Youngstar: Kelsey

MANILA, Philippines - Well, I’m going to be honest and say that the best thing about being 18 is it won’t sound as young as 17,” model Kelsey Merritt says. She’s 17 going on 18, but has had enough work experience in an industry populated by grown-ups to give her some anxiety about age. “So when people ask how old I am, they don’t get shocked how young I actually am!”

Born in 1996, Kelsey is part of a generation brought up on Facebook and Tumblr, a generation with a sixth sense about Instagram traction, a can-do attitude straight out of YouTube D.I.Y.’s, and A.D.H.D. from their helicopter-parented, multi-tasking formative years.

Take Kelsey for instance. By day, she’s an AB Communication sophomore at the Ateneo de Manila University, learning the ropes of the different media industries. At night (or when class ends early), she’s a fresh-faced model, slowly but surely becoming a sought-after girl in some of the country’s top fashion magazines. “I balance modeling and school by prioritizing school first. I cancel jobs when it interferes with school or sometimes if my class ends early I could go to a shoot after. It’s just basically time management, really.”

She’s just the upbeat, multi-tasking, largely optimistic face to celebrate our 18th birthday with. Between a seriously glamorous job and a genuinely serious education, she’s proving that you can have your cake and eat it too. —Raymond Ang