On June 3, 2023, 7-year-old Annika Co went viral as she showed impressive emotional intelligence through some wise words. It started with the Mini Miss U segment on Showtime, where child contestants perform on-the-spot acting with a host. 

The scenario was that Vice Ganda and Annika were best friends, and were set to perform a song onstage. But suddenly, Vice Ganda “got anxious”. The host received surprising words from the young child; it even made Anne Curtis shed a tear.

“Who cares if the others don’t like you? I like you and everybody else does,” Annika said. “What matters is somebody still likes you. If some people don’t like you, then it’s fine. What’s important is someone still likes you,”

“You shouldn’t be worrying about if you’ll be the best in the world. You have to be the best version of yourself,”

Annika’s view on life at her young age really hits home for a lot of Millennials and Gen Z. Let’s face it: how many of us grew up in a home where fears and mistakes are looked down upon? In typical Asian households, academic excellence, a successful career, and meeting society’s expectations are often pushed on us, leaving no room for failure in the timeline. Many of us developed a fixed mindset that halted us from exploring our true potential as we equate failure to our personal worth, rather than a learning opportunity.

Annika’s attitude towards the situation reflects her environment at home and how her parents raised her. It’s heartwarming to see that today’s parents are more welcoming to their child’s vulnerabilities, and are comforting them through them. For those of us who grew up in typical Asian households, we still have the time to unlearn our perspective on vulnerabilities and failures.

Art by Dannah Mae Pardiñas