To Wander, and To Wonder: A Teacher’s Guide to Traveling, Freelancing and Everything in Between (My Introductory Post)

Hi! I'm Maria Eula Pauline, but you can call me Eula. But, since I love the color purple so much, and I am interested in becoming a freelancer, I go by the name @purplefreelancer.

I am still a newbie in this wonderful platform, and I am excited to discover and meet a lot of awesome people in this safe space. I am also super excited to have you visit my online space, as I also learn to navigate and explore this amazing community, that I am super blessed to have stumbled upon. I am also looking forward to sharing with all of you my experiences as I try to explore the world, one country at a time. Although, I am still super new to traveling, I am really hopeful that I get to experience new sights, and dive into interesting cultures in the years ahead.

Aside from this, I am also a teacher by profession, and I cannot wait to also share with you the lessons that I have learned as I impart the passion of learning to my students, and insights that I have gained in my almost ten years of teaching. Yup, you heard that right, I've been a teacher for ten years now, and I still cannot believe how time flies so fast! It felt as if it was just yesterday when I finally left the halls of my alma mater, and ventured into the teaching profession.

So, I hope you read along as I share with you my passion for teaching, my love for traveling and everything in between!

I am an Education graduate, and I have been in the teaching profession for quite some time already. Aside from teaching, I am also a certified bookworm---- I am addicted to reading books, may that be physical books, e-books, and those that I have saved on my kindle. Now, I believe my obsession with books is a story that I should save for another post! Aside from being a total bookworm, I am also a freelancer, specifically focusing on being an online ESL (English as a Second Language) Teacher, and a Social Media Manager. I have been managing my personal fb page for about a year now, and I am still trying to get the hang of being a Social Media Manager.

There's only two of us in the family, and I am the eldest. My father died when I was in Fourth Grade, and when my younger sister was in the Third Grade. It was my mom who has been supporting us up until we became professionals in our own field.

My mom is actually a retired Social Worker now, and it was actually her who introduced me to this love that I have for traveling. My mom has been my inspiration to seeing the world, appreciating the beauty of another country's culture, without compromising your responsibilities, most especially with my career. I started this "love" for traveling, when we went on our first international family trip last year, and we got to spend it with my Aunt in the beautiful country of Singapore.

At first, I did not have any plans of traveling out of the country anytime this year, but, as luck would have it, I have again, visited another one, and that is the awe-inspiring country of Taiwan.

What made this visit more memorable was the fact that I had to explore and navigate this country on my own. Yes, AS A SOLO TRAVELLER. And it was still my second international trip! Can you just imagine the anxiety, nervousness, and nerves I had to endure throughout this trip? I honestly still, cannot put into words, how I managed to travel all on my own until now.

Aside from my passion for travel, I am also a fan of blogging. I used to blog a lot way back in college, and I have once again rekindled my love for it through hive! That is why, I am so happy to have discovered this community, through @antonette. It was actually her who onboarded me here, when I got to meet her in one social media platform. She shared this safe space with me, and I wanted to be part of this community too.

I wanted to join hive, because I believe this community is a safe space for me to share my life experiences and also meet amazing people, whom I can freely express and share these life moments with, without that feeling of being judged, or misunderstood. Aside from this, I am also very excited to listen to other's life stories, and of course, know more about other's culture and their amazing country.

As I navigate through this community, I am thrilled to share my personal thoughts on the places I have been to, the books that I've read, and hopefully, I'd also get to see the next country worth exploring for me, or the next book on my reading list!

Thank you so much for reading through my intro blog, and for supporting my online space here on hive! Your support and love really mean a lot, and I cannot wait to hear and know more about all of you! 'Till the next adventure!

Lots of love,

Purplefreelancer

Note: All pictures used are mine, and some photos have been edited using CANVA