On September 26, Kapuso artist Vanessa Peña recalled getting bullied because of how she used to look.
At the media conference for their Kapuso youth-oriented series, ‘Sparkle U,’ which LionhearTV covered, Peña cited how people would often remark about her looks.
“Kasi, di ba ‘yun nga, iba po ‘yung mukha ko. Dati po, kasi sobrang payat ako, mas payat pa po ako dito. And medyo maitim po ako kasi mahilig ako magbabad sa araw, so ‘yung mukha ko, hindi siya Arabo eh, Bombayin ‘yung mukha ko.
“Tapos sinasabi nila na ay ano– tapos ang tangkad ko ganyan. Sabi nila, ‘Ay payatot, payatot, malaki mata, malaki mata, malaki mata.’ Ganyan.”
However, despite her experience, she knew her self-worth helped her handle all the bullying.
“So parang ako, siyempre, na-hurt po ako noon. Pero ewan ko, hindi ko alam kung paano ko siya nalagpasan, siguro hindi ko na lang siya pinapansin, and parang mas kinilala ko ‘yung sarili ko na alam ko ‘yung worth ko, na alam ko na hindi ako kagaya ng sinasabi nila.”
She also recounted her Mom’s advice about rising above all the bullying.
“And ‘yung tulong po doon ng mom ko, kasi parang lagi akong nagsusumbong sa kaniya, so parang laging sinasabi niya na, ‘Okay lang ‘yan, wag mo na lang sila papansinin, kasi parang inggit lang sila.’ Ganon. So ayun po. ‘Yun din lang naman po ‘yung akin.”
‘Sparkle U’ includes two stories with #Frenemies and #Ghosted.
‘Sparkle U: #Frenemies’ stars Shayne Sava, Abdul Raman, Michael Sager, Roxie Smith, Zephanie, Princess Aliyah, Anjay Anson, Lauren King, Vanessa Peña, Matt Lozano, Leandro Valdemor, Sue Prado, and Geleen Eugenio.
‘Sparkle U: #Ghosted’ features Sofia Pablo, Allen Ansay, Marco Masa, Liana Mae, Rufa Mae Quinto, and Archie Alemania.
Under the direction of Barry Gonzalez, ‘Sparkle U’ airs every Sunday on GMA Network.
