That’s 21-year-old super model, MTV Fashionista host, and underwear brand Wacoal’s latest endorser Sarah Meier talking about her success, a success that, in typically Sarah fashion, is something that hasn’t made her forget who she is–"the girl next door" with regular dreams–except that those dreams seem to be coming true pretty fast.
Sarah, born to a Swiss father and Chinese-Filipino former model Elektrika, wears success as if it were a refreshing cool scent rather than a dress to be displayed for all to see. In all likelihood, one reason she is among the most genuinely liked young celebrities hereabouts is that Sarah doesn’t take herself seriously.
For instance, when Sarah first heard that Wacoal was inquiring if they could get her as a bra endorser, her first reaction was to wonder if someone was playing a trick on her. "It’s common knowledge that I’m not that well-endowed," Sarah giggles. "But then I thought, (when it comes to) real people, not everybody is well-endowed."
Taking things and people for what they are is one of Sarah’s noticeable traits. "I don’t alter the truth," Sarah says.
Such an attitude also explains her much-envied relationship with dreamboat Borgy Manotoc who is in the US taking up Communications at the University of San Diego. When it comes to Borgy, Sarah agrees–but with nary a hint of arrogance–that she is indeed "worth envying."
"Borgy is everything that everybody sees in him–a hunk, a gentleman. He’s my kulit boyfriend; he’s so goofy, very Jim Carrey."
Sarah first heard of Borgy four years ago from Borgy’s uncle, Ilocos Norte Gov. Bongbong Marcos "‘You have to meet Borgy,’ he told me, ‘you’ll get along.’ So I was always curious about him," Sarah relates. "When we first met in a fashion show–we were both models–he didn’t talk to me; he was so quiet. But on our second fashion show, we were laughing all the time!"
Sarah and Borgy get along so well in many little ways. For example, she says, "We both like eating, trying to cook... and trying to eat what we cooked! We also enjoy shopping. With his mom... and his brothers... all of us together... it’s never-ending shopping!"
Sarah has only the nicest of words for Borgy’s mom, Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos. "She’s one of the coolest people I’ve ever met," Sarah says. "She’s not what I thought she would be–a big-time congresswoman who would give me the time of day. We text each other a lot."
Now oceans apart, the sweethearts have to make do with telephones and e-mails to maintain their relationship. "I call Borgy more frequently," Sarah says, "but he talks to me longer."
So affected was Sarah by their separation that she admits she was "flipping a week or two before Borgy left for the US." That the press certainly had a field day making ado of Sarah’s crying at the airport during Borgy’s departure, is, as they say, already history. "But you can’t worry if people are watching you in times like that," Sarah says. "Forget it (worrying about what others will say)–he’s leaving!"
Where does she think their relationship is headed? Sarah reckons, "When you get into a relationship, you always get into it hoping that it will last."
In the meantime, though, Sarah is far from moping. There’s a lot to keep her busy after all. She spends at least three to six hours daily working at MTV, whose atmosphere she absolutely adores. "You can have the worst of days," Sarah relates, "but once you’re with the MTV crew, you forget all your cares." Then she spends weekends doing photo shoots or fashion shows.
Ever the professional, Sarah has earned a well-deserved reputation for not only being on time for pictorials, she actually arrives before schedule. "One reason we at Wacoal got Sarah," explained Ann Palisoc, Wacoal finance director and COO, "is that we’ve heard only good things said about her. She gets along well with everybody and is never a prima donna. Sarah is what ladies aspire to be."
Though she has a racked up memories to last a lifetime, Sarah will have a few she’ll remember more than the rest–being so nervous meeting Shaggy, then finding out he’s "the nicest guy in the world; he was so touchy-feely"; seeing Missy Elliot in person; meeting Pink ("she was so easy to talk to"); and sitting behind Donatella Versace at the MTV Asian Awards where "my jaw dropped; I couldn’t function!"
All her exciting experiences find their way to Sarah’s diary. Only problem is, she erases her entries once they’re done; she just likes expressing herself. Her knack for writing–her topics include "anything and everything"–was noticed by her teacher back in high school who commended her for it.
She’s done a lot, true, but to Sarah, things are only starting to heat up. She still wants to take up Communications in New York with the goal of working in advertising, hopefully to head an agency someday. "When I was in kindergarten in Hong Kong," Sarah relates, "we were told to draw how we saw ourselves when we grew up. My classmates drew pilots, ballerinas, princesses. I did a storyboard for a toothpaste commercial!"
Putting all her success into perspective, Sarah says the thought of God calling the shots is something "I give a lot of thought to. But not to be selfish or self-centered, I (know) I also do play a part in what happens to me."
After two great years of working for MTV, a love life that turns many a lady green with envy, and a modeling career that has brought her places, what else does Sarah dream of?
Apparently, it’s just being the best Sarah Meier she can be. "I am who I am," is how she puts it. "I am not someone else."
Success in love and career, with a pretty face to boot–what more could a 21-year-old ask for?