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 Despite her success, Andrea Brillantes, otherwise known as Blythe, is still figuring out her place in the world. Here, she speaks with&nbsp;L'Officiel Philippines&nbsp;about how she's taking the reins of her life.&nbsp; 
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PHOTOGRAPHY Koji Arboleda
STYLING Yanna Lopez
"Do you feel in control?" I ask Andrea Brillantes. The actor and former child star recently turned 21, and her answer, whether it be in the affirmative or negative, would be&nbsp;indicative of how she was handling her newfound &ldquo;adulthood.&rdquo; At this point, the interview was in its last 15 minutes. Andrea,&nbsp;sitting comfortably in the makeup chair and dressed head to toe in H&amp;M&rsquo;s new Summer 2024 collection, had already talked for an hour about overcoming her struggles growing up, providing for her family, making plans for the future, enjoying singlehood, and building a business. She certainly seems in control. After a beat, she answers quietly: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m getting there.&rdquo;
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 It's an honest answer that rarely comes from those with years of showbiz experience. Even though Andrea is only entering her early 20s, she already has more than 10 years of being an artista under her belt. Despite that, she is largely unguarded, revealing herself to be, in a good way, just a regular 21-year-old.&nbsp;
 At the top of our conversion, I ask Andrea how she feels being at this age. &ldquo;Mas parang nape-pressure ko &lsquo;yong sarili ko,&rdquo; she says. She can feel how fast time is flying by, and the thought of her twenties passing her by is almost terrifying. Like she&rsquo;s not doing enough, she says. And for most of us who have been 21 and know the feeling, you&rsquo;ll know that it&rsquo;s a feeling you eventually outgrow. But that&rsquo;s irrelevant&mdash;for Andrea, there is no time to waste.
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Dress and earrings, H&M

Dress and bikini top, H&M

She wants to do this and this and this and this and this. There&rsquo;s&nbsp;a lot on her list. I ask what they are, but she keeps that to herself. &ldquo;Ayoko ma-jinx,&rdquo; she says, coyly.
What she does tell me, though, is that she's been talking to her mom about these plans, and making them concrete. She wants to start doing things for herself, beyond providing for her family. "Pine-prepare ko na siya na hindi na ako breadwinner forever," Andrea says. "Pero hindi ko siya gagawing biglaan; hindi ko lang sila iiwan basta-basta," she clarifies. Now that she's 21, Andrea can talk to her mom not just as her guardian, but from one adult to another. It's less of "Mama, pano 'to? Mama, pano 'yan?" and more of "Kailangan nating maayos-ayos 'to, ganyan," says Andrea. "I have dreams for myself, too."
Andrea hasn't always had the luxury of chasing her own dreams. Since she was a kid on Goin' Bulilit, Andrea has had a responsibility to her family, to provide for them. Balancing her wants with the needs of her family was one of the things that Andrea struggled with when she was a teenager. It was hard not to compare herself to her peers: "Mga nepo baby at sosyal 'yung mga friends ko noon," she says, "So syempre mai-imagine mo 'yung pressure na dumikit sakin bilang bata na breadwinner ako, tapos sila, they don't have to pay for rent, bills." When her friends would get paid, they'd buy luxury bags and gadgets.
It's clear that Andrea doesn&rsquo;t resent her family, but it did weigh on her, to not have what she wanted as a teenager. More than fancy purses, Andrea wanted to go to a fancy school, just like her friends. She could, but she chose not to: "Kaya ko naman pag-aralin 'yung sarili ko sa private schools katulad nung friends ko," she says, "Pero in order to do that, magugutom 'yung family ko."&nbsp;

Bikini top, skirt, sandals, and earrings, H&M

She's had to sacrifice a lot, she says. She almost wanted to quit showbiz, too. "Kasi ang hirap, honestly, sobrang hirap maging artista." At this point, when she was between 13 and 16, all Andrea wanted to be was a normal teenager. She was bullied both in school and on social media. She had no active roles on TV and yet still had bashers. She suffered from body dysmorphia. And, to top it all off, even the money she was earning wasn't what she thought or hoped it would be. She wondered, "'San ako mag-e-enjoy sa life?'"&nbsp;
The turning point, Andrea says, was when she got cast as Marga Mondragon in the ABS-CBN teleserye Kadenang Ginto in 2018. At first, she didn't want to take the role, because she didn't want to be typecast as a kontrabida. But when she dove into it, things took a 180. "'Dun nagbago lahat," she says, "Kasi dun ako nakita ng mga tao. I felt seen, acknowledged." Her life turned around, Andrea says, and all of the things she had been praying for began to materialize. "Bumuhos siya nung year na 'yun." Because of Kadenang Ginto, Andrea was able to buy her house. But she acknowledges that she wouldn't have appreciated all that she has now if she hadn't gone through what she did when she was younger. "It built my character so much," she says. "Super insecure ko noon, tapos isang switch lang, grabe na 'yung confidence ko." She felt whole: "Nabuo 'yung pagkatao ko," she says. Her life still wasn't perfect, Andrea admits, and this new leaf didn't exactly happen in the way she expected it to, but she wouldn't have it any other way.&nbsp;Andrea has since struck while the iron was hot, and parlayed her success into a winning career streak.&nbsp;
This May, Andrea is set to reprise her role as Sky Love Cruz in Dreamscape Entertainment's High Street, the sequel to last year's buzzy online streaming series Senior High. Andrea relates a lot to her character, she says, because the show draws many parallels between the character and her own life. "Ang close niya sa story ko; different font lang siya," she says. But that's also why the role is challenging, especially for a second run. "Medyo mahirap for me 'yung role kasi nag-move on na dapat ako sa role ko kay Sky, tapos o-open ko siya ulit," she says. In a way, Andrea says that that's also what makes the preparation for the role easier. "'Yun 'yung sigurong madali lang na part, kasi kilalang kilala ko si Sky," she says, "Kailangan ko lang siya alalahanin, i-internalize ulit."

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 Despite this big turnaround in her acting career, Andrea confesses she still feels behind compared with her peers. Not in terms of the work she's getting or the things she's been able to provide for her family, but in terms of living her life. "Ngayon naman, ako 'yung nape-pressure sa mga girls my age na parang nag-e-enjoy lang," she says. You'd think people would be jealous of her&mdash;and they are&mdash;but Andrea points out that she's been in the game for more than 10 years now, so being where she is, being a successful actor and entrepreneur, shouldn't be a big surprise. "So if titingnan natin lahat, tama lang kung nasan ka, tama lang kung nasan ako," she adds, "Kasi at the age of 10, nagwo-work na ako &mdash; so wag ka ma-pressure."
 Even though Andrea already has so many years under her belt, she is still learning and growing. Her personal style has evolved with her outlook, and it&rsquo;s easy to observe how Andrea has&nbsp;stepped up her fashion game. There&rsquo;s an evident ease and edge that emanates from her growth as a person; it&rsquo;s reflected here, in her wardrobe for the shoot, all courtesy of H&amp;M. Free-flowing silhouettes are complemented by statement-making prints, echoing Andrea&rsquo;s current disposition.
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 During the shoot, Andrea moves with confidence. Andrea&nbsp;is a woman, her body language declares. Both vibrant and sleek dresses are worn with flirty swimsuits underneath, complementing her bubbly yet maturing persona. In fact, she adored the wardrobe so much that she asked to take the swimsuits home, to add to her growing collection of fashion statements. There&rsquo;s no denying the effect fashion can have on one&rsquo;s confidence, and here, in H&amp;M&rsquo;s summer collection, Andrea is nothing but her new self.
 Apart from her style, Andrea is getting to know herself as a person all over again, thanks to one thing: being single. "Nung nasa relationship ako, all I could think about was my boyfriend," she reveals, "And never kong naisip 'yung mga plans ko for myself." Her world revolved around being somebody's girlfriend. "Ngayon lang ako nakapag-reflect talaga kung sino ako," she says. And it's been an interesting process, getting to know herself. "Eto pala si Blythe," she says, referring to her personal nickname. "Do I like her? Paano ko magagawang magustuhan 'yung self ko? 'Cause I'm going to live with myself for the rest of my life, at ngayon ko lang siya nakilala."
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I ask her if she's enjoying being single, and her eyes light up as if she's ready to give an answer in all caps. "Yes," she says, enthusiastically. On the outside, it seems like there's a weight that's been lifted from her shoulders. "I love it so much," she declares. She does hope to be a mom someday, she caveats, and it's one of her life's deepest desires. But for now, "sa current feelings ko, parang hindi ko pa nakikita talaga." Maybe in five years she'll want a boyfriend, she says. Her standards with men have gone up, too, and she plans to stick by them. "Sana hindi ko kainin 'yung words ko," she adds. "Hopefully, five years after this interview, mapanindigan ko siya." Because to her, finding a boyfriend now isn't just finding a relationship, but finding a lifelong partner, one that can match her newfound outlook in life.
When asked what she would tell other women her age, Andrea was quick to answer: "Be single," she chuckled. But in all seriousness, she stands by it: "If katulad kita na nag-boyfriend nang maaga, at nare-realize mo na ang dami mo palang unresolved thoughts, tapos magugulat ka na 'yung years na akala mo ikaw 'yun... hindi talaga ikaw 'yun," she posits, "Ikaw lang 'yun with a boyfriend."
We're back to the last 15 minutes of the interview, where I ask her if she feels in control. "Mas self-aware lang ako now kesa sa in control," she says. "Getting there, kasi, 'yun nga, ngayon ko pa lang nakikilala 'yung self ko." She is more attuned to what she needs and what she wants, after being of service to others most of her life. She is acknowledging what she needs to learn, and plotting out the path to getting there.&nbsp;
And she&rsquo;s right: being at this age is not about being in control, it&rsquo;s about getting to know yourself.
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 It&rsquo;s here that you realize that Andrea Brillantes really is 21 years old&mdash;wisened up by her years of work and exposure to the limelight, but still, really, just a regular young adult. She may have had a vastly different experience than most people her age, but she&rsquo;s arrived at the same place regardless. And that she&rsquo;s exactly where she needs to be.
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Top and skirt, H&M

CREATIVE DIRECTION&nbsp;Loris Pe&ntilde;a
PRODUCED BY&nbsp;Loris Pe&ntilde;a and Yanna Lopez
MAKEUP Zidjian Floro
HAIR Justine Ocampo
LIGHTING DIRECTION Joey Alvero
PRODUCTION DESIGN Paul Jatayna
VIDEO DIRECTION Kevin Redder
SHOOT ASSISTANT Teresita Gabat

Blythe Is Where She Needs to Be

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