Last weekend, comedienne Kitkat was ecstatic when she told me over the phone that she won Best Noontime Show Host in the Gawad Amerika Awards, an award-giving body comprised of Filipinos in North America.

In all glee and excitement the young comedienne told me, “This is my final sign ate Gee, I am now sure that God realty wants this noontime show for me. And that it will be safe for me to go out of my home. I can now finally go out without having palpitations and headaches just breathing the air outside my home."

If I were a psychologist, I would characterize Kitkat’s behavior as agoraphobia - an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. These situations can include open spaces, public transit, shopping centers, or simply being outside their home. Not many know the root cause of her anxiety - many of the comedian’s relatives died of COVID-19 during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and this scared our funny girl to the point that she literally did not leave her house for six months. If ever she had to leave the house for emergencies she would end up going home with headaches or chest pains, our fresh awardee narrates: “When Net 25 contacted my manager for 'Happy Time,' a noontime show with Anjo Yllana and Janno Gibbs, I hesitated to accept it because I did not want to go out in the fear of getting COVID. I asked God for signs which he gave me - I asked if I could talk to my grandmother 'Nanay' in my dream and I did. I asked if I could talk to Jesus in my dream and I got it. Then I asked for impossible signs so I have a reason not to accept the project and stay home. I asked if butterflies can hover in my dog cage and they did. I was finally convinced that the project was for me when I asked randomly for an ube cake And If I would not receive one, then I will have a reason to turn down the project. But somebody actually sent me an ube cake from out of the blue. Confirmation was on my face that this 'Happy Time' project was for me because we signed the contract on the death anniversary of my mother. And now this award of best noontime host. ”

The comedienne now reports that her headaches are slowly diminishing as she goes out to go to work daily knowing that it’s part of God’s plan for her.