Hanging out with the Avon TAC

Most people automatically assume that when teens spend time together in malls, coffee shops, or in their friends’ houses, they’re being idle or mischievous. In short, it’s probably not a good thing when young people get together just so they can get together. People would probably rather see teenagers immersing themselves in their academics and other extra- and co-curricular activities.

There are a lot of teen achievers around these days which prove that teenagers are definitely not being idle. We’ve got teens singing, dancing, writing, cooking, debating, playing sports, volunteering, and excelling in academics. We’ve got teens in student councils, varsity teams, religious groups, choirs, civic and social groups, and different organizations and clubs.

Obviously, teens these days have a lot of things on their minds. But I can assure you that even if their days are jam-packed with classes, meetings, practices, and more, they will always try and find time to hang out with their friends. Although most of them enjoy being busy with the things that they love, they still want to simply chill out with their buds, talk, laugh or even people-watch together. Even when hanging out looks useless, it’s in that time where people create a special bond. Avon wanted extraordinary girls who were well-rounded, intelligent and talented. As TAC members, they were the ones who would represent today’s teenagers and give Avon the 411 on whatever teens think about, from popular trends to important issues.

After all the screenings, the 13 exceptional girls were Kamae de Jesus from Miriam College High School, Pau Quiza from St. Scholastica’s College Manila, Jessica Mendoza from Colegio San Agustin, Stephanie Afzelius from St. Scholastica’s College Manila, Monique de Leon from Stella Maris College, Bianca Sison from Miriam College High School, Ashley Steier from St. Joseph’s College, Dani de Castro from Colegio San Agustin, Jezalin Panaligan from Malate Catholic School, Alex Murase from Elizabeth Seton School, Mika Baron from Colegio San Agustin, and Mich Lagdameo from Miriam College High School.

I met these lovely girls when the TAC was launched last June 4 in Shiraz in Greenbelt. The moment I stepped in I knew that these girls were definitely different. As they mingled among other press, they all seemed confident and interesting. They didn’t seem nervous at all, even if later they all insisted that they were all scared!

Honestly, I was the one feeling a bit unsure around the girls. So instead of going up to them and interviewing them, I decided to relax and get to know them a little better first. Since I’m really bad with names, I tried extra hard to remember all their names.

I talked to Monique first and told her how pretty her name was. (Haha.) Later, I was able to hang out with Steph, Bianca, Alexa, Dani and Alex, and they teased me for not being able to remember their names. According to them, they really enjoyed being in the council. All of them felt really bonded to each other and it was like they were one big barkada right away. They had a lot of meetings over the summer, and if they weren’t seeing each other, they were usually texting each other.

I found out a lot more about them when KC Montero, the host for the program, asked the girls different questions about themselves. All of the girls answered eloquently and intelligently, and everyone was obviously impressed. As TAC members, they get a lot of perks that Avon offers, like training programs, personality development sessions, product samples and allowances. But when asked what they loved about being in the council, they expressed their excitement to help Avon, to voice out what teens want, to develop themselves further and to really make a difference.

When asked about their beauty secrets, they all chorused that they weren’t "into" beauty secrets. They believed that true beauty comes from within, from being confident about yourself. Some people might think it’s a cliché, but coming from them, it seemed so sincere.

It was also nice to hear about who or what motivates them. Their answer ranged from "the big Guy up there" (I think that was Kamae), to the "12 wonderful girls around you" to "my family" to "when people expect me to do well." When asked what they were afraid of, immediately they admitted they were scared of that very moment, of being in front of press people. Most of them said that they were afraid of failure, and some added that the feeling of not being able to live life to the fullest scares them.

Everything sounds so poignant, but every time they answered they still had that fresh, sassy teenage voice. When asked about boys, they pointed out that while they do think about boys, they’re not really fixated on boys. They’d rather be friends. As Steph pointed out, girls today don’t look for boyfriends, they look for guy best friends, which is true!

They talked passionately about their idols, their interests, and so much more, but I saw how they really loved talking about their future projects. They were excited about coming up with the TAC website, which will help the TAC reach out to teens through write-ups and updates. They will also promote the TAC scholarship program for students who are in need of funds for their education.

I really enjoyed listening to them and finding out more about these girls. Nothing was too formal or stiff about the event, or even about the TAC! I felt like we were just hanging out with each other. Later, that’s what we did. We ate while we talked about the TAC (they supposedly had a meeting the next day), beautiful people, makeup, boyfriends and even ghosts!

In the end, I was truly awed by how great these girls are. They aren’t just in the TAC to represent teenage girls. They’re not centered on their own lives. The Avon TAC wants to make a difference, to inspire teens and to move them to become better, more confident and more empowered. All this while they’re being teenagers themselves. For the sake of the teenagers they will surely touch, I hope they hang out more.