Pagkatapos bali-walain ang wika ng marming taon, pakiwari niya ngayon na kailangan nang magsalita nito ng may kumpisiyansa at maka-konek sa kaniyang dugong Pilipino
Sa 22 gulang, tingin niya na hindi pahuli par matutunan ang unang wikan ng kanyang ina sa paghahanap ng kanyang aydentity -- at posibleng karera sa Pilipinas.
Katatapos lamang ng kursong komunikasyon sa Sydney, nakpag-simula na si Jade sa public relations na kung saan ang kanyang unang trabaho ay nagbigay sa kanya ng mahahalagang oportunidad na palawakin ang kanyang abot-tanaw, nagmamalaking nakapag-trabaho para kay Malala Yousafzai, ang pinaka-batang tumanggap ng Nobel Peace at Hillary Clinton sa kanilang mga kamakailang pagdalaw sa Australya. She kanyang trabaho, nabigyan siya ng oportunidad na lumabas sa isang tanyag na palabas tuwing umaga.
Subalit ang mga posibleng oportunidad sa Pilipinas ay hindi rin nalalayo, at umaasa siya sa lahat ng mga koneksiyon ng kanyang ina na si Cathy Snell sa industriya ng aliw.
“It’s very hard. I’m split, my heart is in the Philippines,”inamin niya sa kanyang dilema.
Ang kanyang ina ay isang dating artista at movie producer sa Pilipinas. Ang kanyang tiya na si Natalie Hart ay tanyag na artista habang ang tiyo naman na si Kenneth Snell ay sumisikat.
At marami pang dahilan.
Wowowin
Noong siya ay 19 gulang, ang tanyag na tanyag at ma-impluwensiyang Pilipino host na si highly popular Willie Revillame ay pabirong inanyayahan siyang maging isa sa co-hosts ng kanyang noontime variety show na Wowowin sa isang kundisyon – na siya ay magsalita ng Filipino.
Source: Supplied by Jade Wright
Ang blonde a may-berdeng mata na Jade ay hindi sinersyoso ang alok dahil nag-aatubili siyang magsalita ng Filipino.
Pagkatapos ng tatlong taon, sa kanyang kamakailang pagbisita sa Maynila, muling inulit ni Revillame ang alok sna may parehong kundisyon sa pagsasalita.
Jade, who won the 2016 Miss Philippine Australia Charity, is having second thoughts as she gets more inspiration from the her idol Ms Universe Catriona Gray who won the recent Ms. Universe completion and the growing successes of other Filipino-Australians in Philippine entertainment the likes of Anne Curtis and James Reid, and newly crowned Ms. Intercontinental Karen Gallman. Jade, who prefers R& B music, knows the importance of the Filipino language in the careers of her inspirations.
“Si Catriona Gray ay malaki pong inspirasyon sa akin (is a big inspiration),” admits Jade, who almost always adds “po” to show respect in every sentence.
She is determined, more than ever, to accept Revillame’s offer, and giving herself at least six months to improve on the language.
She knows it’s an uphill battle, as she lacked interest in the past but now she’s unfazed, “I’m still a baby.” She believes she can still easily pick up the language.
Nowadays, she tries to learn as many Filipino words as possible. Unlike before, she now seeks mum’s help to communicate with her in Filipino. And at home, she always carries an Ipad and lists down the words she hears in Filipino and verbalises them aloud. She also watches more Filipino shows and movies. She wants to enrol in a language school.
Reluctance to speak Filipino
Source: Supplied by Jade Wright
Like many Filipino-Australians who grew up with at least one of Filipino-speaking parent at home, Jade could comprehend the language but was just too shy to speak.
Mum Cathy says she talks to her two children in Filipino, but they respond in English.
“It’s not that they are not really interested. They are just embarrassed every time their classmates hear them talk in another language, as if it is weird,” explains Cathy.
Beauty and Charity
Jade exudes confidence with her stunning appearance. But sometimes, she thinks her Caucasian look will go against her to make it big in the Philippines where most successful Filipino-Aussies have 50-50 mixed blood, and she has only 25% Filipino blood. She observes that most who make it big in the Philippines have traces of Asian look – and she has none.
And so she wants her charity work involvements to compensate for her Caucasian look.
Her soft side opens up “I’m very passionate about charity work. I believe that it is very important na lang to serve and inspire people. So I join a lot of pageants and modelling so that I can use as a platform to raise awareness and reach more people. She knows fully well the strong involvement of Catriona Grey in charity works.
She believes she is in the right path. Jade became 2016 Ms. Philippine-Australian Charity Queen. She worked at UNICEF Australia. She is now involved with Destiny Rescue Australia, an organisation that helps out victims of child sexual exploitation and slavery. In her recent visit to Manila, she allowed herself to visit many disadvantaged areas to give out educational materials. “I believe in the importance of education and learning” she beams.
Source: Supplied by Jade Wright
And for her, it’s not too late to learn anything.
Jade is learning fast, confident that the six month-challenge for an acceptable conversational Filipino will be more than enough to land her on TV, and hopefully become a celebrity.
