02/09/2026
Before the mirrors, before the business, before the title “Engineer”—
I was just a little girl from San Jose, Occidental Mindoro who dreamed of having a better life.
I grew up knowing what it meant to have very little.
There were days when we had to make do with what we had. There were moments when I wondered what would happen to us.
But there was one thing I refused to give up:
my education.
I studied hard.
Not because I was certain where life would take me, but because I believed that education could give my family a different future.
In 2013, something happened that I never imagined.
I became the 2013 Pantawid Pamilya National Exemplary Child.
For a young girl who once worried about whether her family would have enough, being recognized for her perseverance felt bigger than an award.
It became a reminder:
Maybe my circumstances were difficult, but they did not have to become my destiny.
The opportunity opened doors for me. It allowed me to become a voice for other young people and gave me even more reason to keep going.
Eventually, I made it to Manila to pursue Civil Engineering.
It wasn't easy.
There were times I had to find ways just to keep studying. I applied for scholarships, relied on the people who believed in me, and kept moving even when the path ahead wasn't clear.
I sold different things on the side.
I tutored students.
I took on part-time work.
Whatever honest opportunity came my way, I tried.
Not because I had some grand business plan at the time.
I simply knew that I wanted to help myself get through school.
And looking back, I realize those little side hustles taught me something I would carry for the rest of my life:
When you don't have much, you learn to find a way.
In 2022, I graduated from the Technological Institute of the Philippines with Academic Distinction.
And in 2023 —
I became a licensed Civil Engineer.
The little girl who once wondered if she would make it that far had finally arrived.
Or so I thought.
Life had another challenge waiting for our family. My mother was detained abroad after being accused of something she did not do. And suddenly, the girl who had spent years trying to build a future for herself had to step up for her family once again.
I had just graduated and passed my boards, but now I had another responsibility:
to help support my siblings and make sure they could continue their education.
I worked my job.
I took on gigs.
I tried to make every peso stretch as far as it could.
But my salary and the income from my side hustle still weren't enough to cover everything our family needed.
So I did what I had always done.
I found another way.
I learned something along the way:
Sometimes, achieving your dream isn't the end of the story.
Sometimes, it's the beginning of a new one.
And somehow, that new chapter brought me to this.
What started as an opportunity slowly became something I wanted to build for myself.
A business.
A brand.
A community.
And eventually,
Shemaya Home.
Today, I am building more than a mirror business.
I'm building something that I hope can create opportunities for other people too — especially for those who are still where I once was:
dreaming, starting small, and trying to build a better life.
I know what it feels like to start without much.
I know what it feels like to be unsure if the dream is even possible.
And I know what it means to have someone believe in you when you don't yet know how to believe in yourself.
That's why every time I see a Shemaya mirror leave our hands and enter someone's home, I think about the little girl who once dreamed of simply making it through.
She didn't know what her future would look like.
She only knew that she had to keep going.
And maybe that's what Shemaya Home means to me:
A reflection of how far you can come.
And now, I admit —
every time an order reaches our fabrication team, I can't help but pause for a moment.
Because somewhere behind that order is the little girl who quietly screams,
“Thank you for supporting me.”
Thank you for choosing our business.
Thank you for trusting something I built.
Thank you for becoming part of this story.
Because I know that I didn't get here alone.
There were people who believed in me when I was still that little girl with very little.
People who helped me continue my education.
People who opened doors.
People who gave me opportunities.
People who simply said,
“Kaya mo 'yan.”
And every order we receive reminds me of all of them.
My heart becomes so full.
Because to some, it may simply be a mirror.
But to me, it's another little reminder that the dreams of that little girl were worth fighting for.
So, from the little girl who once dreamed of a better life — thank you for helping her get here.
I will keep building.
I will keep learning.
And I will keep dreaming.
— Shemiah Pineda
Founder, Shemaya Mirrors
Shemaya Home Decor Trading
