Gold and shining. This is what my mom, teachers, and peers always said about me. Hello Hivers! May name is May from the Philippines. My birth is in the month of May where the time of harvest occurs. My mom said it was a prophecy, wishing and believing that my life would bring success and abundance in everything I do. But those words only hit the surface of my golden shine of my harvest. They never saw the depth of my soil and the storms that I endured. So who am I, really? Hello I'm May Ann, and this is the beginning of my journey here! I considered it as a digital field where I will start to plant my thoughts, nurture my dreams, and eventually share my harvest with you. I am currently a pre-service teacher, pursuing my education because my deepest desire is to become an educator. I am happy that this blog will become my pen and my tool to cultivate my thoughts and write the story of my own.
My optimistic self said that my life is always meant for growth, success and golden achievements. But, success is not just all about luck. Success is about the hard work of tending the field everyday.
The soil who held me first was strong, yet it endured an early drought in my life. My father died when I was only two years old. It was my mom and brother who stepped and truly raised me. They became the shelter in my young life who watered me with love and care. My early loss taught me about resilience that is not a choice but simply how people survive. My family is my deepest root, and I'm getting strength from them .
When I was a little girl, I faced struggles because I was bullied because of my teeth. The words hurt more than a pain, that everyday teasing made me feel isolated and lonely. But surprisingly, one thing happened, I found my first ever friend in silence, Instead of teasing back, I started to write. I began writing in my own composed journal expressing my day, my feelings, and my dreams onto the paper. Pen was my first protector and the pages or leaves of my paper became my safe place in the first place. This incidence led me to fall deeply in love with reading and writing.
After the burst of COVID-19 pandemic, I entered my two years of Senior High School ( Grade 11-12 ). For me, this was a beautiful two years and I held fast to my drive that is remaining being an academic achiever and meeting a lot of wonderful colleagues who treated me as their golden one because they said that I shine in our class being the flexible in socializing and in academics.
More importantly, during this phase, I discovered my powerful pillar of hope and strength which is my church duties. I found genuine friends and solace in my dedicated time spent at church with our loving God. This spiritual service help me to find my quiet space that helped me conquer the academic pressures and also affirmed that my value was rooted in my faith not just in my grades.
Months later before my graduation in Senior High School, I passed the entrance exam for my dream school, a National Center for Teacher's Education. Now, I believe that this is my ultimate golden harvest moment.
In college, the achievements kept coming, I remain academic achiever. Excel and shine inside and outside the university.
But more than valuable grades, I harvested true friendships. My friends now became my rant buddies and my safe place in a world of challenging academic environment.
I found love too, a caring boyfriend who supports me and felt truly seen. In farmland, many people said it only turn gold when it's time of the harvest. But with him, she made me shine goldenly not jut in times of May. He's loving me in every beautiful months.
Despite my academic success, stress for me became overwhelming. I started getting bullied again, but this time, it was because of my changes in my body. I observed that I became stressed that manifested me physical. I developed acne and allergies and even gained weight. I thought I had just achieve my dreams but suddenly I felt deeply anxious about my appearance. I considered it as my anti-harvest time, where I doubt my self and physical threatened me to destroy my golden glow of joy and achievements.
Despite of that difficult times, I learned the concept of communal unity in Filipino concept, in my personal life. My sisters and friends , those I harvested in college, showed their support. They simply stayed by my side and made me feel valuable. To recover, I decided to returned to my deepest roots habit. I started to read and write again, using the pen to fade away the pain. I started also showing up again exploring good food places with my friends and spending quality time with my boyfriend. Additionally, spending time in church.
After the storm passed, and healing time began, I realized that the love from my family and my love for teaching were never become weak. The blight did not break me. This reflection led me to commit to not let temporary setbacks to stop dreaming. Just like the farmland in harvest time, the crop is still secured. I just need to tend it more with patience and kindness. As I continue my passion in writing, I discovered upon a post by 
I learned that AI is prohibited that's why I'm willing to follow because I believe writing is naturally come from own thoughts. I learned that posting here only allowed to post own captured photos. Additionally, I learned that it's crucial to engage to each of everyone not just to share own thoughts but to inspire by other's writings.
So, come with me as I harvest my own thoughts and share my golden glow that will shine in this platform.
Thank you! :)
PS: PHOTOS ARE MINE, PHOTOS ARE EDITED BY CANVA APP.