✨Hey there, I am Patsitivity!✨
I rarely join community contests but this one's an exception. I am happy to tell you that it's been 110 days or a little over 3 months since I gave Hive a part of me or is it the other way around? 🤔 Read on to find out!
Hive has been a rollercoaster ride for me. It was not on my list of things to try this year. In today's post, I'll walk you through how Hive was able to help me. And in turn, how I was able to pay it forward.
Buckle up, fellas! 😁
REDISCOVERING MYSELF
Back in high school, my Math teacher, who happened to be my older sister’s classmate in college, once told me that I write pretty well. I’ve mentioned in my intro post that I am not convinced of my ability to write because the household’s standard has always been my sister who has a degree in Journalism. So not even once did I told myself that "Hey, you can write!"
It was a struggle for me to start my Hive journey because of the fear of not being good enough, of the fear of being ridiculed for the way I write, or the choices of topics I'll write. I don't have prior blogging experience so everything was indeed new for me.
Who am I to write in a community of talented and amazing writers? Would I even find my little safe corner here?
Those were the questions that hindered me to join Hive earlier. But if I am not good, I have to acknowledge it and I have to start somewhere. And Hive gave me an opportunity to start, to finally believe in myself, to rediscover talents that might have been hidden for so long that I already forgot it was there all along.
And in no time, ideas flowed like how rivers inevitably flowed to the ocean. I was amazed how I wasn't able to experience writer's block. There were even days and nights that ideas just kept popping in my head when I brush my teeth, when I watch Kdrama or when I read books, and most of the time when I take a bath. 😂
Hive and the people here in Hive reminded me that I got this. I have what it takes to write and to keep writing. I might never be as good as my sister or as good as the best writer here in Hive but it doesn't matter. Being given a platform where I can just be myself and write what I want to talk about is what I needed to start on believing in myself again.
UNLEASHING MY CREATIVITY
“Your artwork sucks!” commented a mean girl from my class back in my 2nd year in high school. I remember crying because her remark on my artwork was way below the belt. And yes, she said it in front of everyone. We’re still good friends up to this day. Kids don't bring grudge more than a day. 😉
But after high school where most of the creativity (either forced or innate) happened, I didn't have the right avenue to hone my creative skills. At the moment, I am working full time as head of Demand Planning while also co-handling the Business Information team on the side. But most of the time, my work is focused on handling our company’s national Demand Management. Day in, day out, the only thing I interact with are numbers: forecasts, replenishments, shipments, and the like all in countless spreadsheets.
I love creating anything from scratch but Photoshop, Illustrator, and all those fancy editors are not for me. Luckily, Canva was born and gave hope to people like me who wish to unleash their creativity in the simplest way. And there Hive came into the picture. In my quest to deliver nothing but my best both in terms of writing and design, I always find myself choosing to go the extra mile. I’d spend hours in creating designs for my posts especially for the cover image. It was something I love doing because it enabled me to apply my learnings in Branding (Last year, my team and I took a free course from the University of London).
I got a better understanding of the important role of design in communicating my ideas, thoughts and opinions. Thanks to Hive, I have an outlet to show my creative side. I don't have to fear that as the years pass by, I will forget that I was once a kid who drew weird stuff in paper pads.
Here are some of the designs I created. I took all the photos in these designs, too:
On top of everything I just mentioned, through Hive, I discovered my unique style when designing. I love my cover images to be sleek and simple. I love the right mix of minimalism in design so you'll never see photos all over my cover images. I am very careful in choosing font size, font style, colors and other aspects of design. I'd even do "studies" as what our graphic designers at work would call the different samples of designs of my cover photos before I choose the best one that I'll upload. This may sound a bit too much for others but this is how I do things, always giving 101%. And it's amazing that I get to give the same effort in designing. Maybe I just needed a platform to create.
Here are other cover photos I made for my posts:
Other designs I made:
You can always visit my Profile to check out more of my designs. And to "real" designers, graphic artists out there who might read this post, I hope you won't mind if I'm starting to call myself an artist just by doing all these simples designs. And I'll appreciate it if you drop comments so I can improve my sklls, too!😊
LAUNCHING MY PASSION PROJECTS
I’m an unarguably passionate person for as long as I can remember. 😅 And I just couldn't hide it inside my closet. I don’t know how it happened. Maybe because I grew up in countless supportive environments since high school and more importantly in college and now in organizations outside of my work and even at work actually.
I was adamant to start my Hive journey for too many reasons. My boyfriend has been in Hive for almost a year when I joined. And although I have heard so many good things about Hive, I was hesitant.
In college, I learned from an orgmate that I shouldn't just join anything for the sake of joining. And knowing how people earn from Hive, I didn’t want it to become the sole reason for joining the community. Money is attractive, but it ain’t that attractive if it doesn’t help me grow and if I can’t help other people grow.
That's where the spark started! Why not use Hive for my Passion Projects, for my advocacies? And after a month of seriously contemplating things, I got my no return, no exchange one way ticket to Hive's onboarding site.
I am not a saint and I have no plans of becoming one. 😇But Hive empowered me to start my Passion Projects one by one since they’re many of them. My friends know how I always take my personal advocacies such as Mental Health Awareness, Health and Fitness, Self-development, Environmental Protection & Preservation, and Financial Literacy to name a few in mainstream Social Media. Now I have Hive to add to my list.
Hive's friendly, supportive and encouraging environment allowed me to come out of my shell and just do what I do best - being myself and talking about the things I love most.
Last September 10, 2021, I launched Financial Fridays with Patsitivity. I share all things related to Personal Finance based on my experience. This is to help people in terms of managing their hard-earned money.
I also launched Cook and Bake with Patsitivity last September 13. Through this channel, I share the delight of baking and cooking for the important people in our lives. I share my first time recipes that I create every month.
Lastly, on September 20, I launched Mental Health Mondays to share my own experience of battling with a mental illness since last year. I love how I get to share my experience and know that at the end of the day, I am not alone. There are countless people battling their owns wars, too.
And I'll soon be launching Wellness Wednesdays where I will be sharing my journey to a holistically healthy and happy life. I'm beyond excited for this actually.
RISING BY LIFTING OTHERS
When I posted my introductory blog, I was amazed by how positive and welcoming people were. With the flooding encouraging words I read in the comment section of my intro post there was one comment that hit me hard and I couldn't forget up to this day. Hi @mundomanaure, here's a little appreciation. 😊
I will never forget what this guy, and all the rest, told me. This comment planted in my heart the importance of lifting others up, of inspiring other through our actions and words, of believing in others when they couldn't believe on themselves at the moment.
If what this guy wrote on the comment section is true, that it's because of my sister and other people's writing that I get to write the way I do. Maybe I can be that "other" person who can give others a little push to pursue their dreams and goals, to be better, to go out of their comfort zones and to just jump when jumping doesn't seem to be the most logical thing to do.
I want to pay it forward. I want to lift others up. I want to grow and I want to bring others with me. I can't stop talking about Hive at work so after just a few days of convincing my team @thegoodbi, they finally joined Hive and I'm happy that they are able to explore this new dimension. My team from Demand Planning @ennrich who are yet to make their introductory post are also excited about Hive.
Did I talk too much? Haha! This is just me being real (I can talk all day with the right company). 🤣
In the end, I want to continue spreading positivity through Hive, in Hive and even outside of Hive. The real reward I get is the thought that at the end of the day, I motivated, inspired and perhaps changed at least a single person's life through my words, my works. And Hive gave me the platform, the means to do so.
I guess Patsitivity will continue spreading good vibes! Can't wait for Day 111 onwards! And in this point let me thank again @glecerioberto for convincing me to join Hive. I didn't think I'd find such fulfillment and happiness here. I'll forever be grateful, love! 😍✨
And to all those who supported me in the last 110 days, I am humbled by the kind of support you guys gave to me. It feels like my heart is oozing with gratefulness for all your encouragement, appreciation and love! I am beyond blessed. ❤️
Unto the next adventure, shall we? 😉
Living life intentionally every single day, she believes that there’s no limit to one’s potentials. Right now, she’s on the loose for the pursuit of endless holistic self-growth and development. She wants to light the way for others. She believes there’s no better way to leave a legacy than to pay it forward.
Her ultimate goal in life is to reach the state of enlightenment where there’s nothing but peace, love, happiness, and contentment - nothing more, nothing less.
If you are captivated by what this girl just wrote here, an upvote is pretty appreciated. Follow her as she tells her stories full of positivities. The next story might be for you! ❤️