EXCLUSIVE: 10 Inspiring Quotes From Metro Cover Girl Pia Wurtzbach

On never giving up

"I think, first of all, you really have to enjoy what you’re really doing. You won’t be able to sustain that for years if you feel like hindi naman ito talaga 'yung dream ko, napilitan lang ako o eto 'yung pangarap ng magulang ko para sa'kin. It has to be very you. It has to be a personal goal. So it didn't feel hard to make the decision of joining [Binibining Pilipinas] again and again because I liked what I was doing. I really loved it. Even though it would hurt to lose, I loved it. I loved the experiences. I’ve already put too much time in that I didn't want to put it all to waste. Sabi ko, 'Well, okay, if I don't make it this year, it’s not a rule that you can't join again and again and again. I think that applies with other places in your life. When doors close, it doesn't mean you have to give up and step back. It just means you have to wait, be patient and keep working hard and wait for that door to open."

Photo Credit: @piawurtzbach

On fighting for yourself

"I am stubborn, especially when it comes to my goals and things that I wanna achieve. Im not gonna say na I’m like this everyday, fight mode, matapang. Of course there are moments where I also get hurt. The bashing gets to me. Or the years of rejection get to me. Or I’m also not exactly sure why I am doing this pa. Why is it taking so long? It’s eating up all my resources and still no progress. Of course, there are moments that are imperfect. That’s normal. 'Di naman ako palaging palaban everyday. That's the thing, you choose to. You choose to fight for your vision. You choose to fight for yourself everyday."

Photo Credit: @raxmercado.art via @piawurtzbach

On believing in miracles

"Miracles can really happen if you really believe in them. And then I think something I learned [from pageants] is that some things may not make sense right now, some of the rejections, some of the challenges, some of the pain, the doubt, the fear. This is supposed to be my dream, this is supposed to come true. It’s supposed to be fun, it’s supposed to happen but then minsan 'di mo alam that you’re just being redirected into your path and 'di mo pa alam ngayon kasi it’s not the time yet. So really trust in the timing of things, trust in the process. And just don’t give up. A lot of us put in the work at the beginning. We have a dream. We go for it then something happens mawawalan tayo ng gana. What’s important is you really have to hold on and believe in it because you don’t know that miracles can happen."

Photo Credit: @naia.creativity via @piawurtzbach

On hitting pause during the pandemic

"I think this [2020] was the year of learning more about myself 'cause the past few years have been very busy. I would say I was distracted with work. I was just working all the time, every day, even on Sundays. There were times when weeks would go by and I never got a day off, not even once, so talagang everyday of hustling. This year, it forced me to really think about what I want to do about myself, like ano ba talaga ang magpapasaya sa akin? What do I really want to achieve? What are the things that are important to me? Those questions that I kind of avoided before because I had work anyway, so I don’t have to think about that. Work makes me happy. It was always like that. So, I’ve been this workaholic for many, many years, and I guess this year was the year I learned how to press pause for a bit and relax. I learned to appreciate the little things, like the simple things. I’ve learned how to let go of material things, like bags and shoes and stuff that we don’t really need because of the pandemic. I’ve learned that it really feels good when you give back and when you start initiatives like fundraising or when you do packing of relief goods and all of that. It’s such a nice feeling and I also learned that parang this is the time where we should all be kind to each other and to ourselves. I learned that more now than ever before, na parang, tama na guys, ang daming nangyayari sa mundo. Pakabait nalang tayo. Nakakapagod na."

Photo Credit: @piawurtzbach

On moving on from self-doubt

"I still get hurt about what I read online... I still get affected by bashing, things like that. And then there are days where I’m down, and I feel like… then I start doubting myself and I start thinking that 'Am I doing the right thing?' Like, 'Am I good enough? Have I done enough? Is this enough? Is it not enough?' Or, like, 'I don’t feel so confident.' But those are moments. They don’t happen for days, they don’t go on for days. Those are just moments."

Photo Credit: @piawurtzbach

On focusing on what really matters in your life

"I don’t get hurt right away. But there are days when you’re just fragile and that’s when you get affected, and somehow you got affected by something you read. I’m sure a lot of people are going to be able to relate to this, celebrity or not. Social media has become, sometimes, a toxic place also, you know? You just have to focus your attention on the things that really matter. The people who love you, the people who know you, the people who believe in you. That should really be your focus. You can’t control what other people will say, what other people are going to think about you, but you can control how they make you feel. What you can control is how you react to it."

Photo Credit: @piawurtzbach

On being happy despite imperfections

"Another misconception about me I think is that my life is perfect. You know, I never… I don’t remember ever saying my life is perfect. My life has been an open book, sometimes unintentionally. Everybody knows what’s happening with my personal life, with my relationships, with my family. I can’t hide anything anymore, you know what I mean? It’s like everybody knows. And people see that it’s not perfect. It hasn’t been perfect. And it’s still not quite perfect, but what’s important is that I’m happy. That’s what I always think about."

Photo Credit: @piawurtzbach

On challenging herself

"I think what really excites me is being not so good at something, and then that challenge of being good at it and like, making it. That was how it seemed to work for me in pageants. I wasn’t the favorite. I would lose, but to me it becomes a challenge, I get more motivated. It was like, 'Okay, I’m performing badly here. Okay, I’m not so good here. So, how do we do it?' And then I spend a lot of time just trying to, you know, be better, and I found that with this [taking up Entrepreneurship]."

Photo Credit: @piawurtzbach

On people becoming more open to talking about mental health

"People are not shy to share their feelings anymore. I mean, yeah, granted that the cases of depression and mental health issues have gone up since the pandemic, but more people are talking about it now. I love that! Imagine before, walang may mental health advocacy sa beauty pageants. Hhindi siya uso. Ang palaging advocacy is helping children who are sick or breast cancer awareness. Pero iilan lang ba talaga 'yung mental health 'yung focus, 'diba? And that's so good because it shows me that so many more people are talking about it now openly. Hindi na magandang sabihin 'yung word 'B' [Baliw]. Hindi na p'wede 'yun! Hindi na p'wede 'yung ganu'ng jokes! And I love that because we're becoming more woke, we’re becoming more sensitive to the feelings of other people. Parang maganda kasi 'yung we teach people to be strong and to brush problems aside and basta kaya mo 'yan laban lang nang laban, pero paano 'pag hindi mo na kaya 'diba? I love that it’s becoming a conversation now, people are talking about it now, and it’s a question in beauty pageants now."

On helping others make their dreams come true

"I’m a big believer of karma, like whatever you give out, it will come back to you tenfold, so it’s in your hands if you choose to spread hate, anger, jealousy, and all that, babalik sa iyo e. Kahit sino ka pa, kahit gaano ka pa kayaman, kahit gaano ka pa kasikat. And then also, 'yung feeling na kunwari na nakakatulong ka… I mean, whenever I do something, for example, a fundraiser, an advocacy, I feel like… 'yung fulfillment nasa akin e, parang ang sarap nu'ng feeling to be a part of that, to be an instrument, to be of help. I’m at the point in my life that I wanna be part of someone else’s success… Because other people have helped me to be who I am now, helped me become Miss Universe. They were the helping hands, my instruments before, but then iba din pala 'yung feeling and the sense of fulfillment when now it’s your turn to help somebody make their dream come true. It’s such a nice feeling, parang nanalo ka na rin."