Jasmine Curtis-Smith: Finding Your Passion

The fervor and fire in Jasmine Curtis-Smith’s answers as we went through the second part of our interview was clearly unmistakable, that it commanded everyone’s attention, to the point that it became a group conversation of a bunch of 20-year-olds sharing their struggles of trying to follow their passions in this day and age. “Stop listening to everyone!” Jasmine exclaimed, even holding the phone recorder closer to her, to really assert her point.

At 24 years old, you can tell when you listen to her stories just how much Jasmine’s perspective about the world and its issues have widened, and it was in hearing her everyday struggles that made her all the more real and remarkable. Behind those long lashes and underneath her sprinkle of freckles lies a girl just wanting to connect as much with herself and the world, while trying to figure out the right balance of living in the now as opposed to what she’ll be doing in the next five years.

Read up on our September 2018 #CalyxtaGirl’s second cover story.

In terms of beauty routine, what are your daytime and evening skin care routines?

My daytime is much simpler. I have this black kombucha that’s like a toner or I don’t know. I just bought it, and they say it works well. (laughs) And then Olay moisturizer. And then at night, I go through a bit more of a routine. There’s the toner, there’s the eye cream, there’s like this pod thing that I squeeze, then there’s something else! There are four steps there that I go through. But that’s just because it was given for free and I was like, “Ahhh, I’ll try it out!” (laughs) I’m really not complicated with my skin care. It’s really just remove your makeup, wash your face for the day, toner, and moisturizer-–I’m good.

What’s a normal day like for you when you’re not busy with shoots?

I’m at home with my two pugs. Ordering food. I binge on whatever online streaming service. I’m a lazy girl, really. I’m your Australian bum. I like to go to the beach. I like to just chill and look at life. I think that we’re so occupied with living life, we don’t have time to pause and breathe and just settle in life. You know when it’s like, “Oh, what’s my career next year?! What’s my five-year-plan for my family?” And it’s like, “Wait. How do I focus on today?” So that’s my daily struggle also. Just letting today happen without feeling bad that I’m not busy.

What about makeup? What are your three makeup must-haves if you had to choose?

Lip and cheek tint para isahan na. Lip balm. And probably an eyelash curler.

We read that you’re into surfing and car racing. Aside from these, what else do you like to do and how do you find the time to balance everything?

Career, passion projects, extra-curricular, and love life? I like to spend time with my mom and my brother. I like to visit them a lot in Australia, and really just bum around with them. Look for coffee shops, walk around. We don’t do anything, really. I’m the type of person who finds it too much of an effort if we have to hang out and we have to do something together. I’m more conversational than “Let’s get busy!” because if it’s like that, then it means we’re not that close. I’m social for work but privately and in my personal life, I don’t go out much. I don’t hang out with friends. (laughs) Because I’m really bad. Even in replying, I’m not a good friend. Maybe it’s the Manila hour, vibe, or traffic, and you know, with work, I’ll put my phone down because I know I have to stay until 3AM tomorrow. So instead of my eyes getting tired from reading gossip, I’m going to read a book where I can learn something, and then work. And I’ll reply to you tomorrow, if I remember. And the bad thing is I reply to people two days later. (laughs)

How can you encourage and empower young women to find their own passion?

STOP LISTENING TO EVERYONE. Because that’s what I did. I listened to my mom, my dad, my sister, my two managers, and I never listened to myself. And only this year, I realized that I’m not doing what I want. I’m not completely happy with how things are working out, and I’m not happy with how I am perceived by majority of the people that I thought would want to work with me.

So I try to back track that and see where did it go wrong. Because that’s also my fault for not seeing that for myself and not calling it out, so I sought out a life coach this year. I asked her for advice on my current position, and she said, “Well, you know, you have a manager, you have a network and everything, but you’re the one working. You’re the one working in the field 70% of the time, you get tired. When you go home, do you think, ‘Okay, what’s my next work for them?’ or do you think, ‘Yay, I’m home. Rest.'” And I said yeah, it’s the first one. I think, “Oh my god, on Wednesday, I have taping again. I have to prepare. I can’t have my Tuesday off because I sleep in until 2PM, and then I prepare my clothes, and by the time I’m done, it’s 7PM. I have to eat dinner. Do I still go out? But my call time is 6AM tomorrow.” It’s just really like listening to everyone made me decide to make them happy, and then eight years into my career, I’m like, “I’m not happy pala. Why?” And it’s because I cared too much about what my manager thought, my mom thought, my dad thought, my sister thought. And now, I’m turning around like, This is my life. I don’t care if you went through that, and I should have to go through that. Times have changed. We’re not living in the baby boomer era. Whatever generation is after, it’s also done. I’m getting too deep into it, but it’s listening to previous generations who are not open to the current generation, and then it’s also a battle within yourself. So stop. Because you should be nurturing yourself, and resting, and taking the time to understand your wants. Of course, sometimes there are restrictions, and I get that. But you know—be reasonable and honest about your dreams and goals and if your parents really don’t want that for you, just follow them. And when you’ve graduated, and they’re done paying for school, then “Thanks, mom! I was able to finish my studies, and I work well.” Just do your thing, really. Stand by it. Stop listening to others and do your thing!