Metro At 30: Megan Young On Taking Risks And Embracing The Unknown

For Megan Young, her very first Metro cover shoot was one for the books. It goes back to 2011 when she was modeling for the magazine’s body issue, with not a lot of experience yet in coming up with the right looks and poses as a subject.

“They called me and they were like, ‘Hey, we want to get you for the cover of Metro bodies and I literally freaked out because it was my first-ever fashion cover. I was with my best friend—we were at my house and then I got this e-mail with the whole deck and we were just jumping up and down in the room, just so happy about that moment!” she recalls, calling it a turning point in her life. “I’ll always be thankful to Metro for giving me that chance because they took a risk with me for this. I didn’t consider myself to be anybody; I was just trying to work at it. They believed in me.”

Good things come to those who wait, they say, and fast forward to 2013, her big break came and she was named Miss World. Some may think that the crown came easy for the woman gifted with beauty and brains, but it really was the other way around. “I was working on TV and I was at the point where I wanted to join the pageant but there was a risk that if I won, it would be great. But on the downside of that, the other 50% of what could have happened is that I would lose and I don’t know if I would be the same or if I would go lower than where I already was,” the beauty queen tells Metro.Style. “It was a big decision for a 23-year-old to make. I think that was probably one of the struggles that I had—to make such a big decision, to drop everything. I wasn’t going to have work if I join the pageant, I wasn’t going to have income. Ano’ng gagawin ko? How do I take care of my family? How do I pursue what I want to do? It was such a big risk.”

At that time, the actress had so many things to do and several people to take care of, yet she was determined to take the leap. She didn’t want to have regrets. She refused to go on with her life thinking about what ifs and what could’ve beens. “At that point, I’d rather lose than not even know if I could have won or not, without even knowing if it was really meant for me,” she continues. “You have to try it. You have to take a risk sometimes and I’m happy that was the risk that I took.”

Taking a risk and embracing that decision is one of the life lessons that phase in her life taught her. It’s also an experience that reminded her that things don’t just fall one one’s lap. “You have to work really, really hard for what you want,” she emphasizes. “It’s about surpassing people’s expectations, surpassing your own expectations, doing things that are scary, doing things that you don’t know what the outcome is going to be.”

When it comes to success, they say nice guys finish last. But Megan points out, “Being nice gets you a long way… honestly, nice people stay there until the end. You just have to be pleasant and you have got to be thankful for the people around you.”

At that point, I’d rather lose than not even know if I could have won or not

Like many women, Megan had to deal with self-doubt and uncertainties, issues she eventually managed to overcome with the help of her loved ones. “When you’re in your 20s, you’re like ‘What am I doing? Let’s just enjoy!’ But as I got older, I got to know myself more, I got to know my body more. From then and now, I know what makes me happy,” she shares. “I’m very happy. I’m in a good place and it’s because of the people I surround myself with.”

There is no other award or reward quite like her life-changing Miss World victory, but what Megan truly considers her greatest achievement cannot take on the tangible form of a medal, a trophy, or in her case, a crown; it’s the life-long relationships she has established throughout her journey. “These are people na kahit balik-balikan ko sila, kahit na minsan ko silang makita, for life ko silang friends, and I’m really happy I have these people and that support system in my life. That’s an achievement kasi for me, ‘yun 'yung nagpapalakas sa akin,” she says.

Another source of strength and inspiration, she reveals, is her boyfriend Mikael Daez who is also her travel buddy. “Mikael and I love documenting our trips. It started out as videos we’d make for friends and family because they’d always ask us ‘Ano’ng ginawa niyo?’ We just started making videos to show them kung ano ‘yung na-experience namin,” she muses. 

The couple has an interesting way of mapping their trips, which always begins at a coffee shop. “The first thing that we do when we go to a country, we look for a specialty coffee shop and we go from there. We plan our itinerary and whatever’s nearby, that’s where we’ll go to aside from the coffee shops. Our travel is based on coffee,” continues Megan, saying they rarely go to tourist spots as they don’t enjoy large crowds. “We love enjoying it how the locals do and we’ll walk from one place to another, take the train, and the cool thing about it is once we’re in a coffee shop, you have a local right there at the bar. Your barista is a local. We ask them where they go, so from that coffee shop, our itinerary grows because of the barista or because of the people we meet. We’ve gotten some great recommendations from the people we’ve met in restaurants—from the chefs or the waiters or the baristas—and they always give us their local recommendations, which more often than not, are great choices.”

One of the best things she has picked up from Mikael in their almost nine-year relationship is being confident in the way she speaks. “I’m very confident that I speak in a way that I just want to make kuwento—parang magkaibigan. I didn’t use to be like this,” she declares. “It’s something I got from Mikael. He’s a storyteller, happy happy siya but he knows how to tell a story. I used to be very conscious about how I would talk but I realized that all you have to do is speak how you would talk to your friend and then it just flows like that. If you speak in a way na you speak from experience also, that also helps.”

I’m very happy. I’m in a good place and it’s because of the people I surround myself with

When she’s not travelling or playing video games (she’s so into them now!), Megan is focused on her craft as an actress. Her horror TV series, Hanggang sa Dulo ng Buhay Ko concluded in October, and it was one of the most challenging roles she's ever had to take on. “The set is pretty scary and when I would watch it, I would get even more freaked out because I don’t watch horror films and horror TV shows,” she says of her last show. “I think it’s so intricate to shoot something as mind-blowing because you need camera angles, and camera tricks. You need to have that gulat factor so it is pretty intricate in terms of shooting.”

2019 has, without a doubt, been an incredible year for Megan, one that saw some good times and challenging phases. Every time she is struggling with something, she always makes sure to come out of it better and stronger. These struggles help shape her and her outlook in life. While there may have been tough times, she has also seen brighter days that motivate her to go on and look forward to what’s ahead with so much excitement. 

When asked if she sees herself in the same industry in the next ten years, she quickly answered that she’ll be there “until the last of my life.” “I’m already here, I have such a great group of people that I know and that I’ve grown up with in this industry,” she points out. “Whether or not I’m an actress at that point or something else, there’s always something new you could do and discover. You have actors becoming directors, photographers, etc. You’ll never know. It could evolve from there.”

Let us be reminded, after all: the world is her oyster. 

Being nice gets you a long way… honestly, nice people stay there until the end

Produced by Kat Cruz-Villanueva, Ceia Ylagan, and Judy Arias

Photography by Seven Barretto

Video by Chapters by Mayad

Styling by Eldzs Mejia

Makeup by Jelly Eugenio

Hairstyling by Renz Pangilinan

Sittings editors: Geolette Esguerra, Grace Libero-Cruz, and Kate Paras-Santiago

Production design by Kathy Sy King of Event Styles

Styling assistants: Carl Alberto, Gabby Gamboa, Nix Bueno, Aubrey Cazzandra

Shot on location at City of Dreams Manila

Special thanks to Charisse Chuidian and Romina Gervacio of City of Dreams Manila; C&L Decor, Shop Rent Gala, 4th Wall, and 18th Floristry