A Tribute to Ms. Janice Hung @janicehung

The first time I saw her on television, I can say it was probably love at first sight but I did not know it yet. I did not know who she was as well, but there was something about her presence that struck me.

My screenshot of the July 29, 2016 episode of Encantadia, courtesy to GMA Network, Inc.

I have been a fan of this Philippine television fantasy series called Encantadia since its first release in 2005 by GMA Network, Inc. In 2016, another installment was released with new casts and a different twist on the story. That lady in white appeared in only one of the episodes during the second week of airing in July 2016. She had a regal stance that caught my eye and I was even more mesmerized when she did the fight scenes. She reminded me of those Chinese action movies I had watched before. I thought maybe she was drafted internationally just for this role, which she more than just gave justice; she owned it. I found it difficult to search who she was and I easily gave up.

My screenshot of the November 30, 2016 episode of Encantadia, courtesy to GMA Network, Inc.

In the story, there were 2 gods and a goddess but only one god was good and the other two were evil. The evil goddess, named Ether, took the form of a snake (via computer graphic animation) in her initial appearances and it was only late November 2016 when she took a humanoid form. You could say she looked like a monster, as she was an antagonist in the story. She fought in a snake-like stance but somehow I recognized some of the movements, as if I had seen them before.

My screenshot of the January 31, 2017 episode of Encantadia, courtesy to GMA Network, Inc.

There were speculations on who portrayed the role of Ether, some even saying that this was a drama actress who made it big in Hollywood. Knowing how the showbiz industry worked, I did not believe they could pull out a Hollywood drama actress to do the fight scenes so fast without training her, unless she has some previous martial arts experience. The fighting form and choreography could only come from an expert, I believe. At the back of my mind, I remembered that lady in white. Although they looked totally different, they somewhat had similar movements. Finally, one of the writers, whom I personally knew, dropped a name… Janice Hung.

Screengrabbed on February 8, 2018

I immediately searched and followed her Instagram account. There, I confirmed that she was indeed that lady in white as I had earlier speculated. I also learned from that account that she is an international wushu champion (only later did I learn that she was a ten-time gold medalist at that). I have been fascinated about wushu since I first learned about it. I had a friend who enrolled and competed in wushu but I didn’t believe I could ever do those moves. I just enjoyed watching it.

At first I thought that Ms. Janice Hung was probably based in China but when a friend of mine shared that she was actively chatting in a Messenger group chat, I pleaded if I could be included there. It was already late at night when I first joined the group chat. When I saw that she was online, I immediately sent her a message, my heart pounding at that moment. Then, she replied.

First chat on December 3, 2016

I felt as if my heart leaped out of my body when she said my name but I had to keep the conversation going, to make sure that she was indeed talking to me. I said some silly things just to make conversation. I thought she only had limited time to talk so I bombarded her with all the questions I could think of. We started chatting before 12:30 am and the conversations went on until there were only 3 of us left online. I could feel her vibrant energy in the chat and I did not wish to end the conversations but I was left with nothing more to ask (or maybe I was already too sleepy to think of any more). It was already around 3am when we called it a night.

The group chat was informal at first with only about 10 people, until it grew overnight. Many wanted to join because word quickly spread about this celebrity who was kind enough to find the time to chat with everyone. The admins of the group scheduled a get-together for January 2017 and I immediately signed up. I also joined a wushu pose contest of the group in the hopes of winning the grand prize to have a one-on-one wushu session with Ms. Janice Hung. The goal was to mimic Ms. Janice’s wushu poses, which I honestly found hard to do especially with no one to take my picture and having only a 10-second timer on my camera. After several trials and errors, this was my entry…

I didn’t know the mechanics of judging and I thought it was based on the number of likes, which I didn’t have much. I immediately assumed defeat and simply looked forward to finally meeting Ms. Janice for the first time.

During the January 7, 2017 get-together

Seeing her for the first time was so surreal, I was starstruck. I had not imagined her being so tall, sexy and pretty. She had a magnanimous vibe that you immediately feel drawn to her. I could not keep the smile off my face when I had the chance to take a picture. The first get-together was really fun and memorable. On that day, they announced the winners of the wushu pose contest and I was overjoyed when they said my name. I could not believe it! I looked forward to our wushu session together.

During the June 24, 2017 get-together

Ms. Janice’s appearances in Encantadia became more prominent until she later became the main antagonist in the story. Despite her busy schedule, she always found the time to chat via Messenger group chat and even private messages. I have honestly been a fan girl for a handful of celebrities before but I have never encountered anyone like her who treats her fans as very close friends or, better yet, as family. Encantadia ended in May 2017 but there were lots of events lined up for her even before Encantadia.

During ToyCon 2017

Whenever I had a chance to attend events with her, I would. I saw her versatility, passion and love of her craft. She seemed to be always working at something, barely getting any sleep, but she still manages to get in touch every so often. She is also my fitspiration, I had also lost weight because of her inspiration and encouragement.

See my blog here: https://steemit.com/life/@princesslilo/my-weightloss-journey-fitdream

Training for uDefend

Ms. Janice Hung has a lot of advocacies, one of which I was privileged to be part of. Her latest charity project, uDefend, is a self-defense training program that she personally designed to empower and educate women and children. I was able to join the initial run of the program with underprivileged public school children and then a women’s group. Both of these sessions were very tiring and my body ached all over after. But the fulfillment I gained from volunteering was worth it all. Seeing how the women and children learned to empower themselves and gained some self-confidence touched my heart profoundly.

Ms. @janicehung was the one who introduced me to Steemit as well. I have always wanted to have a blog and this is a wonderful platform with an awesome thriving community. I am truly grateful that I was included in her team @steemitmanila. I believe in her so much and in the valuable contribution of her presence in this community. We can see that even if she has only been here for a month, she has already contributed a lot towards her vision to inspire and empower. I also look forward to more events in the future of Steemit in the Philippines.

During a surprise birthday celebration for her on September 17, 2017

I have seen Ms. Janice a couple of times and she still amazes me every time, how more genuine she can get. Words are not enough to describe how amazing and wonderful she is. I learned so much from her in just one year and I am looking forward to more years of friendship to come. As the lyrics of the song “For Good” in the musical “Wicked” goes:

I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you...
I have been changed for good.

Ms. Janice, who I fondly call Bess, is that person who came into my life for a reason. My outlook about myself and my life changed for good through her inspiration. There are people who come into your life, see you as a worthless rock and throw you away, while there are those who see the diamond inside you. They are the ones more valuable than diamonds, because they are priceless. Ms. Janice Hung is priceless for me and I truly value her more than diamonds or any precious gem. She is a unique precious gem of her own. In her slim and sexy body, she carries a big heart. I am sincerely honored to know her and to be her Bess friend.