EXCLUSIVE: Mica Javier On Finding The Courage To Embrace Her Vulnerabilities
Months of self-reflection and personal examination have done her nothing but good
How many newlyweds can say that they spent their honeymoon under lockdown?
Metro Chats guest Mica Javier laughs about the whole situation, because it was exactly what happened to her and her husband, Jay-R. The pair got married a week before quarantine was declared in March, and the eight months that followed their wedding have been quite the experience for her, to say the least.
But even better than the updates on things she's been doing are all the personal realizations she openly shares. With zero hesitation, Metro Chats guest Mica Javier got real about embracing vulnerabilities, allowing more and more people to see her real self, and even redefining what it means to be a person with influence at a time like this.
Check out the highlights of the interview in the gallery below:
Mica Javier on Metro Chats
Mica Javier on Metro Chats
A Kumu star
It might've been Mica's first time on Metro Chats but she's a lot more experienced on Kumu than you might know! Just last month, she did 100 hours of streaming on the app and was in the running for a bronze badge (a.k.a. an accomplishment that lets you monetize your Kumu content). She'd literally thought of everything and anything she could do for her livestreams and didn't realize how competitive she could be, especially with a live audience watching her antics and gags, Mica laughs. "I painted, I cooked, I worked out, I did challenges - everything I could possibly think of!" she shares.
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Fun at work
"I was so burnt out by the end of it," Mica adds. It was essentially like a 9-5, albeit all online, but the amount of work that went into thinking of things to do and actually doing those things pretty much equalled the stress of having a full-time job, and then some. It's not for everyone, but it can be fun if you have the stamina for it. In fact, she and her husband Jay-R even had a show that ran from June to September where they invited Kumunity members to jam with them, all for the purpose of allowing them to showcase their talents and potentially be discovered by the right people. You'll find Mica on the @JamicaJam on Kumu where her livestreams with Jay-R, old and new, are.
Interacting with her audience
As a singer, Mica is into the fact that her performances feel like little private concerts for those who drop in to listen. She thinks about how pre-pandemic, even most small gigs require audiences to drive to a venue or pay for tickets, but thanks to online platforms (especially livestreaming ones like Kumu), fans aren't only blessed with free performances, but much more intimate ones! They can interact with their favorite artists, send song requests, and there's a matter of sending gifts, too, which Mica says is incredibly humbling because they cost actual money. "People have to top up and pay, with hard earned money, to give you something so you appreciate it even more," she says.
Uncurated content
Her favorite part of experiencing livestreaming is its realness. "It's a nice avenue to keep figuring out how you want to present yourself," she says, as she explains how going on Kumu helped her become more comfortable with herself as an artist. There are no scripts to teach you what to say, no editing to get rid of bloopers, no curation, it's all you, live, and you share as much or as little about you as you wish. On a deeper level, it's even taught Mica how to make sense of her being an introvert and a performer at the same time, and even to be okay with being vulnerable and silly and "kalog" because as it makes her more accessible, too, as a person. "I have to learn how to break out of that shell over time... It's also a matter of shedding a lot of layers," Mica adds.
Baring her real self
An even bigger realization that Mica wants to share with her Kumu followers is that just because she's an artist that you see onscreen, she's ultimately still a human being that goes through struggles, challenges, and tough days, too. And if she's able to communicate that and let others know that it's totally okay to have these experiences and feel certain emotions through her Kumu presence, then it's definitely worth it for her to continue putting herself out there. "Just being able to give them insight or even just support is really nice," Mica says.
Wedding bliss
She's been stuck at home for eight months! She and Jay-R have literally been bound to their Quezon City home for practically the entirety of 2020, but it was all such great timing considering their wedding date. They got married in Boracay a week before quarantine was declared. "It was the most 'free' weekend we could have asked for this year, and I think the world completely changed after that. I'm really happy that we have that memory," Mica shares. It was the only vacation Mica and many of her guests had all the year, which made it serve a double-purpose. "Napagbigyan kami ng universe," she smiles, saying that her wedding had almost gotten cancelled, too.
Newlywed life under quarantine
The thing is, Mica didn't mind hunkering down at home with Jay-R right after their wedding. Not everyone can say that they get stuck at home with their new spouse right after their wedding, but it was the perfect way to get to know Jay-R in and out as a husband, what with them doing chores together, cooking, gardening, and even just figuring out how to make room for another person in your life altogether. "We were scared at first with how we would deal with each other during lockdown," she shares. "It was the first time we were together 24/7 that we were together for a week... We met right in the middle for a lot of things. Of course it wasn't always smooth sailing, but we figured out our flow!" she says.
Simple life
Outside of Kumu and performing, Mica teases hersef about not being able to join in on the "plantita" trend. She kills even the most low-maintenance indoor plants, she jokes, but she has managed to grow a little herb garden that gives them little chilis and basil that she actually uses in her cooking. "It was just a dream before to grow produce... So I've been exploring that, and we also kind of have a chicken coop outside!" she says. (Now she gets five fresh eggs every morning). She's 100% glad to be getting a taste of organic food this way and getting in touch with simpler living despite living in the heart of the city.
New discoveries, new passions
Anything Mica could look up on YouTube to learn, you can bet she tried. But a gold star has to go to her much improved cooking skills, according to her, which she's now super confident about. Candle-making and tie-dying—she tried those, too! Her newly discovered hobbies were pretty results of her getting tired of looking at a screen all day, every day, and missing using her hands to create something tangible. Her candles called Micandles will be for sale soon, FYI! They're eco-friendly and come in four scents.
For your entertainment
On her Metro Chats guesting on Kumu's FYE Channel, Mica sang her new song, "Skin on Skin," and "Honest," the latter of which was a song written last year when she realized she needed to step up for herself and learn how to deflect negativity. "It was basically me letting out all my frustrations about being honest with all your feelings and what you're going through... It's healthy. That should be okay to do," she says.
Photos from @mica
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