Hello, World! It's me!

Hi, everyone. My name is Lynn Michaelah P. Bequilla, 20 years of age, currently residing in Tingo, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. I am the youngest among my siblings and the única hija in my family. I am excited to share all the journeys that I have partaken in to become the person I am now. Therefore, sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of this narrative.

My achievements

Growing up, I was a consistent first honorable mention since I was in my pre-elementary up until grade 6. I graduated with high honors in my junior high school and graduated with honors in my senior high school. In that span of years, I participated in various extracurricular activities like Science Quiz Bowls, Math Quiz Bee, MTAP representative, and many more. I experienced being the first and second placer when I participated in Science Quiz Bowls at the district level, and I also got to be the third placer in Math Quiz Bee at the district level as well.

These achievements motivated me to strive for more opportunities; that's why I expanded my wings to explore and achieve more than I am capable of. With that, I decided to compete as a representative in our Nutrition Month Journal Writing and got a second place as a representative in Balagtasan during our Buwan Ng Wika.

With all of these achievements, it made me realize how lucky I am to be given such a gift from above. Every certificate and medal that I acquired holds a story of my resilience, hard work, and faith. Those are not just merely papers and metals; those are the meaningful and memorable adventures that molded me into who I am today.

My hobbies

On the other side, I am not just my achievements—I am also the interests and indulgences that I have in life. I am the type of person who is comfortable expressing oneself through writing. I usually make poems whenever my mind is messy and whenever I feel overwhelmed in a certain situation. That is why every poem that I make is a disguise of an experience, emotion, and memory I cannot unfold. About that, writing a poem as well also requires vocabulary and creativity in writing. It allows me to enhance my skills and share with the world what I have within me.

Other than that, I also enjoy watching movies and series with no specific genre as long as they give me the peace, rest, and worthwhile moments that I deserve. Aside from watching, I also love reading books and articles delving into various genres like romance, mystery, slice of life, self-help, and psychological fiction. Furthermore, I also have a keen interest in taking pictures even in simple moments because I value every pigment of circumstance in my life because it is part of who I am and who I will be.

Lastly, I would like to share my deep love of music because I have this feeling that I am deeply connected with music whenever and wherever I go. It is because I have this obsession that whenever a certain music is being played, I will literally identify the beat, instruments, melody, and the message it conveys. With all that being said, I can say that it sums up how much I love music in every part of my being.

My realizations in my twenties

Moving on to another topic, way back when I was a kid, I thought that at this age I would have already figured out my life. The little version of me assumed that by turning twenty, I could already help my family, build a new house, and travel the world. She thought that I could somehow live comfortably and do whatever I wanted to do. However, that is not how it is supposed to be. When I was nineteen, I felt an immense pressure that was likely pushing me to the end of the cliff as if I was hanging on the last thread of my hope. I regretted the years I had spent not making a single move that could make any difference in my life. I was scared, doubtful, and anxious about where I was headed.

However, as I turned twenty last year, I let myself loose from the rope that had been gripping me since then, and I allowed myself to explore. Upon exploring, I discovered that every one of us has our own pace to live. I now understand that where I am right now is exactly where I should be, but this does not mean that I should just let life itself unfold in front of me. I must still take risks, make mistakes, learn, fail, and begin again. With that, I accepted the fact that not all plans I have set for myself will eventually work, and it's totally okay.

Aside from that, I also begin to romanticize that this age should be more about exploring, trying something new, growing, and figuring out what life has prepared for me. This should be the age of not letting myself be drowned in the thoughts that I need to have the things that others already have and that I should already be as successful as others already are. I have my own pace and timeframe in life. This is not a race nor a challenge to prove my worth. This is a journey towards a wonderful future ahead of me.

With all of these realizations, I can say that I have acquired a lot of lessons in life because I decided to go out and show up. I managed to widen my understanding of how life works and how things fall apart. Everything might be hard, but I know that at the end of the day, I will survive. There might be things that won't go as I planned, but I believe that if it is for me, I know that it will find me again, no matter how far it goes and how hopeless it may seem.

My contributions to the hive and who told me this platform

Taking the risk of joining Hive is a big challenge, but with my passion and skills as an essay and literary enthusiast I know that my strengths would do a greater good for the organization. Aside from that, I have always persevered to improve myself in the process, and I also believe that my skills and experiences would allow me to contribute to the organization's success. I am hoping about the possibility of partaking in this opportunity; to harness my talent, grow my passion, as well as to make a difference for the organization. My acquaintance also introduced me to this organization, mentioning the potential it could bring to my life, and I am also very grateful to @mkyzxna and Ma'am @jobeliever for guiding me throughout the process.