My phone buzzed on the dining table. Just a normal, insanely hot Wednesday here in the Negros Island, honestly. I was in the middle of checking a mountain of student papers, half-distracted by the noise of tricycles passing by outside, when I glanced at the screen. It was an email from Emerald Publishing. My first thought was, Oh great, another round of brutal revisions. You know the feeling, right?
But I clicked it, and there it was. Not a rejection. Not a "Reviewer 2 hates your methodology" message. Just a huge graphic of clapping hands and the words: "We are pleased to confirm your work has now been published Lucille S. Arcedas!"
My heart literally did a weird little flip. I had to take off my glasses, rub my eyes, and read it three times just to be sure the screen wasn't playing tricks on me.
To say this has been a long time coming is the understatement of the decade. Writing academic papers is already a massive grind, but try doing it while juggling a full teaching load as a math teacher at a State University here in the Negros Island. It’s a completely different extreme sport.
If you live in the Philippines, you know exactly what the "research environment" looks like sometimes. It’s dealing with sudden brownouts right when you're in the middle of a complex statistical thought and forgot to hit 'ctrl+s'. It’s the torrential rain and typhoons rattling the tin roof so loud you can’t even hear yourself think. There were so many nights I was typing away on my entry-level laptop, relying purely on battery power, sweating buckets because the electric fan was dead, just praying the mobile data hotspot would hold up long enough to upload a manuscript draft. Grabe. The struggle is real.
But the core concept of our work kept me motivated to finish it. Our chapter is all about Mathematext. Let me explain a bit without getting too academic on you guys—it’s basically a gateway tool to help families support their kids when they're learning math.
So many parents, especially in our local communities, feel deeply intimidated by mathematics. They want to help their kids with homework, but they look at the modules and think, "My brain doesn't work like this anymore." Mathematext is about bridging that exact gap. It’s about creating a communication pathway (using simple text-based prompts and structures) so families can actually engage with their students' math education without feeling overwhelmed or scared of the numbers. It empowers the home to be an active partner in learning. As a teacher, seeing a parent go from "I can't do math" to "Let's figure this problem out together" is everything to me.
And here is the wildest part of this whole journey: I co-authored this with Mary Ann Huntley from Cornell University. Yes, that Cornell in New York USA.
When Mary Ann Huntley, my former mentor, and I first began collaborating, I struggled with imposter syndrome. As a state university teacher from Negros Island working alongside a professor from Cornell, I often worried that I did not fully belong in that space. However, the collaboration turned out to be genuinely rewarding. It affirmed that a strong idea and a shared commitment to education can transcend geographical boundaries.
Seeing it finally officially listed as Chapter 7 in a 2026 Emerald Publishing book is just surreal. Emerald is a huge, prestigious name in the academic world. Getting past their peer-review process is no walk in the park. But hey, no more rejection blues for this piece! When I read the part of the email offering me access to their extensive online book collections and 40 free chapter download tokens as a "thank you," I actually teared up a little bit. All those sleepless nights, the endless revisions, the moments of doubting if the writing was clear enough... it all culminated in this one email.
Sitting here looking at the final DOI link on my screen, I've been reflecting on what this whole crazy process taught me. I wanted to share a few takeaways with you all here on Hive, because I know so many of you are creators, writers, and builders grinding away on your own passion projects.
1. Persistence literally pays off. Research and writing is maybe 10% drafting and 90% revising, waiting, and questioning your life choices. There were times I just wanted to shelve the whole "Mathematext" draft because I was so exhausted from my day job. Pushing through that fatigue is where the magic actually happens. Don't quit on your drafts.
2. Global collaborations rock. Don't be afraid to reach out! The internet makes the world incredibly small. Working with someone from a completely different context (like Cornell vs. the Philippines) made the research so much richer. We blended different cultural and academic perspectives to create something universally helpful.
3. Education is a family affair. We really can't just leave all the learning inside the four walls of a classroom. Whether it's math, reading, or life skills, when we give parents the right tools to support their kids, the students thrive. It has to be a team effort.
Honestly, reaching this milestone gives me a massive boost of energy for my writing here on the Hive blockchain. I’ve always loved sharing my thoughts on education, mental health, and community building here. The support from the Hive community is always top-tier. I want to bring more of these research-backed insights into my regular blog posts, but keep them grounded, fun, and accessible for everyone.
I would also like to extend my appreciation to @Splinterlands, as well as to my 
If any of you want to check out the official listing, the DOI is here: https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80686-177-420261007. (Though honestly, academic books are super pricey, so I'm mostly just happy to share the milestone and the abstract idea with you guys!).
My HPUD
For today’s HPUD, I powered up only 20 Hive, as I have not been very active on the blockchain in recent months and there did not seem to be much Hive available for purchase at the moment. Still, this is my simple way of celebrating this achievement with the community.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me, both offline and here on the blockchain. Let's keep building, writing, and sharing.
For now, I'm going to go celebrate with some strong local coffee and maybe a very long nap.
Padayon, everyone! Catch you in the next post.