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You know, we're doing this dahil we're trying to encourage people to do one good thing a day
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and make a difference.
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It starts with one.
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I feel very blessed.
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Because I have, I think the Lord's blessed me with a better, a good life.
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The right partner and like my children are healthy.
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You know, I'm good.
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I'm just settled.
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I feel, I'm good.
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I'm like, I'm good.
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You know why it means so much to me?
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Dahil hindi ningid sa publiko kung anong hirap ang pinagdaanan mo.
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Was there a time when you didn't understand kung ano ang nangyayari sa buhay?
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I could turn to, I didn't know what to do.
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I didn't know where to go.
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I just wanted to hide.
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And that's, ayan, I hid.
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Saan ka nagtago? Dito?
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Because this is where I, you know, I grew up.
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So, kasi doon wala naman ako masyadong, konti lang ako mga tingin ko doon, di ba?
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I mean, very little.
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And I just wanted to be me, the non-celebrity that I was.
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You know, the real, the inside, my inner child wanted to just be hidden for a while.
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I remember I co-hosted with Anjanette and I managed her for a long time.
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Ano kong namimiss mo sa showbiz?
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I really miss dancing the most.
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I miss my friends, like you, I miss hanging out with you, I miss being able to just, like, be, you know, like, just be.
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Just be, like that.
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But, um, that's it really, I don't know.
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Pero, halimbawa, may urge kang sumayaw, what do you do?
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Do you dance at home?
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Oh, I just dance, yeah.
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You just dance at home?
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If I have the urge to sing, I'll, naka-set up na doon ng microphone and everything.
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You know, me and my love for singing, boy.
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So, meron na kaming set up.
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I have a musically inclined family, like, my son is, like, a piano prodigy.
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Para lang sa ating mga kundigan, how many children do you have?
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I have two kids, dalawang, ang dalawang boys.
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One is 16 and one is 13 already.
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Yung 13-year-old, yung 16-year-old, magandang boses niya.
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Yeah, crooner siya.
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Frank Sinatra songs.
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And then, um, the other one, Ashton, he's like, he knows how to play the piano.
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He's never taken lessons, but he can play everything.
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Yes, yes, I know.
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Hindi nagmana sa'yo yun.
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Pero ako, malunong namin ako mag-keyboard na yun.
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I can play any song now.
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During the pandemic, I, um, we were stuck at the house, you know, every day, 24-7.
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So, I told my kids, look, we're stuck here.
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I want you to have something to come out of this with something that you've learned or something.
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I don't, ayoko nang stagnant.
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I taught them A through Z of the Bible verses.
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So, and then me naman, I said, I'm gonna learn how to play the keyboard.
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So, I taught myself all the chords, you know, and practice and practice.
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But I'm just so happy with where you are today.
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And we cannot not talk about your partner.
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And how he changed your life.
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So, that, you know, everything good and perfect comes from God.
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So, you know, I totally believe that.
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And, um, he's a answered prayer.
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Basta alam, you know, they used to say na, pag namiip mo siya, malalaman mo.
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Yeah, I never believed in that until I met him.
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And I said, oh, it's really true.
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And he totally had no idea as to who you were.
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Ang nalaman lang yan nung nag-anakami ng cruise.
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We went on a cruise to Alaska.
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And, you know, from the first day nung we got there, he was like wondering why the, all
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the, you know, there's so many people, the Filipinos on the cruise, nasabi niya, why
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do they know you?
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Yeah, he didn't know until then.
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Pero maganda yan kasi hindi niya ako pinrato na, you know, like that.
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But what does it do?
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Oh, he's, well, he is an evangelist.
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Yeah, he preaches.
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Dito lang gagaling yung iyong, your own ministry.
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Because, well, kasi parang ako may meron akong utang na loob sa mga blessings ko.
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So, you know, through him I learned a lot of things and how, and I learned that, you
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know, I know that God is the reason for everything in my life that's happened.
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And, you know, because of him I learned how to become closer again.
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So, when people say, Darna, may mga tao pa rin?
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I said, because I was like a household name for a while, you know?
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Because it, araw-araw nasa tindi ako before when I first started.
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So, I think they're, I don't know, they just, I can't explain it.
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How did you say your Darna?
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Well, how did I say it?
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Oh, yeah, mine was a long one.
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Ah, yours is a long one?
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Yeah, everybody say short na I hear.
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Like, like, no, I milked it.
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How did you say it?
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You know, like, Darna!
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I was like that, araw, di ba?
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Like, a long one talaga.
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Pero when you did it, ah, kumusa yung technology nun?
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That was the beginning.
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That was the first movie na pinadala sa Hong Kong para sa mga technology.
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Kaya it was medyo, ano, sketchy, you know, like, I...
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Pero hindi ka naman inilalagay sa mesa at saka you would pretend to fly?
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No, I was, no, I was already on, yeah, I was already harnessed with a steel, a steel harness that was fearful.
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I was like, you really have to be physically fit.
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Kaya I understand why some of them get hurt.
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Kasi kailangan talaga fit ka.
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And you have to prepare physically.
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Yes, you have to.
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And I, luckily, I was physically, you know, very fit at that time, so.
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And I already knew, I knew a lot of aerobics and acrobatics, so, you know.
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That helped me convince Direk Becker that I will do my own stunts.
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Kasi ayoko nang stunt ako.
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Aside from Darna, what is your favorite movie?
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Oh, um, ang shot akong Balikbayan with FPJ.
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That's my favorite of all.
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That's the funnest of all.
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Oh, he was the best.
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Nang, like, he taught me a lot of, I could ask him anything, advice about anything, about being a celebrity, being a movie star, or anything.
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And he will, he will tell me.
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And he was very down to earth.
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I learned a lot from him.
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You know, yung mga, yung mga sikat na sikat, like FPJ and Dolphy, kaya yung pinaka-humble.
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You worked with Tito Dolphy?
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I was his bodyguard.
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So, dun, parang, I just noticed na yung mga super famous na mga tao.
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And that explains also why a lot of people here and in cruises, for example, yun yung crowd kasi eh.
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FPJ, Tito Dolphy, Home Alone, The Relays.
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So, um, people forget you.
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Yeah, it was nice.
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You'll always be part of, you know, their stories.
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Yeah, my, my TikTok, like, um, he always takes me, like, just impromptu.
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And suddenly, one of them we took, I was, um, at the market and I found Atis.
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There's a Atis here!
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I was so excited.
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It hit over, it's over like a million something views just for that little short clip.
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And then another one, I, because boy, I know how to cook now.
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Marunong ka na magluto?
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Marunong ako ng lahat.
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I can, I can make bulalo.
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I can make sinigang.
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All of those things.
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Paano nangyari ito?
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I just, um, out of, I don't know.
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Like, tina-download lang sa akin.
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Kailangan ko naman.
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Download and then you would follow instructions and you would cook.
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Oh, YouTube is the best.
08:35.1
You know, like, I just watch YouTube.
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Because she couldn't cook.
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I didn't want to cook.
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I didn't want to be in the kitchen.
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And I used to watch people from kitchen going, why are they in the kitchen all day?
08:49.1
Let's, let's move on from the movies to The Beauty Queen.
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So, if I remember correctly in those days, it's so different now.
08:57.1
So when you remember your time as Bini Bining Pilipinas, which, again, was so controversial.
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Yeah, I know, my life is full of controversy.
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Lapiting ko talaga ng controversy diba?
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So, what do you remember?
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I mean, how do you react to what had happened during the Bini Bining Pilipinas years of Ann
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Oh, um, well, what could I have done differently?
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What could have you done differently?
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Yeah, so, I think about that all the time.
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Like, what could I have done differently?
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differently. There was not much I could have done differently
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because what happened was not in my control.
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You know, like, I could have gotten there
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earlier and had been there for the six-month residency
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which was the whole point of the
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contract. Not my citizenship.
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But, I mean, but then I wouldn't have
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won Miss Whittier. And here,
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you know, I was here, I was Miss Whittier
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California before I went to go to
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the Indian. So, like, everything
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all happened like a succession like that. So,
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wala. I think it just,
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it was just meant to happen that way.
09:49.9
Yeah. But, if you talk
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about learnings, what was the most
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important lesson that you learned
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from being a beauty queen?
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Well, it's weird because being
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a beauty queen, it's all about
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the first impression.
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So, it's all about
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appearances when you're making.
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Even if you don't feel confident, even if
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you don't feel like you know
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what we're doing, you have to just
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project that like you do.
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Like, project the confidence.
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It'll get there, but you just have to
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show that because people expect a certain
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kind of person as a beauty queen.
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There's a persona involved with a beauty queen.
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And if you want to be a beauty queen,
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you have to, you know,
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project that persona, right?
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It starts there. Yes. Until it
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happens. Until you believe. Take it until you
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That's what they say. You know, that makes a lot of sense.
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To go no more. You can start there.
10:42.1
Yeah, you have, especially,
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I was, like, I had already done
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some beauty pageants, but there are some girls
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I know that they try and try and try.
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And that's great. You know, they should.
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They have confidence in themselves to do that.
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And being a beauty queen, you're also
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a role model. So, that's
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very important. Because people watch you.
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if they were to ask you
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of advice on love,
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On love, I would tell them to follow
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their heart, but they have
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to love someone who loves God.
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That's what my, God
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has to be in the picture or else it will not work.
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involved in that love or else it will never
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last. That's what I
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would say. In terms of advice,
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what advice would you give
11:39.9
your 18-year-old self?
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I have more worth than I think
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if I could only see myself the way
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God sees me, I wouldn't. Because for the
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longest time, you didn't actually realize
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you know, if you're not appreciated
11:59.7
in one place, don't
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stay there. Move to the place where
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they will see your talents
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and appreciate you for who you are and your value.
12:08.4
How did you finally
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who have wronged you? And
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how did you manage to forgive
12:17.7
I prayed on it. Really, I
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was like, I really,
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because I couldn't do it, like, forever.
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I just felt like,
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you know, like, He just, He was there for me
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and like, there's always a plan.
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Even if we don't see the plan now,
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the plan is already there. He knows
12:33.8
the plans He has for us, you know, so
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we just have to trust and believe
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that everything will work out for the good
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as long as we continue the right way.
12:41.7
Who found you? Did you
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find God? Did God find you?
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Does that make sense, is the
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question? Well, yeah,
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that makes sense as a question in a way, but
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the first time I felt the Holy Spirit
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was when I was in Guinea-Guinean
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and then I, I, um,
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I wasn't, He didn't find
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me. I was lost, you know, like,
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I was the lost sheep. He left the 99
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to go find me. So,
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He knows where we are, everybody. Right.
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So, it's more like, I had to finally go
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back to Him, like the Father, the Son, you know,
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like, I had to go back and ask
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How does that prayer sound today?
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As a last question, how do you pray?
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any time of the day. It's not,
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it's not like I have to be on my knees in the quiet.
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I've learned that God listens
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all the time. He's with,
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He's inside, He's, you know, the Holy Spirit
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welcomes us. So, He's always with me.
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So, all I have to do is talk to Him.
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My prayers are full of just, um,
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Conversation. Yes, conversation.
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Just, Lord, am I doing this right?
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You know, that's what, that's how,
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that's how it is. And if you sit
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still long enough, you'll hear it.
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If you sit still long enough
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allow yourself to hear Him,
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the answer is there. Either
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through a phone call or
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through something you hear or something on,
13:57.4
you know, just something that happens,
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that's an answer. But if you're not, if you're not
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Like a word, still. Yeah. You have to
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be still. Yeah, be still. Because,
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yeah, Psalm 36, be still and know
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that I am God. Thank you,
14:11.3
Aja. Thank you. Love you.
14:15.4
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14:23.4
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14:26.3
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