By: Kelvin Bacamante & Artemis Aldea
A dream is what a man is made of. We all strive and work hard to achieve our aspirations in life. However, events would sometimes occur that would lead us down a new path, one that was better than we had imagined.
Jhewelry Hershey Dela Cerna, better known as "Jiji Plays," is a 14-year-old video game streamer and a content creator with over 3.8 million followers on Facebook and 221k subscribers on YouTube, as of this writing.
Jiji is a dreamer who never gives up on her dreams and continues to stream for them.
How Jiji began streaming
Ever since little, Jiji has always dreamt of being in the limelight. She had gone through countless auditions and participated in different television shows.
“Kung hindi po ako nags-stream, baka po umeextra pa rin ako. (If I’m not streaming, I would still continue being a background actor)," Jiji stated.
When the popularity of mobile games, more specifically, "Mobile Legends", continued rising, Jiji started to become curious about how to play this game.
In 2018, her interest in Mobile Legend made her ask her dad to teach her how to play the game.
At first, it was hard for a beginner, but she continued to practice and enhance her skills in playing the game and eventually decided to start streaming in 2020.
How streaming affected her life as a student
From being a normal student, Jiji became a known streamer. But, she never stops pursuing her studies despite having fame and still doing streaming.
Time management is what she does to help her fulfill her duties both as a student and as a content creator.
And being able to stay at home and take classes online helps her to balance her life.
“Online class po ng umaga…tapos pahinga..tapos stream po sa hapon. (I attend online classes in the morning, rest for a bit, then start streaming in the afternoon),” Jiji said.
On bashers and negativity, she encounters
Jiji has undoubtedly faced discrimination as a young girl gamer and has gotten harsh words for doing something that is unusual for women.
She even mentioned that she suffered from anxiety and depression as a result of negative remarks she received when she initially started.
Even if you are mature, there will be times when you need to put people in their place and remind them of their boundaries as an audience. And Jiji never hesitates to do so, especially if the words directed at her are offensive and have a negative impact on her family.
But eventually, Jiji learned to deal with bashers.
“Bina-block ko po sila or sinu-suspend para ‘di na po sila makapang-bash. (I suspend and mute them from my streams so they can no longer bash me)," Jiji stated.
After all, you can't please everyone, and Jiji has become used to this kind of folks and has learned to avoid giving them the attention they crave for. As she uttered, “Dedma na lang. (Just ignore them).”
On her achievements so far
Jiji has clearly gone a long way and still has a long path ahead of her.
She is the one paying for her high school tuition with her earnings and is also paying for the construction of her dream home at a young age.
All of this is more than enough to say that she is successful.
However, the unwavering support she receives from her loving family is what Jiji considers as her greatest achievement.
“Sa’kin po ‘yung suporta po talaga ng family ko ‘yung tinuturing kong greatest achievement eh. (My family’s unwavering support is what I really consider as my greatest achievement),” she said.
“Kasi kung wala po sila, hindi ko po kayang gawin lahat ‘to (If weren’t for them, I won’t be able to do all of this),” Jiji added.
Her words to aspiring streamers
As someone who doubted herself at first, she stated that it is important to know the people who matter to you.
“Go lang. Do what makes you happy. Tiwala lang sa sarili (trust in yourself) and confidence,” she said.
Know the people who genuinely care for you and are there to support you, no matter what. Because they will strengthen you whenever you feel weak yourself.
Jiji is a bright and lovely young lady. Her sparkling eyes and contagious laugh reflect her positive attitude and view on life.
At such a young age, you can see in her eyes the dreams she has for herself and her family. And as you watch her do her thing, you can feel the passion she has for what she does, the happiness she feels whenever she streams, and the many more accomplishments she is yet to achieve.
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