, unexpected twists and turns.

You can plan your life as much as you want. But there will be times that another path you were not expecting will open up, and you have to make the decision whether to take it or not. Sometimes, you'll do great, sometimes you will fail, but that is part of it all. My life did not go as I planned it, but with hard work and a positive attitude, I ended up where I am now. And I'd like to think I didn't do so bad. :)