00:00In 2017, I had an injury.
00:11I remember the story that if your parents' wishes were to be followed, they wouldn't do it.
00:19But you decided to go for it.
00:22And you didn't want to quit.
00:26Why didn't you give up?
00:28There was that six-month time of recovery with my ACL.
00:33It really helped me to digest everything that's happening.
00:38That's when I started thinking about what I really wanted to do.
00:44What does pole vault mean to me?
00:47What is this actually?
00:49Do I love it?
00:50Do I really want to risk my future for this?
00:54What does it mean to be an Olympian?
00:56All of these things clouded my judgment.
00:59And come that day, I'll hate myself if I don't even try.
01:05But yeah, I was expecting my parents to be with me.
01:12But they've seen their fair share of failures that I've taken and injuries.
01:22They were athletes.
01:23Yeah.
01:24And they were coming from a space of love.
01:26Yes.
01:27So you saw the point of your parents.
01:29I did.
01:30But you went through that process and still came up with the decision,
01:32No, I'll still fight.
01:34So I remember, I think I...
01:37I just got home from UST that time.
01:40My dad was sitting on my sofa.
01:43My mom was near the bedroom.
01:46I remember it very vividly.
01:48So I was hoping my dad would be on my side.
01:51So I was telling, I think I'm going to take a leave of absence.
01:55I'm going to try to pursue this.
01:57And going all the way, my dad was the first one to say,
02:02Sorry, bakit?
02:05And he used some rough words, of course.
02:08It's very expressive, that disappointment with my decision.
02:12Because I have a scholarship in UST.
02:14I've signed a five-year scholarship.
02:16So I'll be done.
02:19Studying was a means to an end.
02:21In the beginning, it wasn't like I loved it or I did love it.
02:25But it was like a way for me to get a scholarship.
02:28So I didn't expect that reaction from my dad.
02:33Then I was a bit surprised with my mom.
02:36You do what you want to do.
02:38Your mom said that?
02:40Yes.
02:41I can see that she was not happy about it.
02:43I think she understood that she couldn't stop me.
02:47I saw that in her face.
02:49She was not exactly happy with my decision.
02:52But she respected me enough.
02:55And she understood that this is something that I really need to do.
02:59So the conversation was a bit rough.
03:03I need to assure them that my feet are still grounded.
03:07And I said, give me two years.
03:10If in 2019, 2020, I don't become an Olympian, I'm done.
03:18The first time you went abroad for training,
03:23how hard was it for you?
03:25For EJ to leave you?
03:27The first time he left, it was with his dad.
03:30He was with his dad for three weeks.
03:34Two months.
03:35Then his dad came back with him.
03:38That's why the training continued here.
03:40After that, the first time he left, it was just him.
03:44We didn't know how it was when he was alone.
03:52That's why I was a bit nervous.
03:55Especially when he got sick there.
03:57We found out that he was sick.
03:59He got COVID there.
04:01So when he got COVID, we were in lockdown.
04:05There was no food to bring.
04:08So I called his physician to ask how he was doing.
04:12We didn't know how to feed him.
04:16And the coach was getting old.
04:18That's why we stayed up all night.
04:21Our time zone was different.
04:24So even at night, my phone wouldn't die.
04:27It's 24-7 on.
04:29Because I wanted to know, when they gave me...
04:32His name is Nico.
04:34We ordered food, it's already there.
04:36And he's fine now.
05:06You
05:08You
05:10You
05:12You
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