Hello friends!
I was supposed to write an entry yesterday, but I was too busy and tired at work that I couldn't bring myself to write. My mind was so cluttered yesterday, so I decided to give my mind some time to breathe before writing something for this challenge.
This is my entry for ASEAN Hive Community Challenge #68 which is asked us to answer the question What are your Hive goals?.
Before I answer that, I'd like to tell you a bit about myself and why I started blogging. Let's take a short walk down memory lane.
My name is Shei and I'm from the Philippines. Despite having a bubbly personality when surrounded by the people dear to me, I am an introvert. I find it hard to express myself verbally, so I always rely on writing either to get rid of the unwanted feelings or simply put my thoughts out there.
I love heart-to-heart talks, but I love writing letters even more. It allows me to put my heart out in a stress-free way. Sometimes, talking face to face can be scary and stressful. haha
Aside from being an introvert, I'm an otaku. Otaku means someone who is crazy about anime, manga, games and other stuff. I grew up watching anime and it has always been my stress-reliever.
In the past, the image of otakus weren't that good. They're considered strange and were seen in a negative light. It has changed a lot now, though.
Now, why am I talking about being otaku? How is it related to writing?
More than ten years ago, I created a blog called An Otaku's Blog. And this was the first post I made there.
In this post, I wrote:
I’m a writer.. but not a professional. I write coz I love doing it.. I write to express myself.. and to inspire people.. And creating this blog is for that purpose.. I want use my “being an Otaku/JAPANophile” into something useful. So everyone, I hope you’ll spend some time reading my blog posts from now on..
Ever since then, I have always had that goal. I wanted to write to express myself and motivate or inspire people using the things that I love. I used to get some quotes from anime, then I made some motivational posts out of it.
A few months after creating this "otaku-related" blog, I made another one for my poems and fanfictions.
In there, I wrote:
I may not be that great of a writer… as my blog’s name say~~ I’m an amateur… But who knows? I might end up being a real or professional writer someday! 🙂 Yes, I’m optimistic… Optimism has always been my weapon– thus, I’m alive! I’m really looking forward to your comments, suggestions or reactions towards my upcoming posts~ May it be criticism or praise, I’d gladly accept it… For it will serve as my motivation to write more and improve.. Every poem or writings I made has it’s own story behind… although some are out of randomness and boredom~
Unfortunately, I didn't have a lot of audience or people reading my blogs back then. It was sad, but since I enjoy writing and it's a way of expressing myself, I continued doing so. I wrote for myself...
And then, one of my friends introduced me to the previous platform before HIVE. I decided to give the platform a chance and I was so glad I did.
Not only did I find new friends who share the same interests, I also got more people to read and engage in my posts. I remember joining a weekly poetry challenge back then... and it was so fun to learn from other poets. I got the encouragement and healthy criticisms I was looking for.
I also rediscovered my love for art. Although I'm not that great of an artist, because of HIVE and the other artists on HIVE, I got motivated to draw and paint again.
I used to join a lot of drawing challenges back in the day and it was really enjoyable. I miss those days, to be honest.
My passion for writing and my goal for having an audience have been met. Not only that, there's also a bonus... and yes, that's the monetary rewards that we get.
It has helped me and my family a lot! Life is tough, so doing something you like while earning is a great bonus.
What are my HIVE goals?
To be honest, I don't know. haha
I feel like my goal for writing has already been met somehow. I honestly just want to continue writing and express myself as always...
Well, I do want to be consistent, though. So, I'll set that as one of my goals. Apart from this, there are some other things that I want to do which may or may not be considered HIVE goals:
- I want to write motivational posts related to anime or the things that I love again.
- I want to get back to writing poetry pieces so I could later compile them as a book.
- I want to paint or draw more in the days to come and share the process here just like in the past.
- I want to engage more in other people's posts and find new friends from all over the world.
- I want to continue gardening and show my babies to the world.
- I want to be free~!!! haha
And once I'm more financially stable (when I don't need to power down to pay for some of my bills and other needs): - I want to increase my HIVE power by powering up (daily if possible) to give back to the community.
And that's it. I guess, I just walked down the memory lane for the most part, but I hope you enjoyed this post. See you around!!! (^^,)/