Memo to the fresh grad in you

This is the month when the graduates come marching in!

The celebs you idolize may look larger than life, but they were also struggling students before fame and fortune beckoned.

BELA Padilla

Since it’s diploma season, I asked some stars: If they could send a message to themselves when they were fresh out of college, what would they say?

I can’t help smiling and getting misty-eyed at the same time when I remember the moment I told my mother that I had good and bad news a few weeks before my graduation from UP Diliman.

The good news: I was graduating cum laude. The bad news: I was pregnant!

What happened after my big reveal was like a scene straight from a teleserye.

So, in hindsight, I would tell the graduate in me to wait a little longer before jumping into motherhood.

Here’s the “honor  roll.”

Dingdong Dantes

You did a good job. Most likely, if you had to do it all over again, you’d do it in the exact same way. Real application of life’s lessons starts now. Roll up those sleeves and make those years count. You only have one lifetime.

Bela Padilla

Great job, kiddo! Get yourself a drink before you say hello to the real world.

John Estrada

Good job, John! At least you finished in six years. Your dad graduated after eight years!

CHRISTIAN Bautista richard reyes

Christian Bautista

Go watch a theater show!

Jed Madela

If I had the chance to tell myself one thing right after college, it would be not to wait too long to do what would make me happy; to think less of what others would say, and do what my gut tells me to do.

Rocco Nacino

Good job! Now, it’s time to make a living. Life begins now.

Joel Torre

I would ask myself: What do I want in life? How can I attain what I want? What should I do to get it? Then I will go for it and realize my dream.

JOEL Torre JILSON SECKLER TIU

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Kiko’s kid

It’s been five years since my Kumpareng  Kiko (Francis Magalona, ninong of my firstborn, Bianchi) “rapped” in peace. But his music and legacy did not die with him.

I fondly remember how he would greet me on “That’s Entertainment” with the code name, Barbara. He coined that because of Barbra Streisand’s version of “Hello Dolly.” Kiko’s son Elmo is fast making a name for himself. No doubt, the master rapper is watching over him with fatherly pride as he goes: “Yo, Elmo! Go, son, go!”

Elmo shares his innermost thoughts about his late, great dad:

“I thank him first and foremost because he gave me a blessed life. All that is happening to me now, I owe to him. My fondest memory is when we would play a lot of video games when he got home from work. That was our bonding moment. Too bad, I didn’t get to talk to him about serious stuff; I was too young. It must have been fun to experience the usual things a father would pass on to his son.

Summer sale

Come to the Power Sale Bazaar Summer Fiesta at Metrotent in Metrowalk from March 14 to 16. Get the chance to meet top fashion bloggers and celebrities at their booths. Shop for fab finds and get ready to “Summerize!” (Check out: https://www.facebook.com/PowerSaleBazaar)