Cecil Ravelas was raised in a rather conservative and traditional household. From the get-go, she was always considered the misfit and the rebel.

"My father was involved in various businesses ranging from real estate to infrastructure development, here and abroad. Meanwhile, my mom was health-conscious, fashionable and had a keen interest in gardening and home styling," she recounted.

"I grew up with ruffly dresses, lace stockings and neatly fixed hair. I distinctly remember that I did not enjoy them as I wanted something less restrictive. Looking back, early on I already knew what I liked. Our aesthetics were definitely not the same, but I think I got the eye and sense of style from my mom," she then confessed.

These nonconformist tendencies were seeded during her primary and secondary education, where her interest in the arts soon began to flourish. By her senior year, she took up electives in fashion and interior design!

But then, the ball dropped! In college, the family patriarch sternly advised the young Cecil to take up a more conventional course to ensure a steady career. And thus, she enrolled in the Engineering Program of the De La Salle University.

As time passed, she soon came to terms with arts as her true calling, causing her to shift. She was caught in the ever-changing crossfire between academic calendar changes. So, she joined the Philippine School of Interior Design with hopes of longer-term preparation for Architecture.