WHILE some people spent their younger years preparing for their dreams, others take a leap out of their routine and just magically become another person they never expected to be.
Behind her very feminine name Mary Joy de Castro, or Mj as she's fondly called, usually sports a denim, sneakers, and shirt get-up for school. She's that girl who is always behind the camera either holding the lights or directing the actors for their college project. That's why she literally shocked everyone out of their seats when a Facebook post said she's Tagum City's bet for Binibining Davao del Norte 2017.
And although everyone was very supportive of her new quest, some were just eager what triggered the transformation.
"I took a week off from my job to stay in Dahican, and immediately after getting back in the city, I submitted my resignation letter. I had no job offers lined up, no plans, no savings, nothing. But I had guts and hope. Lots of hope. Probably too much haha!"
She resigned from her post in Tagum City Information Office but was called back by her former supervisors to represent the city of Tagum in Bb. Davao del Norte.
"I was looking for new things to keep me busy and the prize was huge so I thought, why not?," she said.
She won the pageant and even graced Binibining Pilipinas competition the same year. That's when she started inspiring people near here to become true themselves and pursue just what makes them happy.
She may not be ripe yet to earn a crown to compete internationally but her audience dramatically grew larger than before. And suffice to say, she continues to inspire them through her advocacies which she passionately share online.
"Learning how to surf changed my mindset and behavior. I think it’s because spending a lot of time in the water grounded me. My interest for environmental sustainability grew. I started limiting my consumption of plastic, although admittedly, sometimes it can be difficult. Since social media played an integral role in my change of perspective, I made it my mission to raise awareness about plastic pollution online," she said.
She was dearly admired by people because of these small yet sincere gestures and she hopes that her followers on social media would replicate the lifesfyle she's practicing. But more than that, her followers would also ask whether she's looking forward to try her luck in beauty pageants once more.
"Although joining pageants was a such a fun learning experience, I’m thankful that it’s over.
I absolutely loved joining Bb. DavNor and Bb. Pilipinas, but it made me realize what I really want in life."
She added that there's nothing else she would think about during rehearsal breaks but of taking the commute to a surf nearest to her.
With regards to her future plans, there's none specific yet.
"Truthfully, I don’t want to force myself to think of a definite picture as to where I want to be years from now."
But who knows what's to come? After all, she did not plan on being Miss DavNor. Maybe let's just see what happens and be shocked again. ;)