EXCLUSIVE: Elisse Joson On Rediscovering Her Creativity And Hoping For Better Days In 2021

This Metro cover girl is a big Kumu fan! Like the other guests who've gone on Metro Chats, Elisse loves how Kumu is a rare space of wholesomeness on the Internet, plus the fact that it's made for Filipino users. Her favorite part? All the virtual gifts that make the "kwentuhan" on Kumu all the more fun. Elisse actually has her own Kumu account (@elissejoson), but she has hesitated about finally getting on the livestreaming bandwagon. She needs one last push to start, she jokes.

The only place Elisse has gone to in the last few months is Bataan. She was there with family to enjoy fresh air and a much densely populated area, but she's now back in the city. "It was a breather," she says.

She had zero summer holidays and personal vacations of any sort, but that wasn't her biggest adjustment. It was actually missing work! "I had to suddenly stop working. Everything was put to a pause... Medyo nanibago ako because I had to suddenly stop working," she explains. She's currently trying to re-route her creative energies via other online platforms, like Instagram and YouTube. Laughing at how she's still a vlogging noob with just two videos on her channel, Elisse says she's still trying to figure out how to work the platform. She takes comments seriously, too, and treats them as valuable feedback. "Nahihiya-hiya pa ako... I try to show snippets of life during quarantine," she shares.

Elisse is definitely asking for a bit more patience and understanding from her YouTube channel audience who hold her up to such high standards! She conceptualizes, shoots, and edits her own material, and the work isn't something she's mastered just yet. (She's apologetic for not being able to release new videos at a fixed schedule!). "Na-e-enjoy ko naman. It's fun!" Elisse smiles.

She's also returned to other activities she loves, now that there's finally time to. "I've rekindled my love for art," Elisse explains, while talking about how she's glad to have gone back to painting and has the luxury of exploring different styles. She's taken the hobby seriously enough to recently make a second Instagram account just for her work (@art.stylisse). On the other hand, she's cooking more, too! Be impressed; she doesn't follow recipes, in fact, but cooks based on estimation and taste. Her latest creation is perfecting the sauce for a perfect spicy salmon and tuna bowl!

Aside from painting, Elisse is thinking about getting more serious with music. It's always something she's been interested in since she was little, she says, and she's never worked on a solo project either since she entered showbiz. It would've been a highlight for Elisse's 2020, but again, COVID-19 barged into everyone's lives and delayed even the biggest plans. Finally, Elisse and her music team decided on a number titled "Halika Ka Na," and it couldn't have been more different from the things Elisse used to sing about. "Sabi ko, 'Sure! Let's do it,'" Elisse recounts. The song is more sensual than sweet, and whenever Elisse sings it, what comes to mind is a love story and fighting for love.

Looking back at life before the pandemic, Elisse says that some her best memories as an actress come from her work on "Maalaala Mo Kaya." She says, "Every time I accept a role sa 'MMK,' I notice that it would be so much different from how I am in real life which makes it so much more exciting for me to play. Because I have to study the role and make sure that it's really not Elisse." Her favorite episode has to be that where she portrayed Filipina skater and Olympian Margielyn Didal; she learned how to skate, get the right posture, dress differently, and project a totally unfamiliar persona! With the episode filmed in Cebu, Elisse has a hundred and one memories from the experience she'll never forget.

In case you didn't know, Elisse is also a proud co-owner of a food business called Bites by Stylisse. It's a quarantine baby, and she literally started and operated it out of her family home's garage. Her mom helped her conceptualize the menu that's full of comfort food like burgers, fries, milkshakes, and wings. Though the physical restaurant isn't up and running at the moment, they shifted to online sales and adjusted the menu accordingly. These days, the business is all about sweets and desserts! "Nagtuloy-tuloy na... Unti-unti naming binabalik," she shares, also talking about how much she's realized that running a business isn't a walk in the park at all.

The pandemic has taught Elisse a whole lot of lessons, one of them being that "coping" is easier said than done and that change, especially when unforeseen, can be incredibly difficult to contend with. "I learned that when there are other people going through the same thing as you, and actually talking about it and sharing how you're feeling and talking about what you're going through... will help," she begins. "Mahirap to go through it alone. This pandemic, it showed our unity," Elisse adds.

Though her family isn't perfect, Elisse says that they've been invaluable in her support system. "Even if you guys don't see eye to eye, what's important is that you know you're there for each other and just want what's best for each other," she says. Even if it's not said out loud, it's important to communicate love and support. Her friends, too, have been real treasures to Elisse who have been available to talk and listen to her every time she needed to unload heavy thoughts and emotions.

Looking towards the the next year that's just two months away, Elisse has this to say about what she wants from 2021: "I just want the next year to be happy, peaceful... For 2021, gusto kong maging stronger 'yung support system and also, I just wish for happiness and peace. I don't really ask for much. I just want a simple and happy and healthy life with my loved ones."