REAL Reason why I STOPPED uploading videos here...

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]I feel there's just this deep connection that I have with the Philippines.

[00:00:04]>> I came to the Philippines in 2018 and from the very beginning I felt something. But life has a strange way of changing direction when you least expect it. There were moments where I almost gave up and then something unexpected happened.

[00:00:17]>> The Filipino people really did the best in picking me up and putting me back together.

[00:00:22]>> I'm so happy right now.

[00:00:24]Yeah, this is so different than Bangkok.

[00:00:26]>> Seeing his smile and how his eyes popped up and he how excited he got.

[00:00:31]>> day ever.

[00:00:32]>> Yeah, yeah.

[00:00:33]I LOVE IT.

[00:00:34]>> [laughter] >> I LOVE IT.

[00:00:37]>> WHAT'S UP, PHILIPPINES? Welcome back to another video with your host Nalie. I know it has been a while and there is a very good reason for that. Today I am going to react to a video that is very special to me and very dear to my heart and I think you would love it, too. I just wanted to take a second to explain why I haven't uploaded here on this channel for quite some time. If, you know, this could be the end of this channel or not, I just wanted to come up here [clears throat] and tell you what is going on in my life. So, yeah, I haven't uploaded in a few months because of three reasons. Number one, I moved into a new home. There's a whole video about it on my main channel Nalie's Life, which will pop up here and yeah, after four years of moving around and being a digital nomad I finally have a home base [music] and it took some time to settle in, to decorate it properly, to make it my home and I'm super happy about that. Number two is that I'm currently building a little passion project, a little business for myself to be able to sustain a living. So, yeah, that is Freedom Creator Academy. I already started posting on Instagram, [music] maybe you can check it out here if you're interested. It's about helping you create a living from your passion, which will be, of course, a YouTube channel as I did it for myself. I have a track record of three channels that I brought up to over like a million subscribers in total. So, I definitely saw how that changed my [clears throat] life and I think this is something that everybody can do and that's why I'm doing this for you as well. So, if you want to check it out, please do so. And the third one is very, very close to my heart. I got invited to participate [music] in this year's Vlogfest, which was in collaboration with the tourism department of the Philippines, which is such a great honor that I have [music] been chosen for representing the Philippines and showcasing the beauty from my [music] perspective. So, yeah, today I am going to show you this video because I feel there's just this deep connection that I have with the Philippines. I wanted to show to the world that is not just a destination. It is really something that [music] changes you forever, that changes your life, the way how you think, and the way how you also approach things in [music] life.

[00:03:05]So, without further ado, I would say let's watch it together. This is my submission for the Vlogfest. So, if you want to vote on it, please do so.

[00:03:13]There's a link in the pinned comment down below. I'm hoping for your support.

[00:03:16]I hope it speaks to you as much as it did to me, but let me show you what I got. Shall we?

[00:03:22]Let's do it.

[00:03:24]How do you explain the Philippines to someone that has never been here?

[00:03:29]Let me try. I came to the Philippines in 2018 and from the very beginning, I felt something.

[00:03:36]It wasn't the warmth of the people, the laughter, the way life somehow felt simpler here. And before I knew it, this place became home. [music] But life has a strange way of changing direction when you least expect it.

[00:03:48]My life Hold on. There was a big transformational time in my life where I knew I needed to move to Southeast Asia.

[00:03:56]I built a whole life in the US, moved away from Europe, and then I came to the Philippines, and I actually really fell in love with the place. But what happened then made me fall in love with the people. Let me show you.

[00:04:11]>> My life fell apart. I went through one of the darkest periods of my life. I felt lost for a very long time. There were moments where almost gave up, and then something unexpected happened.

[00:04:21]Complete strangers started showing up for me with prayers, with encouragement, with kindness, and somehow those small messages carried me through some very dark days, and brought some sunshine back into my [music] life again. If there's one place on Earth that God might consider paradise, I think it would look a little bit like the Philippines.

[00:04:40]>> Yeah, so you already got the whole theme of this video. It's not about me being in the Philippines, it's about what it means to be in the Philippines, and how a very difficult situation that happened in my life that really made me fall apart changed me in a way to bring back my the smile into my face, and also to bring back hope, to bring back spark, and enjoy. And I feel like the Filipino people really did the best in picking me up and putting me back together by sending prayers, love, comments, messages, sharing my videos to friends and family. So, this is where I say that if there's one place that I call paradise, it is this place because it's not just the beauty of the landscape, it is really the beauty of the heart.

[00:05:34]>> The paradise here is not just the scenery. It is the people.

[00:05:38]No matter where I traveled afterwards, I carried the Philippines with me.

[00:05:43]Because this country taught me things I did [music] not know I needed to learn.

[00:05:47]It taught me that strangers can become family. As the Bible says, "Love your neighbor as yourself." And Filipinos truly live that. They taught me that togetherness is everything. That joy does not come from having more, but from sharing moments with the people around you.

[00:06:01]>> Simplicity.

[00:06:01]>> me resilience, how people can go through storms and still choose to smile. They taught [music] me gratitude, to stop focusing on what is missing and start counting the blessings already in front of me. In some way, along the way, I slowly found myself again.

[00:06:16]>> Okay, stopping right here because there are a few scenes in here that I have with my friends, actually, and people that I've met along the way that just contributed a little bit more to my happiness. It's the people that I met during these travels that shared smiles and nice conversations that really made me feel better, that built me up and stitched me together, and that made me really appreciate the right things in life. I know that we all think we have such big problems, but in reality, I call it the first world problems, and my realization throughout these years was that a heartbreak is not the end of you.

[00:06:57]It is the start of something bigger and more beautiful, and I think throughout my experiences that I had during these years, it showed even more what is important to me. And I think the importance comes down to this point.

[00:07:12]>> And now, I am back. Back to the island that changed my life. [music] This time, not alone. I wanted other people to experience what I've experienced, to feel what this country feels like. So, I paid a tour guide for my friends to show them why I love [music] it here so much.

[00:07:27]Catherine finally slowed down for a moment. She traded stress for ocean air and deadlines for mango shakes under the sun.

[00:07:35]>> And Sean >> I think he just rediscovered a part of himself. The childlike wonder, the curiosity, and the joy.

[00:07:42]>> I'm so happy right now.

[00:07:44]>> Uh Yeah, this [laughter] is so different than Bangkok.

[00:07:48]>> And what >> I really loved seeing all of these raw experiences, especially from Sean. He's from Taiwan and seeing his smile and how his eyes popped up and how excited he got, how it made made him feel alive, how it made him re-evaluate his life decisions saying, "Oh my god, why am I even living in Bangkok or Taiwan when this is what life can look like on a daily basis?" He went ahead and hugged trees. He was sitting by the beach and just admiring the people around us, how light-hearted they lived, how happy they were. And I think that was the turning point for him. That's when he realized, "Wow, there is really something bigger in life."

[00:08:32]>> I'm slowly falling in love with the Philippines, made me fall in love with it all over again.

[00:08:38]>> It's so savage. I love it.

[00:08:39]>> All right.

[00:08:40]>> Yeah, the country of dinosaurs.

[00:08:43]>> Feel dinosaurs.

[00:08:44]>> Because this [laughter] place is more than a destination. It is a feeling. A reminder that life is not meant to be rushed, that people need people, that kindness still exists, and that sometimes the place that heals us becomes part of us who we are forever.

[00:08:59]>> Oh, I'm so happy.

[00:09:02]I got goosebumps and I'm like getting so emotional.

[00:09:06]>> So, how do you explain the Philippines to someone who has never been? You bring them here.

[00:09:11]>> We're having the best day ever.

[00:09:13]>> Yeah. Yeah. I LOVE IT.

[00:09:16]>> [laughter] >> I LOVE IT.

[00:09:17]>> AND you want it to happen to them, too.

[00:09:19]>> What?

[00:09:20]>> I love the Philippines.

[00:09:20]>> Yeah? It's good, right?

[00:09:22]>> Yeah.

[00:09:23]>> And I love it.

[00:09:24]>> Yeah.

[00:09:25]>> heaven.

[00:09:28]So blown away. It makes me really happy that my friends love it here. Look at that.

[00:09:34]This is my love letter to the Philippines. Thank you for making me who I am today. Thank you for being my family. Maraming salamat po.

[00:09:44]Yeah.

[00:09:47]>> [laughter] >> Yeah, so if you have been following my journey, you know exactly what happened in my life, how it transformed me, how shy I actually was in my old videos. I kind of like was small and now I look at myself and through the prayers and the support of the Filipino people, I became way more lively, way more joyful. I am the happiest version of myself, the best version of myself because of the Philippines. So, I just wanted to say thank you. If you appreciate and love this video, if it fills you with pride, if you proud to be Filipino and being part of my journey, please do me a solid, solid favor and vote for my video for this year's VlogFest competition.

[00:10:31]Yeah, I would really appreciate your votes, your support, and share [music] it with your friends, share it with family, spread the message into the world because I don't think there is a place in the world that has something to offer like the Philippines has. I've said it so many times and I'm going to say it again, Philippines is home for me and it is where people speak from the heart. So, yeah, if you want to give me a vote, you also have a chance to win a trip to the Philippines. So, if you're watching from abroad or even like within the country, I'll leave all the details in the description box down below and in the pinned comment and you can be part of this and maybe experience it for yourself. Maybe this will be your life-changing moment. Maybe you will have a realization coming back to yourself like I did and yeah, just feel the magic [music] of the Philippines.

[00:11:22]With that being said, I just wanted to say thank you so much for your support so far. I do promise that I will publish more videos on this channel. It's It's over here yet. We're going to continue spreading good vibes. I'm going to continue teaching you new things, new ways, stuff that I find fascinating about the Philippines here on this channel What's Up Philippines. If you want to check out my blogging channel that is about travel and food and my life in [music] Asia, please follow Nelli's life. And if you want to see some behind the scenes, definitely give me a follow on Instagram. [music] There's like so much happening. I'm posting a lot of reels. I had a lot of viral reels from my trip from the Philippines. So if you want to see those, what I kind of like put together, feel free to follow me there. And that being said, let me know in the comment section down below what you think about this video, if it resonates with you, what makes you proud to be Filipino. I'm really curious to hear your [music] thoughts on this and I always appreciate your feedback. And yeah, I would say I'll see you soon here on THIS CHANNEL ON WHAT'S UP PHILIPPINES. See you next time. Bye-bye.

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