Hello Hive Community! 👋

Finally, I'm joining the group. It took me a long time to have the guts to open up and share some personal information on this online platform. My introverted nature may be to blame for this. Having this side of me is challenging, but it motivates me to work even harder in all aspects of my life.

For those of you who don't know me, my first name is Hazel Tanya, and yes, you read that correctly, I have two first names. 😉 Instead of two, there were supposed to be three of them. My mother decided to cancel it at the last minute because I was born a few days earlier than expected. She originally planned to name me MARIA HAZEL TANYA because she was due to give birth on September 8.

Due to some constraints wherein my mom already had a history of 2 failed deliveries through cesarean, the doctors were very keen on her 3rd pregnancy. One of my brothers died while my mom was in labor, and the other one died just a few hours after my mom gave birth due to some complications. So for the 3rd and last chance of having a baby (that's me, the 3rd and last chance of my mom), the doctor closely monitored my mom's pregnancy, which led her to pop me out earlier than expected, which was on August 30, 1991.

It's heartbreaking, isn't it? Knowing that my mother gave birth to three children, two boys and one girl, but had only one successful delivery (what a fighter Mom I have). My brothers were only a year apart in age, but neither had the opportunity to experience the beauty of the world.

Anyway, just a fast forward. I might be the only child for both my parents, but I have a half-sister on my father's side, and we are just a year apart. I've known about this ever since I was in elementary and my Mom was totally fine with it. She even knew about it longer than I did. Upon knowing this, I was glad to have a sister, though we didn't really grow up together since she just stayed with us when she started college. Now we are both grown up and we still bond during birthdays or on any occasion that we usually celebrate.

Am I just blabbering too much? I was just supposed to share where my name came from. 🙄🤭 Anyway, because I was born in August, my mother decided to drop the "MARIA" from my name. So again, my Hive friends, I am HAZEL TANYA. You can call me either Hazel or Tanya or Tatanz or Tanz but my close friends prefer to call me Tanya. So if you want to be close to me, you know what to call me (just kidding aside).

So, just to have me, you've learned a little bit about my family's history. My parents' struggles and suffering prior to my birth had been incalculable (sakita sa heart mag hunahuna sa last chance to have a baby). It's possible that those experiences influenced who I became. I had a strong and emotional side of myself, but deep within me is an emotional HAZEL TANYA and the fact that I appear tough on the outside is probably the best shield of the innate emotional me.

You might be wondering, how was I raised as an only child? So here's what I can share with you....

I was raised by a retired military father and a business minded mother. My parents both did not complete their education, yet they were still able to provide for my basic needs and other frivolous items that made me happy. Although I am an only child, I was not raised like a princess, as you might think. Regardless of the fact that I am a "unica hija," which means I was probably spoiled and whatever else... If you considered those possibilities for how I grew up, then I'm sorry to say you folks got it WRONG........

As previously mentioned, my parents cared for me well, but there is still a catch: if I want some items that are not considered a necessity, I am required to work my as* off to show to my parents how desperately I desired to have those things. Both of my parents taught me that if I want something, I must work for it. Therefore, whenever I want to buy something for myself, such as a new phone, I used to assist in our small restaurant (carinderia lng gud sa bisaya) by cashiering and frequently acting as the "tindera," so that my parents can see my efforts and decisiveness. Then I get to have those items after all my efforts and sacrifices. Oh diba, dili jud lalim! I Nya mo-ana pa mo ug sana all nako?? 😂 HARD WORK was always the key for me. 😄💪💪💪

Why meeTatiana in Hive?

I've always wondered what my name meant since I was in elementary school. What is the origin of it? Also, how did my parents come up with the name I have today?

When you try to search for the meaning of TANYA, you will eventually see that it's of Russian origin. It's also the diminutive of Tatiana. Aside from that, Tatiana also means "fairy queen". (kuyawan mo sa fairy queen sa?! Haha)

What factors did my parents consider while naming me? When asked how they came upon the name, they said that they had just looked it up in a book and that's it. (simple answer from my not-so-complicated yet overprotective parents)

From that moment when I learned that Tanya is derived from Tatiana, I started using Tatiana as a code name and it's also the same reason why I chose to use it here on Hive.

All about Me....

Loves to Travel

I like traveling because it gives me peace of mind and it gives me excitement. I could also say that I have this innate "laagan" in me. This was probably because ever since elementary school up to college, I could not go to places I wanted or even hang out with friends for a long time. My father was very strict way back then. All he wanted was for me to finish my studies first. Then that's it! I've put my efforts into and set a goal to really finish college on time and travel everywhere. At 30, I've been to different places in the Philippines already, and I've also tried 2 international trips prior to the pandemic.

Loves to Eat

I grew up accompanying my mom in our "carinderia," so I was not too picky about food. As long as it's not too spicy, I'll give any food a try, by the way, except for those exotic foods. 🤭😬

To those reading my intro, if you get to visit Cebu, don't miss trying these:

• Tempura, Kwek Kwek, Camote/Banana Cue, Toron, Pinaypay near Carbon Area
• Siomai & Halo-Halo sa Tisa
• Ginabot & Lumpiang Tawgi in Pungko-Pungko sa Fuente
• Chinese ngohiong near USC
• Barbecue at Ned's Nanay Grill or Yakski
• Pochero at Ekit's Foodhause
• And many more.......

Aside from those mentioned above, I’m also into Korean foods, probably because of my intense KDrama watching (lami man kaayo sila modala ug kaon gud in the drama). Another reason why I love Korean food is not just due to food trends, but also probably because I already got to visit the country and was able to feel the real taste of dining there, just like in KDramas.

_{𝚁𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚖 𝙿𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚘𝚜 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚒𝚗
𝙿𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚔𝚘-𝙿𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚔𝚘 𝚜𝚊 𝙵𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚎, 𝙽𝚎𝚍 𝙽𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚢'𝚜 𝙶𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕, 𝚂𝚒𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚒 𝚜𝚊 𝚃𝚒𝚜𝚊, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙱𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚢 𝚂𝚎𝚘𝚞𝚕}

Sports Enthusiasts

Since elementary, I have been an athlete in table tennis and taekwondo. I earned different medals and participated in various competitions in different places for those said sports. I believe it was from that moment that I started indulging myself in other physical activities. I also played other sports like badminton and lawn tennis just for fun (not as an expert) and for social activities. Aside from that, I also loved running and jogging.

Now that I started working, my usual physical activities are jogging, running, walking, table tennis, and sometimes going to the gym with my officemates. Prior to the pandemic, together with my workmates, we often joined different fun runs.

We may not be experts on what we do, but I'm sure we all have our own reasons for giving ourselves a good try at those things. Probably for health reasons or purely for fun and leisure. 🙂