Sherizze Sean Acot, is a native of Talisay City, which she represented in the 2012 Lin-ay sang Negros pageant. She was adjudged second runner-up in the province-wide beauty and personality competition.
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I was feeling giddy and anxious in my flight from Manila to Dubai. That was three years ago. All I had in mind was to get a job there as what was expected of me. My father was a seaman for most of his life, so I know for a fact that working overseas is not always a bed of roses.
Dubai – the city of gold, of dreams, is mesmerizing. With its diversity of expatriates, I have learned how to adjust and immerse in the culture, food and people.
I was able to enter the world of oil and gas and petrochemicals, man’s world as what others may think.
For someone like me who has a degree in Communication Arts with a professional background in real estate finance, I have found the petrochemical industry quite challenging. I have learned from scratch the company’s petrochemical products and the logistic process as well as its documentation. At times, I find myself engaging in different shipping lines, too.
With my 9-5 job, it can be quite tiring for both my mind and body, but I guess, Dubai has a lot of surprises in store for me. On my first year in this country, my daily routine revolved around home, work and church. I don’t really go out that much since I’m more of an introverted person and I only have one day off per week.
I still, however, make it a point to indulge in learning new things, like pursuing my formal education and studying languages. I feel blessed that I was ranked with first honors in my summer class this year at the Filipino Institute.
I decided to give modeling a try again after a few encouragements although I was quite skeptical at first. Later on, I ventured back to pageantry after eight years for Mutya Pilipinas-UAE 2019. I joined it after a little push from a designer and a make-up artist. Juggling work and the pre-activities and preparations for the pageant was a challenge for me and my co-candidates.
Early this year, I was named as the Illustrado Magazine’s Choice in its Faces 2020 competition, being on the top spot among 100 entries in celebration of Filipino beauty across the Gulf region.
I have modeled also for the couture and abaya creations of different designers based in the UAE and did some online ads/commercials, too.
Overjoyed is an understatement, for me, to describe my feelings. With my career doing good I felt that something’s still missing though. I wanted to pursue my causes and advocacy as well as enrich my talent unknown to many. Thus, I started signing up for different volunteer works even although I was always alone. Likewise, ventured sketching and painting in which I became more active after the lockdown.
My art has started gaining an audience too and not long after, I was invited to join the Global Women Empowerment Summit 2020: Shades of Passion – The Art Show last November along with other women artists from Kenya, India and another one from the Philippines. It was a surreal experience for me since the event was graced by Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Khalifa Al Khalifa.
That occasion served as a platform for me to discuss not only my art but also my Down Syndrome advocacy in front of her and other empowered men and women from different countries.
Indeed, life will give you surprises if you have the courage to get out of your comfort zone. There is a woman that I want to be and until I reach that point, I have work to do. – NWI
