Aired (September 29, 2024): Matapos na makaranas ni EJ Obiena ng malaking injury noong 2017, tutol na ang kanyang magulang na ipagpatuloy pa niya ang pole vaulting, ngunit bakit hindi niya ito pinakinggan at hindi siya sumuko sa pagiging atleta? Alamin ang kanyang kwento sa video!
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00In 2017, I had an injury.
00:11I remember the story that if your parents' wishes were to be followed, they wouldn't do it.
00:19But you decided to go for it.
00:22And you didn't want to quit.
00:26Why didn't you give up?
00:28There was that six-month time of recovery with my ACL.
00:33It really helped me to digest everything that's happening.
00:38That's when I started thinking about what I really wanted to do.
00:44What does pole vault mean to me?
00:47What is this actually?
00:49Do I love it?
00:50Do I really want to risk my future for this?
00:54What does it mean to be an Olympian?
00:56All of these things clouded my judgment.
00:59And come that day, I'll hate myself if I don't even try.
01:05But yeah, I was expecting my parents to be with me.
01:12But they've seen their fair share of failures that I've taken and injuries.
01:22They were athletes.
01:23Yeah.
01:24And they were coming from a space of love.
01:26Yes.
01:27So you saw the point of your parents.
01:29I did.
01:30But you went through that process and still came up with the decision,
01:32No, I'll still fight.
01:34So I remember, I think I...
01:37I just got home from UST that time.
01:40My dad was sitting on my sofa.
01:43My mom was near the bedroom.
01:46I remember it very vividly.
01:48So I was hoping my dad would be on my side.
01:51So I was telling, I think I'm going to take a leave of absence.
01:55I'm going to try to pursue this.
01:57And going all the way, my dad was the first one to say,
02:02Sorry, bakit?
02:05And he used some rough words, of course.
02:08It's very expressive, that disappointment with my decision.
02:12Because I have a scholarship in UST.
02:14I've signed a five-year scholarship.
02:16So I'll be done.
02:19Studying was a means to an end.
02:21In the beginning, it wasn't like I loved it or I did love it.
02:25But it was like a way for me to get a scholarship.
02:28So I didn't expect that reaction from my dad.
02:33Then I was a bit surprised with my mom.
02:36You do what you want to do.
02:38Your mom said that?
02:40Yes.
02:41I can see that she was not happy about it.
02:43I think she understood that she couldn't stop me.
02:47I saw that in her face.
02:49She was not exactly happy with my decision.
02:52But she respected me enough.
02:55And she understood that this is something that I really need to do.
02:59So the conversation was a bit rough.
03:03I need to assure them that my feet are still grounded.
03:07And I said, give me two years.
03:10If in 2019, 2020, I don't become an Olympian, I'm done.
03:18The first time you went abroad for training,
03:23how hard was it for you?
03:25For EJ to leave you?
03:27The first time he left, it was with his dad.
03:30He was with his dad for three weeks.
03:34Two months.
03:35Then his dad came back with him.
03:38That's why the training continued here.
03:40After that, the first time he left, it was just him.
03:44We didn't know how it was when he was alone.
03:52That's why I was a bit nervous.
03:55Especially when he got sick there.
03:57We found out that he was sick.
03:59He got COVID there.
04:01So when he got COVID, we were in lockdown.
04:05There was no food to bring.
04:08So I called his physician to ask how he was doing.
04:12We didn't know how to feed him.
04:16And the coach was getting old.
04:18That's why we stayed up all night.
04:21Our time zone was different.
04:24So even at night, my phone wouldn't die.
04:27It's 24-7 on.
04:29Because I wanted to know, when they gave me...
04:32His name is Nico.
04:34We ordered food, it's already there.
04:36And he's fine now.
05:06You
05:08You
05:10You
05:12You