We’ve seen her as a bubbly toddler growing up at Malacañang Palace. The eldest daughter of Pampanga second district Rep. Mikey Arroyo and the former Angela Montenegro, Mikaela Arroyo, 18, is also the eldest grandchild of former President and Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Mika, who has a younger sister, Monique, 15, is currently a freshman at De la Salle University Manila majoring in Accountancy. During her free time, Mika likes to play golf competitively, bond with her family and friends, travel, eat, ride horses, and watch Netflix. Among her favorite shows are Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy and Vampire Diaries.
“Since I was a baby up to today, I have lived as much with my parents as with my paternal grandparents (Mike and Gloria Arroyo), the latter residing just across the street, making sleepovers and extended stays as natural as if they were in the next room,” shares Mika. “Being my grandma’s tail for most of my life, I have had my own share of star-struck moments and awe-inspiring experiences as I peep into the world of politics, business, and economics.”
When asked to describe her grandma, whom she fondly calls “Mamam,” Mika happily tells us, “I am amazed and inspired by the combination of steadfast strength and unyielding conviction that she possesses on one hand, and sensitivity, gentleness, and an immense capacity for love, understanding, and forgiveness on the other. She is one of the strongest women I know!”
We asked Mika to share with us 10 things she learned from her Mamam.
1. Stick to your values and draw strength from God. Life will have many challenges. There are those moments when you just want to give up and there are ones that determine your future. It is in these crucial moments in life that Mamam taught me to stick to my values, trust myself, and trust the process I am going through. She has always emphasized the value of working hard and having faith, knowing that He will always provide.
2. Pay kindness forward. Being kind to others has a ripple effect. Kindness is rooted in compassion towards others and promotes positivity, inspires others to be kind as well, and generates gratitude. And when we are grateful, we are at our happiest. Through the years, I’ve known my Mamam to be one of the most kind-hearted people in this world, and because of her, I too, have learned to be more understanding, forgiving, and thoughtful. Being kind does not have to be grand; it is knowing that there is mutual respect for one another despite differences in opinion. It is in kindness that we find peace.
3. Turn battle scars into opportunities. Mamam inspired me to never give up on my dreams, but she also taught me to accept defeat when the odds are not in my favor. She has emphasized the value of rising up from adversities and challenges to treat failures as areas for improvement and growth as a person.
4. We are God’s instruments to become blessings to others. Persons are gifts, no matter whom we encounter day in and day out. Mamam never ceases to remind us to become blessings for other people, may it be a close friend or a stranger in need. She has taught me the value of serving others without asking for anything in return and to remember those who have no voice in society. My grandmother has always been a person for others from helping kids go to school, to organizing charities, to putting her grandchildren’s happiness above hers. She is selfless, understanding, and nurturing.
5. Making time is the greatest form of love. Oftentimes, we get so caught up with our busy lives that we tend to forget to make time for our family and friends. Time is precious, and we only live once, so make each moment you spend with someone count. Making time for people shows how much you value them. Even if my Mamam is indeed a very busy woman, she never forgets to make time for loved ones, whether it’s attending a graduation dinner, or simply just swimming with her family in the afternoons. She grabs every opportunity to bond with us.
6. Being a leader means making leaders, not having followers. My grandmother is, indeed, a leader who has empowered others to become leaders in their own fields. My grandma taught me that to be a leader, one must unleash the potential and strength of other people in order for them to develop and enhance their leadership and management skills. She has shown me that being a leader entails hard work, and even if it means working until the wee hours of the morning, one must remain focused in purpose and objective. To be a leader means to inspire, and I am inspired by Mamam to be the best that I can be.
7. Good laughs make and lengthen a good life. When trying to overcome tough times, what may be missing is a good laugh. My grandma has taught me to radiate positivity and have good laughs when given a chance. Happiness relaxes the mind, and even if politics, economics, and leadership seem like very serious things, it does not mean that one cannot have good times with his/her family, friends, and colleagues.
My grandma has been through some very difficult times, and I painfully witnessed them firsthand. Through all of it, she was unfazed, taking each day as it came, and dealing with the punches with grace and dignity.
Even in the face of adversity, she found things to smile and laugh about, especially when she was in the company of family and the friends who have stood by her. When she was finally released and fully back in our company, she started to laugh and smile even more, and this has had a very positive effect on her health and well-being.
8. Gratitude is the mindset of the happy. There are times in our lives when things don’t go the way we envisioned them to, but my Mamam taught me that instead of complaining, we must always thank God for our blessings. We should count our blessings, not our problems. The more grateful we are, the better we see the world, even if it is full of chaos.
9. Seek your passion. Life goes on no matter how hard it gets, but it can also take you to places where you get the chance to become the best version of yourself — to do extraordinary things. My Mamam has shown me that hardships are what make us stronger. They are eye-openers of reality that we have to deal with. It is part of life. Seek your passion, and work hard and make sacrifices for it. Believe in it and know that you are worthy of the life you desire. Do not let the outside noise lead you astray from your true path.
10. Faith above all else. Faith is intangible, but from what I have observed from my grandmother, she is the tangible expression of how faith is to be carried out. To believe in God and His purpose for me is to make it the rock and stronghold of my soul. Even during the times I saw my Mamam go through difficulties, she always prayed and drew strength from her faith.
Faith in people to believe in the goodness of humanity is another great principle to live by. My grandmother believes in a prosperous and thriving nation, and she has faith that the Filipino people will be able to rise above the current challenges and emerge as a self-reliant and successful society.
(We welcome your suggestions and comments. Please e-mail me at monsrt@gmail.com. Follow me on Instagram @monsromulo.)