Navigating a life on her own, Nadine Lustre fosters creativity and nurtures connection, especially one that reaches out to the most important person in her life: herself.
Related: A HIGHER LOVE: HOW NADINE LUSTRE GOT HER GROOVE BACK
“Grabe naman ‘yung mga tanong mo…napapaisip talaga ako,” says Nadine Lustre with a laugh, breaking mid-way of what was turning out to be a most profound conversation. Well, she did challenge me to ask questions that were never asked of her in the circuit of chat, where the only concern is to get an elusive and exclusive out of her. “I want people to really get to know me on a deeper level,” she continues, expressing a desire to connect to a community far greater than she has before. And the audience that and more, especially since the singer and tireless creative has been really putting herself out there—heartbreak, honesty, and all.
Now, it isn’t just her music or her Instagram posts that lean towards the more introspective, because when carving out some time to really talk to Nadine Lustre, it wouldn’t take very long until she turns philosophical, talking at great length about everything from creating connections, confronting the emotional excess of her past and opening herself up more to experience everything life has to offer beyond her comfort zone.
Nadine Lustre Wants To Make That Connection
“I hope I’m making sense,” says Nadine Lustre after an extensive articulation about connection and how she sees the world today. Where she felt she was rambling on and on, there revealed a passionate discussion that totally didn’t need to be cushioned by an earnest assertion.
Taking bigger swings with what she thinks and feels, Nadine Lustre owns up to her confidence and the power within to really reach out to make a soul-stirring connection and to make people feel something. Where she once was encouraged to be tight-lipped or just smile through it all, she is now expressing herself the way she really wants to, no holds barred. “This is who I am,” she says. And needless to say, we cannot wait what else she has to say from here on out whether it is in song, on a social media post, or her actual paradigm shifting.
It’s about time.
You’ve been known to really expand yourself creatively beyond the confines of what people expect an artista to be. Where do you want to take this independence and what else can we expect from you with all that you are taking on?
Honestly, my vision board, everytime I look at it, Rihanna is always there. Just like her, it’s being able to create more…but with music still. When I look at all the things that I want to do, I want to create more brands, more creative things.
Right now, I’m working on a couple of brands, just like, fixing their branding or helping them out—and one is my mom’s business. You know, I didn’t study all these things. I wasn’t in marketing, I was actually a film student. So, it’s a completely different monster, you know? Right now, I would say that I’m training myself to learn how to do proper branding and marketing, observing online, connecting myself to people, asking for advice and all that. I’m still learning, but really, what I want to do is put out different products. Makeup we already started, and the perfume, we’re working on bringing it back.
What does connection mean for you and how do you relate it to your own life?
I feel like a lot of people when they say connection, it’s really just for, you know, for their circle. I think that’s what I’m trying to explain. A lot of people can be very selfish. They may not mean to, but that’s how it can be. In reality, I feel like people are supposed to care for each other—and not just for their own good. There’s so much more out there. Connection is something beautiful. Love is something beautiful, but it’s something that through the years and has been blurred out.
In your own way, how do you see connection and how it deeply affects us all in more ways than we may think of?
When I think of doing something good, I make sure that it also affects everyone else, not just certain people. When I do something, I want the community to be affected by it as well, because, imagine if we’re all in a good headspace, thinking beyond our immediate circles…Imagine how much how much better our lives would be? Imagine if we all acknowledge that connection, and we all decide to help each other out, and to make sure that everyone else in this world is doing well is doing good, imagine how that will be for every one of us? The world will be much better place to live in if we only just cared for everyone else. It always has to be beyond the self, then everything will be much better.
All things considered now, how do you understand love now?
Now, you see, a lot of people think that love is what’s around them. But in reality, it’s much more than that. Love is actually a universal language, you know? It is for everyone, and to show love, ‘yung sa kapwa mo…it’s as simple as smiling to a person, being kind to a person, that’s what it really is. Love doesn’t necessarily you know, like romantic love. By being kind, it’s also showing love to other people.
With everything going in your life then and at present, how do you keep yourself calm and centered?
It’s actually what I feel like I need to do right now, with all the things I’m working on. But for me, just give yourself time to relax, because sobrang nakakabaliw to keep working and working and working. Eventually, it takes a toll on your body and mental health. Because of the stress, it messes you up, even emotionally.
Me, I consciously slow down as much as possible—even when I argue that there aren’t enough hours in a day. What I do is I take a break, which is as simple as watering my plants or sitting down, watching TV, playing with my dog or eating good food. But I make sure to not touch my phone, otherwise that’s non-stop for me. Siyempre from all the work that you’ve been doing, you deserve time for yourself. This is also where I remind myself to “keep going, you’re doing good,” because sometimes we tend to forget to be kind to ourselves. It really helps me quiet things down and I’m able to do better and be better for myself.
CONTINUE READING: HER BRAVE NEW FRONT: NADINE LUSTRE IS NO LONGER HOLDING BACK
