“Follow your bliss, find the thing you love most that you’re good at doing, that will make you happy. ‘Yan na rin ang magiging serbisyo nyo.” - Senator Risa Hontiveros
I was out from Elite Aerial Arts for a bit over a month during my maternity leave. Whenever I see my students' photos uploaded on Facebook and Instagram, I could not help but miss teaching. So once I got cleared by my doctor, I immediately got back to training every chance I got.
I've mentally prepared to hold my comeback class on a Saturday yet I received a call from a group of awesome ladies fondly called "hot mommas" (more of them on a future blog post) requesting for a mid-week private hoop session. Since my husband has everything under control at home, I agreed to teach them.
Oh and there's a catch! The group happens to be friends with Senator Risa Hontiveros and she was with them and joined my class. Not so much pressure on my first day back [insert sarcastic tone]. I recall the Sen. Risa was among our audience during Elite Aerial Arts's anniversary student showcase. In fact, she watched the show from start to finish notwithstanding the fact that it ended around 11:00pm. I'm so glad to have had the chance to have a photo with her before everything went crazy that night.
Honestly, I thought that was a once in a lifetime chance to meet a sitting senator of the republic... until she came in to attend my class. It was truly an honor to have her in class. It felt great knowing that our anniversary show got her interested to try out aerial hoop. So that's one big point for my advocacy to spread not only awareness, but also love for aerial arts.
It was a delight to have Sen. Risa as a student. She's down-to-earth, polite and strong. For a newbie, she's very promising. (At present, she still attends private hoop class at Elite Aerial Arts whenever she has time out of her very busy schedule.)
When I went home, I googled her to know her more. Her accomplishments are very remarkable. She's a human rights advocate and a champion for gender equality. But what caught my attention the most was her efforts towards empowering women. Like her, that is what I stand up for.
... women can have a family yet maintain a solid group of friends
... women can raise kids yet have time to include health and fitness among your priorities
... women can have kick-ass careers despite professions being generally dominated by men
... women can change not only lives, but also this nation.
