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Jericho Rosales took to Facebook last Monday, May 18, to remind his followers, who have been targetted by doubt and fear amidst the factors caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, to never give up on their dreams.

The 40-year-old actor began his post by saying how it is all right to question one’s goals because of the challenging times people are facing at the moment.

“Think a lot of us have stopped dreaming and reaching our goals because of the negative factors around us---poverty, lack of support, and the addional uncertainty we get from this pandemic,” he wrote. “Or at least we deeply questioned them. Our tomorrows are filled with questions and cares. It is natural for us to think that way. We are all going through this and it is very hard.”

He then explained how dreams can easily be forgotten because they are seemingly far from what we have now. However, he says it is not impossible to achieve such.

“But with a heart full of hope and a mind filled with positivity, nothing is impossible.” he went on.

Echo, as he is fondly known in showbiz, used himself as an example, narrating his life beginnings of growing up in a poor family, going through six public schools back in elementary and high school, and never attending college because his family could not afford it and he did not know what the term career really meant.

“When I was young, I collected discarded wires and old newspapers to be sold in junk shops in exchange for money and sometimes cheap cheese curls,” the Halik actor recalled. “I collected plastic trash from a dumpsite with my cousin, I sold ice buko (frozen coconut water with milk and sugar), sold fish in the market, became a jeepney ‘barker’, a pizza boy, and a driver.”

Despite going through such trying times, Echo had a dream of getting his family out of poverty and having their own house, with only his faith in God and time in tow.

“So I prayed and prayed and never stopped learning new things. I kept moving. I kept my dream in front of me,” he said.

He, then, taught himself a lot of skills and surrounded himself with “forward-thinking, like-minded people” while using the challenges he had faced in life as means of self-improvement that become paths to life opportunities.

“I learned to speak English by watching TV and movies,” he recounted. “Forcing myself to read and talking to people gave me wonderful ideas and opened my eyes to new possibilities with a clearer vision for my life.”

Echo spoke of the power of the present, saying how it can change your future.

“What we have in our hands is NOW. It holds a lot of power if you know how to use it,” he explained. “It can change your tomorrows. Shaping it starts the moment you tell yourself ‘this is my tomorrow’. We also have each other.”

He then reminded his followers that dreams and wishes remain as is if they do not act on it.

“So, keep dreaming, keep hoping, and keep moving,” he said. “You are made to be something and a someone for another. I wish all of us a brith future and I’ll do my part to make that happen.”

“Di mo kailangan ng tsinelas sa dagat ng pangarap. Naks.” he concluded.

Thank you for the inspirational words, Echo!