Hello internet friends from the Hive Community! I’m Pauline, a storyteller on various platforms who’s doing it scared. In this quick getting-to-know-me blog, I’ll be introducing myself in ways I’ve not yet attempted to do so before. (It’s actually been a while since I had to introduce myself to anyone like this, so I thought about spicing it up a bit. Hehe.)
Since I am a writer and I love stories, I thought about introducing myself through the lenses of a character analysis. If I was a character in a drama or movie, what would my prominent personality traits be? Which events of my life played out like a movie and how did my character portray the role at the time? Join me as I answer these questions.
Light academia good girl trope
Think lawful good energy. The kind of girl who submitted her essay with a sliding folder to make sure the papers wouldn’t get crumpled. The kind of girl who stayed up late the night before responding to her groupmates’ messages and made sure the Slides presentation was polished to the tea. The kind of girl who explained the project mechanics over when the rest of the class needed one more clarification. That was the kind of student I was back in college.
I studied AB Communication in De La Salle Lipa and at the time, I really tried my best. I took notes, I did my assignments and exerted a lot of effort in my education. Other than being a scholar, I didn’t really feel a lot of pressure to excel. It’s just that I am the type of person to do my best in whatever I did. I can never be casual with things because I pour my heart into things I undertake.
Even now, as a young adult navigating the corporate and creative world, I find myself trying to be a reliable and valuable team member. I keep learning, trying and holding myself to a certain standard. The only difference now, which I believe is an amazing character development on my part, is that I don’t burn myself out as easily anymore. This Little Miss Good Girl Hard worker is more familiar with the boundaries between being hard at work and the work being too hard. (And in the digital marketing industry where I currently am, I need this discernment to make sure that I end every workday well!)
“Struggling” creative
For 90’s kids like me, we literally experienced the High School Musical trilogy during our high school days. Although I obviously had moments where I memorized their songs to heart and even imitated Vanessa Hudgen’s singing voice, I found that I related to Troy Bolton’s character more as I grew older. This is because he struggled with pursuing the arts due to expectations of him to follow the career path that made more sense for him. That’s always been the conflict with me and my writing/art – I can never seem to pursue it 100%.
I claim to be a storyteller and I know I can’t live without my craft, however, due to practical reasons, I couldn’t quite make a career out of it. (I’m also too afraid to try abandoning everything and running in that one direction.) Of course, in an ideal world, I picture myself freely ideating book concepts or composing original songs. But for now, I reconcile with the idea that my livelihood will support my creativity, so despite not being in my dream job, I am so thankful that it gives me enough breathing room to work on my creative projects.
Right now, I’m in a really good place with embracing my creativity. I’ve been publishing short stories in anthologies and have even published a zine of my poetry collection. I’ve also restarted my podcast (after almost two years of putting it on hold) and have been more active on social media as @pollenpiggycreates. As a former film student, I’ve also been filming short-form videos more frequently these past few months and as a lover of music, I’ve also attempted to compose my own songs.
Coming-of-age main character energy
SEQUENCE 1. INTERIOR. APARTMENT – DAY.
PAULINE, 27, picks up her journal after two months of letting it collect dust on her bookshelf. She takes a set of stickers and carefully peels off a smiley face one.
Finally, it’s a smiley face kind of day.
Just as the main character of a coming-of-age movie, I long for the last scene where I could clearly feel my growth. After all the challenges, the growing pains, I want to be able to have a moment where I can step back and just appreciate how far I’ve come.
If I’m being honest, I feel like sometimes I’m still a teenager that trips and falls over and over again. Despite being in my late twenties, I’m still clumsy and prone to making anxious mistakes. But each time I do fall, each time I do make mistakes, like the main character, I believe that I emerge stronger.
Besides, just as the character of a coming-of-age film has montages where they get to enjoy their life, I also have a lot of reasons to enjoy mine. Other than my plethora of creative hobbies, I sincerely enjoy watching movies and TV shows (Brooklyn 99, Meet the Robinsons, Because this is My First Life, to name a few). I also love music (BTS and Taylor Swift being my ultimate fave artists) and enjoy intellectual, philosophical and genuine conversations.
With all of those (partial) characterizations combining to make up my identity, one more question remains. Why did I join Hive?
Other than the support and community I could find here, I really need an excuse to write more frequently. I need to get into a cycle where I can regularly reflect and express my thoughts again. Although I’ve been active creatively, I sometimes neglect writing. (Does anyone relate? Hehe.) That’s why I want to be more intentional with my blogging.
In the future, I plan to share more of my insights as both a young adult and a creative. Because one of my goals is to create a safe space for fellow creative adults on the internet, I’ll also share my experiences with being published and creating content (like a behind-the-scenes exclusive for other storytellers). I’ll also attempt to share more of my fiction work here – stories, creative non-fiction essays and poems.
I’m excited to see where this Hive journey takes me. I hope that through this new chapter I would grow more as a person and as a writer. Thank for reading and I hope to interact more with you guys in the future!
Pauline is a digital marketer and occasional speaker for Creative Writing. Outside work, she pursues passion projects such as writing essays, poems, and short stories, composing songs and filming videos.
As a storyteller on multiple platforms, Pauline has also attempted to create multimedia content through her YouTube channel (pollenpiggy) and a podcast she hosts (“When Pigs Fly”). You can find her at @pollenpiggycreates or at pollenpiggy@gmail.com.