Goblin Mode with Maureen Wroblewitz
The pandemic has pacified our appetite for life. We collectively languish, “muddling through your days, looking at your life through a foggy windshield.” We’re living but not exactly flourishing; drifting but towards the unknown. Screen time has skyrocketed, and we’re still at home with our screens as companions. We’re numbing ourselves with a steady influx of information, no matter how dreadful it is.
Season Pass green sweatshirt, stylist’s own jacket, shorts and jeans, custom-made Her Tribe Nails nails
This Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re “letting ourselves go,” acknowledging that sometimes, we just muddle through life uncertain and uninspired. Being “put together,” whether it’s for one’s self or an audience, is the last thing on our minds. Having stayed at home for the majority of the past two years, we’ve also eliminated the need to keep up appearances.
For actress, beauty queen and model Maureen Wroblewitz, the pandemic has activated “Goblin Mode” in her own life, especially during the early days of relentless lockdowns, despite preparing for the Miss Universe Philippines pageant in 2021. In an exclusive interview with Wonder, she shares, “I feel like a lot of people went into Goblin Mode [in the pandemic] because no one’s going to see us anyway, and we’re at home all the time. We don’t need to care about what society’s going to think of us. We don’t need to face people in the real world.”
On a personal note, Maureen reveals how during the pandemic, she struggled with body dysmorphia. Her weight fluctuated “depending on my mood,” which was doubly hard for her, especially with her work as an actress and model, which deals with body image a lot. Still, this has paved the way for her to work on herself and “love myself more.”
Finding that balance in how she views and perceives her body through time is what helped the Miss Universe Philippines first runner-up winner overcome Goblin Mode. She reveals, “I try to really instill [in myself] ] that I need to thank my body instead, for keeping me healthy and for taking care of me. We are always talking about how we look on social media…During the pandemic, I feel like we all just needed to learn to be grateful for our bodies for keeping us alive. That was more important.”
It’s okay to be kind to your body and forgive yourself for times when you just can’t give your best. Maureen notes, “You’re allowed to not really take care of yourself, in a way that you don’t always have to wear makeup, and that you let your skin rest, and accept your natural beauty.”
She adds, “Don’t get angry about gaining weight! Have that extra snack or guilty food. [It’s] okay to treat ourselves, but let’s just remember to give our body what it needs.”
Acknowledge when your body and mind need a break, and eventually go on Goblin Mode; but know when to get out of it, too.
Photography Joseph Bermúdez
Art Direction Matthew Ian Fetalver and Alexandra Lara
Art and Fashion Direction Matthew Ian Fetalver
Styling Jana Silao
Beauty Direction & Interview Elisa Aquino
Hair & Makeup Nadynne Esguerra
Model Maureen Wroblewitz
Location Chroma Studio
