Long before the world knew Tuesday Vargas as one of the funniest women in Philippine entertainment, I already saw it — that spark, that rare blend of wit and depth. I gave her some of her earliest breaks because I believed in her brilliance. Tuesday wasn’t just funny; she was fearless. She could turn her pain into punchlines, her heartbreak into hope. That’s what made her unforgettable on and off stage. But behind every comedienne’s laughter is often a wound we hide with humor.

When Tuesday opened up this Suicide Awareness Month, her story reminded me that the ones who make us laugh the loudest are sometimes the ones who have cried the most in silence. Last weekend, her exclusive interview with Luchi Cruz-Valdes came out on YouTube. Tuesday spoke about the nights she wanted to end her life. She had reached that point twice — once in Hawaii, after losing everything she thought defined her. Standing on a hotel balcony, she had already written her farewell letters.

The sunset was stunning — beautiful enough to die for. But then, in that moment of despair, something divine happened. “The skies opened,” Tuesday said. “I felt God speaking to me — not through words, but through knowing in my spirit. He told me, ‘You are not done. You still have much to do. The pain you feel will become the reason others will live.’”She closed the balcony door, sat on her bed, and cried until she fell asleep. When she woke up, peace had replaced panic. A mission had replaced misery. “Being grateful and being depressed cannot exist in the same plane,” she told Gossip Girl in a phone interview.

“When you start to thank God, even for the smallest things — breathing, waking up — it becomes a habit. And that habit becomes a prayer.”

That, to me, is Tuesday’s real punchline — not the kind that makes people laugh, but the kind that saves lives. Her message to anyone in pain reading my column is simple yet profound: “The life and the pain you have right now is not the end of your story. Give your future self a chance. Please be excited again.”

I think about those words often. As fellow comediennes, we both know the paradox of laughter — how it can both mask and heal pain. But Tuesday has taken her healing a step further: she’s using her story to help others find the courage to live again.

To everyone reading this: if your skies feel dark, hold on. They will open too. And when they do, you’ll hear the same voice Tuesday heard — gentle, loving, and full of grace — saying, “You are not done. You still have much to do.”

Shameless plug: Tuesday Vargas and I will be part of the Pinoy Comedy Mixtape Show together with Alex Calleja, K Brosas, Ethel Booba, and Imah Dumagay that will be showcased in Dubai on Nov. 29 at the World Trade Center Zabeel Hall 6. For tickets, kindly check Platinumlist in Dubai or Dm @imahcomedy or @comedykix on Facebook or Instagram.