Where It All Began — Mariveles, Bataan, 1995

📸 "Where It All Began" — Mariveles, Bataan, 1995

I was just 16 years old in this photo—fresh out of high school, and already a first-year college student at UP Diliman. But even before I set foot on campus, I was already deep into something most kids my age didn’t even think about: computer programming and digital design.

This picture was taken in Mariveles, Bataan, in my uncle Ed Pangilinan’s computer shop. That old-school CRT monitor behind me? That was the first computer I ever got to use—and to me, it wasn’t just a machine. It was magic. A door to a world of creation, innovation, and endless possibilities.

I would spend hours coding, designing, tinkering with layouts, learning DOS commands, playing with CorelDRAW, and figuring out how programs worked. I was teaching myself how to build things with my mind and my mouse, and I didn’t even realize I was already laying the digital foundation for the life I have today.

This was the 90s. No fast internet. No YouTube tutorials. Just passion, curiosity, and a burning desire to create something bigger than myself.

Who would’ve thought that the quiet kid from Bataan—wearing plaid shorts, sandals, and a big smile—would one day be called the VoiceMaster of the Philippines, build CreatiVoices, train thousands of voice artists, and even pioneer AI voice technology in Filipino?

It all started here.

With a borrowed PC, an uncle who believed in me, and a dream bigger than the monitor I was staring at.

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