Michelle Dayrit-Soliven: Obedience is her virtue
March 18, 2007 | 12:00am
She’s bubbly and lively. She’s energy personified  joyful in disposition, artistic in her craft. She’s a beautiful study in contrast  sometimes unpredictable but oftentimes passionate, a big soft heart in a sentimental soul. She’s uninhibited in one moment and introspective and insightful in another. She’s adventurous. She’s spunky and sensitive. She is Michelle Dayrit-Soliven.
Michelle is the president of Miladay Jewels, a company that has been creating beautiful investments for four decades now. But to this day, she says, she is humbled by the lofty position she holds in their company.
Once, Michelle recalls, while giving a career talk to high school students, one perceptive student asked her: "Did you already know what you wanted to be when you were our age? Did you carry on your family business because you felt it was your responsibility or was it really your passion?"
Michelle’s answer: "I did not know yet what I wanted to be when I was younger. But in my heart I knew what made me happiest. Pleasing my parents was my ultimate happiness. I made them happy by obeying them, helping them out, always being with them and learning the business that they loved. In doing so, I inherited their passion for family and business."
Her obedience to her parents paid off for she got her reward by having a business that any girl would love  diamonds and fine jewelry.
"I think I got to be where I am now simply because I was most obedient to my parents," says Michelle, an Economics major at the Assumption College.
"I even lived with them after I was married. It was a good thing that my husband Benny (an independent financial consultant) was very understanding," she says. Michelle adds that she and Benny had their own brand new home waiting for them after they tied the knot but her parents pleaded that they live with them instead. She obeyed. Someone saw their new house and rented it, to the delight of Michelle’s parents. After five years, her parents allowed them to live in their own home. "But they talked us into moving back with them. They succeeded." When Michelle had a delicate pregnancy after eight years of being married, all the more that her parents wanted to take care of her.
"Then my parents got sick with cancer. Before they died in 1997 (20 days apart from each other), Mom and Dad asked me to take care of our ancestral home for all my siblings to enjoy. Thus I became what they call the ‘Royal Housekeeper’ of what we fondly call the ‘Royal Orphanage’," Michelle says.
She adds: "I didn’t know they would die so young. I am lucky, however, I was given the chance to serve them to the fullest. Because my parents and I lived and worked so closely together, they were able to give me direction. I am so glad I obeyed them."
Michelle all the more enjoys the business now because "I love working with my siblings. My work allows me to integrate my greatest passions  family and jewels," says Michelle whose column in the Allure section is entitled Family Jewels. "Just like our parents, we try to involve our kids in everything we do." To her eleven-year-old son Vincent, nephews and nieces, Michelle cannot over emphasize the value of obedience.
Because of the love she showed her parents, she continuously harvests the fruits of her obedience  a happy and meaningful life. Like a beautifully cut diamond, Michelle shines her brightest now.
Michelle is the president of Miladay Jewels, a company that has been creating beautiful investments for four decades now. But to this day, she says, she is humbled by the lofty position she holds in their company.
Once, Michelle recalls, while giving a career talk to high school students, one perceptive student asked her: "Did you already know what you wanted to be when you were our age? Did you carry on your family business because you felt it was your responsibility or was it really your passion?"
Michelle’s answer: "I did not know yet what I wanted to be when I was younger. But in my heart I knew what made me happiest. Pleasing my parents was my ultimate happiness. I made them happy by obeying them, helping them out, always being with them and learning the business that they loved. In doing so, I inherited their passion for family and business."
Her obedience to her parents paid off for she got her reward by having a business that any girl would love  diamonds and fine jewelry.
"I think I got to be where I am now simply because I was most obedient to my parents," says Michelle, an Economics major at the Assumption College.
"I even lived with them after I was married. It was a good thing that my husband Benny (an independent financial consultant) was very understanding," she says. Michelle adds that she and Benny had their own brand new home waiting for them after they tied the knot but her parents pleaded that they live with them instead. She obeyed. Someone saw their new house and rented it, to the delight of Michelle’s parents. After five years, her parents allowed them to live in their own home. "But they talked us into moving back with them. They succeeded." When Michelle had a delicate pregnancy after eight years of being married, all the more that her parents wanted to take care of her.
"Then my parents got sick with cancer. Before they died in 1997 (20 days apart from each other), Mom and Dad asked me to take care of our ancestral home for all my siblings to enjoy. Thus I became what they call the ‘Royal Housekeeper’ of what we fondly call the ‘Royal Orphanage’," Michelle says.
She adds: "I didn’t know they would die so young. I am lucky, however, I was given the chance to serve them to the fullest. Because my parents and I lived and worked so closely together, they were able to give me direction. I am so glad I obeyed them."
Michelle all the more enjoys the business now because "I love working with my siblings. My work allows me to integrate my greatest passions  family and jewels," says Michelle whose column in the Allure section is entitled Family Jewels. "Just like our parents, we try to involve our kids in everything we do." To her eleven-year-old son Vincent, nephews and nieces, Michelle cannot over emphasize the value of obedience.
Because of the love she showed her parents, she continuously harvests the fruits of her obedience  a happy and meaningful life. Like a beautifully cut diamond, Michelle shines her brightest now.
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