Juliana Gomez has grown and is stepping out of the shadows of her famous parents, Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez and Representative Lucy Torres-Gomes (Leyte, First District).
Slowly but surely, the 17-year-old lass has been carving a little niche for herself as an endorser for Bench.
How has Lucy been taking this?
“I think, maybe, it’s really just the natural progression of things because her dad has been in the limelight ever since,” she told PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) at the launch of Bench Fashion Week Spring-Summer 2018 last March 11, in Bench Tower, Bonifacio Global City.
Juliana was among the endorsers who walked the ramp that evening.
Lucy continued, “Maybe it’s different now for Juliana because people actually saw her grow up.
"It’s not like she came out of nowhere.
“Parang they really saw her as a baby, as a one-year-old.
"Then an eight-year-old, and now as a 17-year-old.”
The 43-year-old celebrity mom also marveled at how time flies quickly.
"When you someone grow up, you see them every day—you don’t really notice.
“Then all of the sudden, you see her all grown up.
"All dolled up, and you just realize how much she’s grown!
“I feel old!”
SOPHISTICATED GENERATION. Juliana was born in 2000, around the time social media boomed.
Lucy said she is thankful that her unica hija had a gadget-free childhood.
However, she said Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have their merits as they also document memories.
The politician told PEP.ph, “I think that the kids, generally speaking, of her generation are really more sophisticated than our generation.
“Unlike us, their generation is really more polished.
“I’ll show you a picture... parang, I have a photo here of when she was in Spain with her friends.”
Lucy referred to an Instagram post she uploaded a few months ago.
"She was around the same age as I was when a photo was taken naman.
“And then I noticed nga na with her and her friends, parang they pose in a nice corner, but it looks so nice.
“Ako naman, during our time, we had no issues about posing in front of a table full of half-eaten lechon.
"Parang hindi mo na iniisip, but, sila, it matters.”
The Instagram post, which was dated September 30, 2017, showed an outdoor shot of Juliana and her friends.
Lucy described this photo as something that “can very well be in the pages of a magazine, e."
She said, "Really, it was just of three 16-year old girls who randomly found a nice corner for a posterity shot, while taking time off right after the pilgrimage their class went on.”
Meanwhile, the second photo was a throwback. Lucy was then 16 years old.
She was wearing a loose shirt just like the rest of her friends in the photo, smiling a “full on bungisngis smile” with their hair “sprayed and styled like a tidal wave.”
Lucy quipped that she and her friends didn’t bother to find a pretty corner to take the photo.
Instead, they were perfectly okay including the half-eaten lechon, red hotdog, and party spaghetti in the photo.
Lucy reiterated to PEP.ph, “I think their generation now is more aware of beauty in small spaces.
"Parang little details matter to them, sa amin wala!”