Challenges are an important ingredient in developing one’s character. These are the things that make Marie Jeanette See, 22, a well-rounded individual.
“I’m like apple pie,” Jeanette says of herself when life throws her its inevitable hardships and hurdles. She explains that she’s soft and sweet on the inside, but she can develop a thicker crust in challenging times.
“You can still be you — just stronger and tougher!” says the 5’3” Filipino-Chinese cutie who credits her mom for the many nuggets of wisdom she knows about life.
Listening to Jeanette, the youngest in a brood of four, one can’t help but notice the maturity she possesses. She adds that being especially nurtured and cared for is a privilege she proudly claims because her parents (businessman Menesio See and the former Cresencia Dayrit) — and oftentimes, her older siblings — are more lenient on her. But being the youngest in the family, she realizes, isn’t always a ticket to getting things her way. Of course, there will be times when older siblings will try to annoy and boss her around. But Jeanette, always considered a baby by her family, manages to measure up to her more experienced and accomplished siblings, which include top makeup artist Mickey See.
In fact, after finishing her Bachelor’s degree in Export Management, Jeanette flew to Shanghai, China to study and acquire mastery of the Chinese language from East China Normal University. “I want to develop my skills in the language as I know it will be very useful in our business sooner or later,” she says.
Looking up to Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly in the fashion department, Jeanette considers her Chanel bag her most precious find. “Cultivate an attitude of success and success will follow,” she philosophizes. Give her a couple more years and this young, talented girl is set to prove that she is a baby no more but a full-blown lady ready to fulfill her big dreams for herself and her family. — Jerni May H. Camposano