Sixteen years na si  Alexa Ilacad sa showbiz at dumating siya sa punto na gusto na niyang mag-quit.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said na hindi ako nainip. I'd be lying if I said na never ko naisip na mag-quit – or na baka hindi ito para sa akin. I would think about that all the time. Kasi nga, ang tagal. Ang tagal talaga," say niya sa isang exclusive interview.

Inihalintulad ni Alexa ang kanyang journey sa dalawang Hollywood artists.

"My journey sort of reminds me of Sabrina Carpenter or Zara Larsson's journey. Parang there was an article released about Sabrina Carpenter, and the headline was something along the lines of 'It took her 10 years to become [successful].' Mine, more pa," say niya.

"I think I've been doing this for more than 16 years, if I'm not mistaken. It's been a long time coming talaga. But I love what I'm doing so much, that's why I held on. And now I feel like, finally, things are slowly coming together," dagdag niya.

Ngayon, maraming projects si Alexa. Isa na rito ang "Miss Behave" na pinagbibidahan niya.

"I feel like maybe ito kasi 'yung panahon na baka handa na ako, or I'm ready to deal with everything thrown at me. Sabi nga, parang 'God wouldn't put a dream so big in your heart if you weren't capable of making it happen,'" paliwabag ng dalaga.

"So maybe in my case, parang delayed gratification – maybe it just had to take some time. Baka if I experienced it any earlier, baka hindi ako handa. Maybe I wouldn't be equipped to deal with it, unlike ngayon. Baka ngayon ako talaga handang-handa to receive all of the blessings na binibigay sa akin," dagdag pa niya.

Hindi nagpatinag si Alexa  sa mga bashers na nagsasabing until now ay starlet pa rin siya.

"Kasi most people would argue na, 'Ang tagal mo na, starlet ka pa rin. Ang tagal mo na, ganyan ka pa rin.' Pero ako kasi, parang kontento ako. I'm content with my career, never ako nawalan. Hindi man ako superstar, I've always had shows," say ng dalaga.