Quiet Beginnings of an Exciting Adventure

Hello there! I am a new face here at Hive. I am thrilled to join this platform where creativity meets collaboration among like-minded individuals who share a passion for narratives, storytelling, writing, knowledge, etc. I am very excited to share my thoughts, experiences, and other things with all of you. I will start by dropping my name—Debrah Liz, Debby for short or Deb or Liz for shorter. I am 22 and a fourth-year college student living in Danao City, Cebu.

Now, here comes the part where I’m supposed to make myself sound interesting; I must start with a good impression, they say—but truth be told, I’ve often thought that nothing is interesting about me, I would be the type of person people would call “boring”. You see, I am quite the average person appearance-wise and don’t do daring acts so that I might come across as bland at first glance. I assumed this made me dull for years, but I have realized there’s more to me than meets the eye.

I may be quiet, but I would like to think now that underneath the seemingly dull, plain exterior, you would be surprised to see that I am more boring on the inside—just kidding. I want to call myself an explorer, not of places nor mountains, but of ideas and hobbies (I need to feed something to my hyper-fixation, after all). Growing up, I never considered becoming the boring adult I once feared I would be. But I guess there’s a certain charm in being a major introvert and homebody—it’s what led me to dive deeper into stories and discover worlds beyond my own.

Stories have always been my escape. I don’t just read stories of those confined to books but also devour manga, manhwa, and webtoons. One of my recent favorites is Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku. Still, Blue Period will always hold a special place in my heart for its powerful narrative and relatable themes, which I sometimes see myself in. My love for stories extends to gaming as well. I am also a huge fan of story-based, open-world games that allow me to immerse myself in adventures. If you guessed I play Genshin Impact, you would be right, and if you played the game yourself, you’d know exactly what kind of experience I love. Like many others, I discovered the game during the pandemic. It was pretty popular then and quickly became one of my favorite pastimes. The brilliant worldbuilding, compelling characters (with good character designs), and deep lore drew me in, and it’s been a joy to play this kind of game.

Speaking of pastimes, let’s talk about one of my hobbies—art, which has been a lifelong passion of mine. You see, I have always been an art kid; I might have learned how to draw first before I could have written my name. At first, I was into drawing fan art of anime that captured my imagination and awakened my creativity. Shout-out to Sailor Moon for introducing me to anime when I was just in the third grade and to Fairy Tail for being why I stayed a fan of the culture. Over time, I expanded my artistic pursuits to other media as I discovered the beauty of painting; since I was pretty easily distracted by beautiful things and driven by curiosity to try new things, doing watercolor, acrylic, and gouache painting was added to my pile of hobbies, only to end up doing digital painting now (mostly because traditional art supplies can get pretty pricey. These days, I focus on fan art but am eager to explore painting landscapes. Art has always been more than a hobby for me—it’s my outlet. It is how I express my emotions and process my thoughts; writing comes second, but both have been my companions in solitude, helping me greatly to find peace and clarity when alone.

Don’t get me wrong, though; all the talks about introverted stuff made me look boring and lonely or lack connections—but that’s far from the truth. I’ve been lucky to have amazing friendships throughout my life. Back in high school, I had a close-knit group of friends who made those years unforgettable. When I started college, my circle of friends grew even bigger. Did I also mention that I still contact my elementary friends? I suppose you could call me a “floater” since I tend to drift between groups, but that’s not bad. I already considered them my friends and treated them as such, and that’s all that matters to me. I value all my friendships, no matter how fleeting they may be. People come and go like seasons; I believe in treasuring our moments with them while they last.

As a college student, I was one of those who were undecided on what career path they would take. My academic journey has been challenging and rewarding, and I greatly respect the profession I was preparing for, often called the noblest profession. And at least I chose the major I didn’t regret taking—Social Studies. It is the perfect course for my passion for art and my curiosity about history and culture as I get to visit museums. These interests have come together beautifully as I persevere through my studies, inspiring me to appreciate past stories while writing about today’s events and preparing to educate others about their significance in the future. Although I still feel like teaching isn’t my calling (that is another story to tell).

Aside from art, writing, and gaming (although I wouldn’t consider myself a gamer), I am passionate about trying new hobbies. I love exploring new crafts, skills, and ideas—even though I am not good at it and I’m only hyper-fixated in the early stages. If I enjoy challenging myself, I might discover some hidden talents I didn’t know I could have; well, except for singing, it’s hard being on the one per cent of Filipinos who couldn’t sing but certainly love music. I always believed that these explorations keep life interesting and help me grow.

Surely, thanks to both of them, I will be down here enjoying this rabbit hole. More than that, I want to connect with readers who resonate with my stories. I look forward to this new beginning. Thank you to my fellow Hive members for welcoming me.