Rustling sound of nippa palm and clanking sound of empty cans—the sensation I have had in my neighbourhood whilst playing with my silly childhood friends years ago. Every time the sound comes into my awareness, I find myself in a hand-made house built from thrown boxes, and there, I stood bold, a six-year-old kid, teaching in front of the same kids the things I knew little about, like a teacher who already mastered the lessons.
It was fourteen years ago when I made myself a little educator, and now, humble and unforbidden, I am in the same field.
Hello, I am Talay! I am in my 21st year and I live in the far part of Cebu—the San Remigio City. I live with a family of six and I am the only girl among the siblings, surrounded by a group of bold men, which I believe has taught me how to kill the unpleasant part of life. I am one of the boys and living in this kind of home feels like a privilege and different from other girls, that I won’t have to waste money paying for a martial class.
I am currently a fourth year education student in a well-known government university in Cebu—the Cebu Normal University-Medellin Campus. It was fourteen years ago that I heard myself throwing lines of education in a silly little neighbourhood—doing it with intention and a heart. I am now in the same kind of place I first learned teaching. But this time, the tiny little hut we squeezed in has transformed into a concrete classroom where I throw demos, and the audience is in well-groomed uniforms who used to be clumsy ragged kids painted with soil and the neighbourhood canal.
Since elementary, I have been an achiever and the stage became my arena—medals, ribbons, and handicaps of certificates as proof of my excellence. When I got to college, I was still in the same pace, and this time it feels rewarding and realistic, that the awards I have are far something to be not proud of. I was also an active member of different organizations in high school but now I am focusing on my studies as I hate working under pressure.
On weekdays, I am a student and on weekends I am a daughter and a sister in a home I really love. I sometimes become the mother whenever my mother is not around but mostly I am a home-based educator teaching my nieces basic knowledge. It is a loop I have now, being a student and a sister, but I tell you that it is a good breather from outside chaos.
This year around, I am throwing lessons to little students as part of my trainings and demos since I am under the BEED program. I didn’t expect that acting as a teacher when I was just six would manifest in my future responsibility, and to know I believed in my potential in younger years is to believe again that I can do better this time. I was also a Tara-Basa teacher every summer where I was designated to different schools to teach elementary students. I am enjoying the process of becoming a professional teacher, and to stare into those eyes of little children in my class feels promising because we are still raising a generation of educated young ones. Staring blankly at my lesson plans is not on their bucket list, rather they are always in awe every time they learn something new from me.
Apart from living in a loop of student and sister life, I have my passion and interests I carry every day. These may not be honed and many, but to have these gifts gives me a touch down to reality and to myself. First, I enjoy reading books, specifically classic ones, and if you'll ask me how many authors I know is to initiate a conversation that would last a month. Of course I will make sure you will be sharing yours, too. Reading books has been a hobby of mine and this is where my silly lessons at six started. I purposely read simple lessons and later discussed them with my childhood friends. Reading is that powerful, isn’t it?
Alongside reading is the powerful act of writing. That's why we have the line “those who read are good writers and those who write are good readers.” These two are a perfect combination to encapsulate the very beauty of humanity through words and figuratives. I am grateful to have it to be possessed and used for sharing education with young ones. I alternate reading and writing most often but sometimes the spirit of literature would just hit me hard and tell me which one to do the rest of the day.
In the sports field, I would say I am not really an athlete but I do enjoy playing badminton. I spontaneously learned this sport during the pandemic and unexpectedly, I am still bringing a racket with me even after the global tension was eased. I usually play badminton with my cousin and if we’re confident, we would visit different gymnasiums and ask for a competition. I may not be good in this sport but I feel good thinking I am actively exercising my body healthily.
Now we are done with my peaceful and energetic hobbies let's go down to my favorite interests—the watching of "anything." I do enjoy watching psychological thriller and tragedy movies or series whenever I have free time from being an educator. I mostly spend my time doing IM's but I sometimes have time for this relaxing interest. I also make time for my favorite kpop band—BTS and Seventeen. I have seen a lot of movies/series yet it is not enough to stop me from watching another.
Of course, I don’t watch only movies or series that are trending or on the top lists of recommendation. I also love watching Filipino documentaries. I was an avid fan of Atom Araullo since I was in 8th Grade. Documentaries give me chances to analyze different sides of social topics.
Lastly, in my very-girl side, I honestly say I love collecting stickers. Anything that is stickers can starstruck me. Stickers on a water bottle, on a laptop, or on a bag, I smile whenever I see those. They are cute, tiny creatures, and I adore them, always.
Those are just basic information about me and I hope you get to know me more through my stories and adventures I would be publishing soon.
Now, in the practical part, I cannot end this introduction without giving you my reasons and promises.
The primary reason why I wanted to be part of Hive is the idea that this is an authentic community that encourages creativity, collaboration, and intellectual discussions between users. Hive’s vibrant, like-minded community was a huge pull for me and it waters my belief in freedom of expression, which Hive allows me to speak my mind without worrying about censorship or being shut down for my views.
I am also still a learner and during orientation, I knew this platform is operated by different communities. I would say this platform would make me "cultured" as I read and get to know different users around the globe, who would be the network of people I want to connect with, for sure. I may be learning about a travel destination here or a simple step by step recipe, so I cannot just hold off my grip on this opportunity. I am opening my heart to welcome it.
As I write this introduction, I cannot help but think of my contribution to this platform. I cannot think of it well as I don’t have prior experiences with this platform, hence, I don’t know how this works completely for the users. For the meantime, I promise to be a good educator on this platform, I would try to discuss simple to relevant topics in my posts—something that can make change not only in the perspective of the readers but also to the physical world. I am integrating my teaching skills here soon and I am excited to know it would reach millions of readers. I am now not confined to the same set of rooms.
Before I end this blog, it would be abrupt to just express my gratitude for giving your time to read my introduction. Of course, I have a responsibility to inform you how I knew Hive and who introduced it to me. I simply say from an old friend in my freshmen year, who shared basic information about Hive when I saw her write content for the platform. We lost contact after she transferred to another university but I still remember this platform which I decided to message an onboarder.
Luckily I was onboarded by Miss @ayane-chan and she held an orientation despite her busy schedule. I can now generalize that onboarders of Hive are very passionate when doing their jobs and I guess the platform owes a gratitude to their sacrifices and efforts. I learned in the orientation about the platform, who are included here, the different communities and how it is voted and supported. I was so eager to listen and it convinced me enough to continue my curiosity by becoming a new member in Hive. I know I need to explore it more without Miss ayanechan to get to know it deeply but I commend her intention of building a group of newbies successfully on Hive.
With all information, from my origin to the Hive orientation, I hope you get to know me even in little possibility. As I publish my contents soon, I would justify the life I shared in this introduction and make sure you'll get to know me. For now, this is all I can share and I wish extremely that I will also get to know you, my readers.
The clanking sound of empty cans I played fourteen years ago drove my becoming. A solemn act of playing that turned into something beautiful—I was metamorphosized and grew my wings bigger and with purpose. Now that I am here, I feel certain not to clamp my wings, and to grow better with people I will encounter here. I express my gratitude to your time reading this little keepsake of mine and I hope to see you again.
This is Talay and I am an educator, in heart and in intention. With pens and demonstration, I open my heart and I welcome you!
Thank you.