Jodi Sta. Maria reinvents herself

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When Jodi Sta. Maria decided to launch her own shows on her rebranded JSM Channel on YouTube, the question wasn’t why — but what took her so long?

One of the most articulate women in showbiz, we’ve long seen her as a natural fit for hosting, yet she had only occasionally taken on guest hosting stints.

But perhaps one could say that she couldn’t have chosen a better time to seriously venture into this role.

When asked by this paper what kind of confidence did her psychology degree give her in doing her own shows, she said, “I feel that these are the things that you learn in school that whatever skill or whatever knowledge na impart sayo ng pag-aaral mo, kumbaga ngayon, it’s being put into good use. It’s not just a requirement for you to graduate or pass. It now has a real-life application.”

Her academic background will particularly be relevant to “Live Light,” a wellness and self-care show centered on mindful living, expert insights and self-care practices.

“Each episode will be about different topics — topics about love, boundaries, family and you know, we have experts on the subject matter to further expound on the topic so that it’s not all ‘I believe’ or ‘this is what I think.’ It’s supported by and backed up by studies,” Jodi explained.

Her two other shows reflect her other personal interests. There’s “JSM Travel and Tours,” a purpose-driven travel show with a unique mission.

“When I was conceptualizing it, (I thought) what will make this stand apart from the other travel shows out there? It has to have a heart component in it. There has to be a giving back (part) at the end of the episode. There has to be a beneficiary, either the individual and community.

“I think that’s how it should be. Because when you travel, I believe that a piece of that place is left in our hearts. But it has to be reciprocal. A piece of us must be left also in the hearts of the person or the community of that place.”

The third one is “Let’s Drink To That,” a good vibes and fun lifestyle-oriented show where she’s joined by Cheena Crab and AC Soriano as co-hosts.

“We just want to be a source of a breather… It’s a channel that’s not going to be a source of negativity and toxicity para pabigatin pa yung loob ng mga tao,” she said.

“We want to be able to spread not only positivity, but also inspiration… That’s the aim of the JSM Channel. If there’s one person whose life is going to be changed or let’s say, who’s going to listen to the message, who will be inspired, who will be given happiness in their heart, then I believe we’re able to succeed in our intention and purpose for the channel.”

Jodi also shared that the idea of revamping her YouTube channel had been in the works even before her last series “Lavender Fields” ended.

“It was already on my plans. I think I’m just that person who’s like, ‘Okay, what do I do next?’ I don’t think I can stay in one place.”

By mid-July last year, she began thinking seriously about her next step. “That was the time I thought, ‘Okay, maybe I can do something with my YouTube channel.’ I can revamp it, and I can maybe produce shows and content that you know … that’s what I did.”

Jodi is, nevertheless, mindful of the extent to which she will share her personal life on her YouTube channel. She reflected on this early on, asking herself, “How much am I willing to share?”

While she acknowledges the openness that the platform allows, she clarified that it doesn’t mean baring every aspect of her life.

“Just because you’re on YouTube, it doesn’t necessarily have to mean that you just open the book and, ‘Hey, guys. Come on, read (about my life). This is what’s happening in my entire life.’ No. It’s not going to be like that.”

Instead, Jodi intends to share meaningful parts of her life — moments that carry valuable lessons.

“What you’re going to see is still me. Like, parts of my life. Not my whole life. And I think, what I would want to share are those with valuable lessons.”

She hopes that by doing so, her audience can take away something equally valuable. “And if they learned something from it, if they picked up something from it, then that’s good.”

The JSM Channel will be Jodi’s primary focus for the year. When asked how she plans to balance it with her showbiz projects, she said, “In terms of the movies, what I’m doing are the ones I’ve committed to since last year. Just because there has been a change of plans in my life, it doesn’t mean I would have to let it go and not honor my commitment.”

She is set to film a movie this year and start promotions soon for the horror film “Untold.”

Beyond her YouTube venture, Jodi remains dedicated to her academic goals and is determined to pursue her Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology.

“Yes, I’m going to pursue my Masters. Hindi pwede mawala yun, kasi isa yan sa mga bagay na kino-consider kong importante sa buhay ko. With my Masters, you go to school once or twice a week so mas maluwag yung schedule niya. Marami rin akong mga bagay na nagagawa.”

Recently, she was given the opportunity to present her undergraduate thesis at a research conference. Jodi finished college in 2021.

“Actually, I was also shocked. That’s the thesis that I defended back in college and then of course, may mga consortiums and research conferences, they passed that paper and then the paper was chosen to be presented at the Consortium of the South (International Faculty Research Conference).

“So, of course, nagulat din talaga ako, that’s the story behind it. It was an experience! But now I’m really excited for my (Masters) paper because it’s going to be an extension of (the college thesis). The thesis would be the impact of the NADA Protocol (Ear Acudetox) on the anxiety level of people working in movie production,” Jodi, who’s a certified acupuncturist, continued.

“What I did (in college) was a study on the impact of the NADA Protocol on the anxiety level of the people working in television production. The result was consistent with the literature, I’m very happy with that. I just hope that a lot of people, not only people in TV production — because you know how high stress our environment is — it’s something that we need to do, that hopefully the HR would do a program that would include this NADA session for their employees.”