Who is CHILL WITH SHANNA?

Do you find the question “So, what is your story?” hard to answer because you don’t know where to start, or you feel like there’s nothing interesting in your life?

Have you ever felt like you don’t know yourself so you keep trying new things to discover who you are ?

How about the usual “What do you do?” that you get when meeting new people and all you can answer is your job and nothing more than that?

Or the “What is your purpose?” that you ask yourself when you find it hard to sleep? 🤔

When people ask me these questions before, my mind would go blank, I would stutter trying to filter and find interesting events in my life. I sometimes wouldn’t know what to say. So, I want to answer these in my introduction post here on HIVE. I want to share my story, what I currently do, and the legacy I want to leave behind.

I wouldn’t have a story and I wouldn’t be who I am if it isn’t for my complicated yet big and loving family. Yes, I say complicated because I have 2 sets of family. My mom and my dad separated when I was 5. I grew up in Cebu with my mom who is a Filipina together with her long-time partner who treats me like his own daughter. My biological father is Taiwanese and he also has his own family. I still communicate with him and visit them in Taiwan when I can. My biological father’s wife and my half siblings were all kind to me and would spoil me with trips and food. Trust me when I say I was really confused and frustrated 😩 when I was young because I never really understood our family dynamics. It took me a while to accept that I have a big family. But yeah, I guess there are things we couldn’t force nor change. My parents had reasons why it didn’t work and all I can do is respect it.

Because of my family's diversity👨‍👩‍👧, I was able to learn and experience a lot about differences in culture, beliefs and values. It helped mold who I am today because I became a mix of both, keeping values from here and there and developing an attitude and mindset that are beneficial, practical and would help me live an authentic and happy life.

When I was young, my parents or relatives would always ask “What do you want to be when you grow up?” and I’d always answer with “I want to be a doctor.” I realized that I only came up with that answer because my parents would repeatedly tell me that it is the best profession to take. Then I found out it’s what they want me to be because they say doctors in the Philippines earn a lot. (LOL🤣)

As I got older and reached high school, my parents no longer forced the idea of me getting a medical degree, they were just supportive of whatever I choose to take. 🤔I wonder if it’s because of my strong personality that they wouldn’t want to impose anymore. (Oops 😝)

Months before High School graduation (2012), I had a talk with our class advisor about college application. One of my options was to take Special Education because I wanted to teach children (I love kids!👶) specifically those with special needs (and I love a challenging yet fulfilling career!). My class advisor then suggested that I research about Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) and see if I’d consider it. To those who are unfamiliar about what an SLP does, an "SLP work to prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults." (https://www.asha.org/students/speech-language-pathologists/) I really found it interesting and unique because there are only few SLPs in the Philippines!

I took it as a sign to take that course when a University here in Cebu was the first ever to offer SLP program. It made history as I was one of the pioneer graduates! I have served and provided therapy to more than 70 children with special needs and adults who suffered from illnesses. I also educate their family members about their condition and teach them activities they can do at home to further improve and reach their potential. I’ve been working as an SLP for 3 years now. 😊

Other than the titles, I also want to consider myself as a life enthusiast. I forgot when, why or how I came across that term but I know I found it on Google 🤣. People define life enthusiast as someone who “is always positive and looking forward to their next experience or adventure.” “To enjoy the world for what it is and be thankful that you came to be. “ and “has that thrill, excitement, enthralment, buzz, light for life!” (https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-meaning-of-life-enthusiast).

I want to try everything this world has to offer, I want to conquer my fears and do spontaneous activities. I want to meet interesting and inspiring people. I want to test my limits and feel all the emotions from a frightened Shanna to an ecstatic Shanna (no I’m not crazy, YET😅). Life is unpredictable and I want make sure to have the right balance between work and play, that I do something every day that I love doing.

I have a lot of plans in the future, really ambitious plans .

My future goals include putting up a home for the aged/nursing home, a foundation for abandoned/orphaned children, an animal rescue/shelter and a business where adults with special needs can work and earn. Yes hard! I know right?! (🤣 whatever you’re thinking, I agree LOL).

It would be challenging and difficult especially for a person like me who has no connections, lots of responsibilities at home and broke AF. I sometimes feel it’s impossible to achieve those because of my situation (and other personal stuff 😜) but I still try to envision my plans to keep me motivated and to have a purpose. That would be a legacy I’d want to leave, the ultimate goal! 🙌 I hope the heaven is in my favor. If I fail or run out of time, I hope I inspire my family, friends or strangers to consider those.

And if I reach the last days of my life, I want to be remembered as someone who is kind, ambitious, curious and adventurous.

Wow thanks for reading this far! I bet from the things I mentioned above, most of you wouldn’t think that I am an introvert. I am really really shy (not exaggerating). I get anxious talking to people even those that I have already met, I dislike attention and I have a fear of public speaking, all because of my insecurities. But as I got older, I slowly gained confidence, I exposed myself to social situations, and people pushed me to get out of my shell and reminded me not to overthink about other people’s judgments. That is why I am also here!😉 Because I want to challenge my limiting beliefs. I want to be more confident, I want to have a strong sense of accountability from the things that I say in my posts and videos, I want to be an effective and relatable story teller too.

---

---

I came up with the name CHILL WITH SHANNA because I want my blog to feel like my reader/listener and I are chilling in a cool and comfy place (like my favorite place on earth – THE BEACH!😍) talking about career, personal dilemmas, relationships, finances, travels and all of life.

So expect my blog to be about my road to self-discovery and self-improvement, career and personal finance journey, adventure and fun activities (fitness, food tripping, travels), friendship and relationship.

I have been working on this outro in my videos, and I’m gonna say it here too 🤣.

Shanna Jen

_{Welcome to Chill with Shanna. Shanna is a life enthusiast and a wanderer. She is easy going, spontaneous and want to challenge herself by testing her limits. She aspires to be an effective storyteller and content creator.}

_{If you like to hear her stories and experiences, please upvote, follow and leave a comment. It will be much appreciated. 😊}