UNPRESSURED

Three years ago, I met Ashtine Olviga on the set of Will You Be My Ex? The last movie that I directed for Viva Films.  She was playing Julia Barretto’s younger sister, a supporting role that required only a couple of taping days. It was still a different time in the industry, when productions were slowly finding their rhythm again after the pandemic. She was young, relatively unknown, and simply another aspiring actress trying to find her place.

But I remember her.

I remember thinking, Ang cute ng batang ’to. There was something about her, a certain charm, a quiet presence, a spark that made you wonder what might happen if she were given the right opportunity.

Today, Ashtine is a leading actress, a recording artist, a singer-songwriter, and one of the most recognizable young personalities of her generation. Her breakthrough as Jay-Jay Mariano in Ang Mutya ng Section E changed the trajectory of her career, opening doors to more projects and opportunities. Yet sitting with her again for this issue of ZEEN, what struck me most wasn’t simply how much her career had changed. It was how much of the girl I met three years ago was still there.

She was still shy. Still spontaneous. Still capable of laughing at herself. Still someone who admits that there are moments when she doubts whether she can do something, and then surprises herself by doing it anyway.

That is why Ashtine feels like the right person for our Unpressured issue.

We live in a time when young people are constantly reminded that they are running out of time. Social media has turned other people’s lives into a continuous scoreboard. Someone is already successful at 19. Someone is building a company at 21. Someone is traveling the world, getting married, releasing an album, or finding their purpose before we have even figured out what we want to do next.

The pressure isn’t always coming from our parents anymore. Sometimes, it comes from our phones.

Ashtine understands that pressure, but she has consciously chosen not to let it dictate her life. When I asked how unpressured she feels on a daily basis, she gave herself an eight out of ten. It isn’t because she doesn’t feel pressure; rather, she has learned to put it in perspective.

“Hindi ko masyadong iniisip yung mga standards na nakukuha ko,” she says. 

“Basta alam ko sa sarili ko na kailangan ko ibigay ‘yung 100% ko all the time.” 

That distinction matters. She isn’t saying she doesn’t care. In fact, she cares deeply. She simply chooses to measure herself by what she can control: her effort, her work, and the person she is becoming.

That mindset was already present long before her breakthrough.

Ashtine started auditioning and doing extra work when she was young. In 2016, she entered the world of girl groups, an experience she admits wasn’t necessarily easy for her. Singing and dancing were not where she felt most confident, and she was naturally shy. Yet looking back, she doesn’t describe those years as wasted time.

“Sobrang thankful ako na I was able to experience those experiences,” she tells me. 

“Parang yun po talaga yung

isa sa nag-hone sa akin… ‘yung work ethics,

‘yung character ko, and ‘yung confidence ko.”

There is something revealing in the way she looks back at her past. She doesn’t divide her life into successful chapters and unsuccessful ones. She sees each experience as part of the process.

When she was younger, she wasn’t creating a strict list of milestones for herself. She wasn’t thinking, By this age, I should already have this career, this achievement, this level of recognition.

“Wala po,” she says. “Mas more on parang mas naiisip ko kung paano ko ma-improve yung sarili ko.”

Her concern was improvement, not comparison.

The question of time eventually came, but much later. At 25, she began wondering whether the career she had been pursuing for so long was actually meant for her. “Is this for me?” she remembers asking herself.

It is a question many young people quietly carry. We don’t always say it out loud because admitting that we are unsure can feel like admitting that we are failing.

But Ashtine’s story gives the question a different ending.

The breakthrough came with Ang Mutya ng Section E, the project she says changed her life and opened more opportunities. Jay-Jay also became the character she considers closest to her own personality. But what matters is that by the time the opportunity came, she had already spent years preparing for it.

We celebrate the moment someone arrives, but rarely talk about the years they spent becoming ready.

Ashtine has an interesting way of looking at the things that haven’t happened yet. She doesn’t automatically interpret their absence as failure. Instead, she asks whether she is ready to receive them.

“Paano kung akala mo gusto mong makuha ‘yun kasi akala mo ready ka na, pero ‘pag nakuha mo, hindi mo maalagaan nang maayos kasi sa totoo, hindi ka pa talaga ready?”

— Ashtine Olviga

For her, when something hasn’t arrived yet, perhaps there is still something to learn. “May lesson ka pang dapat matutunan,” she explains, so that when the opportunity finally comes, you can take care of it properly.

What if being behind is sometimes just another word for preparing?

What if the years we think we’re wasting are actually the years building the character, discipline, confidence, and perspective we will eventually need?

This is where Ashtine’s story becomes bigger than celebrity. It becomes a story about a generation learning to reject the idea that there is only one correct way to grow up.

Her career itself reflects that philosophy. Acting was always where her heart was, but now she is discovering another side of herself through music. The girl who once felt too shy to sing is now recording and writing songs. She doesn’t describe this as a reinvention.

She calls it an opening.

“Mas more on nag-e-explore pa ako sa kung ano pa yung pwede kong gawin at mas ma-enjoy ko ding gawin,” she says.

I like that she calls it an opening because it suggests that she isn’t trying to arrive at a final version of herself. She is simply opening another door. There may be more doors after that.

And that is perfectly fine.

Even as her career accelerates, Ashtine remains grounded in the idea that she doesn’t have to become everything at once. Her experience as part of a love team has taught her the value of helping the people around her rather than pulling anyone down. 

“Walang mawawala sa’yo kung magtutulungan kayo ng ibang tao,” 

Ashtine shares.

At the same time, she understands that a shared journey doesn’t mean surrendering your individual one. Whether she is given an opportunity as part of a pair or as an individual artist, she simply wants to give her best.

“Basta sa lahat po ng binibigay nila sa akin, make sure ko lang po na bibigay ko po ‘yung 100% ko lagi para no regrets.”

— Ashtine Olviga

Perhaps that’s the balance young people are searching for today: ambition without obsession, growth without comparison, and success without losing yourself in the process.

Ashtine admits that comparison is inevitable. There are moments when she sees someone else’s achievements and thinks, “Buti pa siya. Ganito na siya. Ako ganito pa din.” But she reminds herself that another person’s journey belongs to them. She chooses instead to appreciate the blessings in her own life, whether they are big or small.

And when pressure inevitably comes, she doesn’t pretend that it doesn’t exist. “Okay lang ma-pressure, okay lang matakot,” she says. “It’s okay to feel.” The important part, she adds, is not to dwell there.

“Upuan mo lang. ‘Wag mong tambayan.” 

Sit with the feeling. Acknowledge the fear. Allow yourself to be uncertain. But don’t build a home inside your doubt.

For Ashtine, faith is also part of that process. Before difficult moments, she prays for courage and strength. Sometimes, after pushing herself through the fear, she looks back and realizes, almost with surprise, Wow, nagawa ko.

That seems to be the story of her life so far.

She thought she couldn’t sing, and now she’s writing songs. She was a shy girl who struggled with confidence, and now she stands in front of an audience. She spent years taking supporting roles, and eventually became a leading lady. She once wondered whether the dream was still meant for her, and now that dream has expanded into something bigger than she originally imagined.

Yet she isn’t looking at any of this as a finish line.

When I asked what she would tell her future self ten years from now, her answer wasn’t about awards, fame, money, or career milestones. She said she would thank herself for not changing her heart.

“It’s important to not change your heart dahil lang nasaktan ka,” she says. 

She would also thank that future version of herself for continuing to fight even when it became exhausting. That, to me, is the most powerful thing about Ashtine’s story.

Three years ago, I saw a young actress with potential. Today, I see an artist who is still discovering the extent of that potential.

And perhaps the reason she is able to enjoy the moment is because she understands something that we often forget: life isn’t a race, and there is no universal schedule for becoming who you are supposed to be.

You can take the long way. You can change your mind. You can discover a new talent at an age when you thought you were supposed to have everything figured out. You can be unsure and still move forward. You can be afraid and still try. You can watch someone else’s success without turning it into a judgment of your own life.

And you can take your time. Ashtine Olviga isn’t late. She isn’t early. She is simply on her own timeline, and perhaps that is exactly what Unpressured means. Not the absence of pressure, but the decision not to let pressure decide who you become.

Three years after I first met her, I am happy to see where she is now. But more than that, I’m excited to see where she goes next.

Because she isn’t done becoming. And neither are we.

THE ZEEN TEAM

Editor-In-Chief | Real Florido
Creative Director | Murielle Tanchanco
Photographer | Genio Frondoza
Assistant Photographer | Emman Escultor
Production Manager | Allen Castro
Co-Content Producer | Abby Ramos
Editorial Assistant | Francesca Bacordo
Multimedia Artist | Phoenix Cabuay
Production Interns | Julianne Icban
Senior IT Officer | Franz Josef Dela Cruz

Styling | Patty Yap
Hairstylist | Bianca Anne Vergara
Makeup Artist | Carissa Cielo Medved
Production Design | Jagger Studios
Location | Suha Studio

Special thanks to Viva Artists Agency