A Little Bit of Joyce

Hi! I'm Joyce, and I made this space as a way to document a little bit of everything that’s happening in my life. Come along for the ride! ✨

[j0yceque]

Entry 1 for 2025: A 2024 Recap

Last year had been full of experiences that made me grow. I never knew I could be challenged in the way I did, but I'm grateful to survive. This 2025, I'm claiming a life of abundance and happiness.

There's a lot of goals on top of mind right now, so they may change but here they are:

Celebrate and bond with my loved ones more.

Focus on getting healthier and checking my health monthly/yearly.

Sell our property in Bulacan and fix my finances.

Have a fixed income job and/or register as a freelancer.

Study and take the Korean proficiency test.

Get my Master's and enroll in a driving school.

Travel internationally solo or with friends/family.

Start writing short stories and selling digital products.

Create food and arts business.

Do more content creation.

I know it looks so ambitious, but that's just how I am. I believe if I want to achieve something so badly—which I certainly do with my list—it's inevitable to happen. I pray and manifest all of these, and I hope whatever it is that you also plan to do, you get it because you deserve it.

[j0yceque]

Day 39: "How can a person know everything at 18, but nothing at 25?"

Imposter syndrome, quarter-life crisis, deeply embedded negativity—I've all seen it happen, learned a lot of lessons from those who survived it, and yet, here I am in this blackhole of self-made misery and agony. While this seems like a dark start to a journal post comeback, it's the current reality I'm facing. I used to runaway so far from these thoughts and feelings, but I'm at a point where I've reached the end; I'm done, and I want to make changes.

I feel I owe this space some updates, so let's get to listing:

— I'm officially done with living alone era. For now. February of 2024, I moved in to my 3rd apartment although it wasn't long 'til I left it because of cockroach infestation (and if you know me, I'd rather die than live in a place with nearby 'roaches). I moved back to my partner's family house in Marikina and left some of my things in our family apartment unit in Manila. While it's not the living situation I imagined, I'm just eternally grateful to be surrounded by loved ones who are willing to let me stay over while I figure things out for myself. Yes, I do acknowledge that privilege.

— I resigned from my full-time job of almost 4 years. March of 2024, I left the corporate world and rested. It was a much needed time off to think and redirect myself. "Do I want to try a different career path or should I focus on freelancing?" So far, I'm blessed to land a client (who's also a great friend) and keep going with my part-time job at my partner's family business. Both of which are what keeps me afloat financially. I'm hoping to get a few more projects and eventually also have a new full-time job (so close, onto submitting my sample work this week).

— I'm prioritizing more content creation for my passion projects. It seems funny that I used to be so intimidated pursuing my love for creating content, but all roads lead to this. I've been putting out more content on my personal and miniature account, and hopefully I can share more works on my portfolio as well. What keeps me going is this quote I read somewhere from the depths of the internet: "If your past work doesn't make you cringe, even in the slightest, then maybe you haven't grown at all."

What's next? I despise this question, and yet, I cannot deny the fact that I love having a solid plan for anything and everything. Right now, some of the things I'm also focusing are selling our house and lot in Bulacan (hit me up if you're interested), achieving the 6-digit income challenge, saving so much that I can survive with its interest, spending more time with my family and friends, and maybe traveling and working abroad soon? We'll see. Hopefully, the next update is just around the corner, and these are all ticked off my list—manifesting that hard!

[j0yceque]

Day 38: Having a full-time job means I have to sacrifice some of my weekends to do side hustles.

While I'm eternally grateful to have a stable job given this pandemic, it's been hard to actually make time for other things I want to do, such as my freelance projects. It feels empowering, though, that I'm able to push through despite the challenges that come with it.

This weekend, I'm planning to materialize my vision of content creation for my personal and professional brand. For the most part, my thoughts have been all over the place, so it's hard to properly list down what to do and prioritize what needs to be done first. However, I know that these are all included in my journey and that I'll probably get over it and accomplish things. My motivation? This may or may not work for you, but I always think, "I have no other choice." If I want things to get done, I have to work for it because no one's going to do it for me, and I'm a very picky person with these types of things, so I'm pretty sure even though I hire someone to do it for me, I'll still do it myself at the end of the day.

If you're also going through the same thing, just know that your efforts are not wasted—every little step you're doing is adding up, and you'll soon get to your destination, wherever that may be.

Love, Joyce

[j0yceque]

Day 37: We've got a lot to catch up on.

It's been so long since I've taken the time to write an entry here and share what I've been up to. Looking back, I can say that I've come a long way from where I was and where I wanted to be, but I know that there's still a lot I have to experience and go through. For now, let's stroll down memory lane and look into future plans:

— I moved to my 2nd apartment in Marikina last December 2021. It was a great space in the best location, but my problem right now and the reason I'll move out is because of bugs. I've had multiple incidents where a bug just went inside my unit even though I live on the 4th floor and all my windows have screens. The flying cockroaches near the gate also don't help any bit.

— I've been getting freelance work this 2022. I haven't tracked my recent side hustles for my portfolio, but it's nice knowing I can add more to my resume when I update it. I want to organize that part of my professional career just so it's easier to propose for upcoming projects soon.

— I'll be moving back to our Manila apartment this April 2022. While it wasn't exactly how I planned things to be, it felt right to stay with my family for the meantime while I'm still thinking about whether I'll rent another apartment, look into a rent-to-own condo/house, or maybe move to a different country. Who knows, right?

— I'm planning to finally start my content creation journey this April 2022. It's been a long time since I've been trying to film bits and pieces of my life, and I feel like the frustrations and mishaps were all part of the process to fully be equipped to do it.

There's a lot more to these, but I chose to end it here since it's getting too long of an entry. I hope you get to do the things that fill you up with passion and happiness, wherever and whoever you are.

Love, Joyce

[j0yceque]

Day 36: Reality comes creeping in.

There are days when I still can't believe I'm already at this age and stage in life, which I had always dreamed about when I was just a little kid. And then, there are days when it starts to get scary as I slowly get engulfed with the reality that I'm responsible for everything I'm doing.

It's somewhat bittersweet to have: freedom. Nonetheless, I wouldn't change a thing, mainly because I firmly believe that most things happen for a reason—the good and the bad I've experienced come with invaluable lessons I wouldn't have learned if I never went through any of them.

I hope we all get to a point where we're content in the best way possible and at peace with everything around us. Until then, stay safe and make today count!

Love, Joyce

[j0yceque]

Day 35: Getting back to being consistent. Hopefully.

In terms of work (personal, side projects, and full-time job), I haven't felt like I'm doing more than what I can do—it's as if I was just trying to get by, and for someone stuck in a pandemic, it seems good enough, you know? But to be honest, I know deep down that's not how I am as a person. This isn't the first time that this happened—the cycle of coming back stronger then having a few setbacks has been going on for quite some time, and I don't want to be hard on myself for experiencing that, especially with all of the things I'm dealing with day in day out.

I know other people could relate to this as well, and I just want to tell you that it's okay to fall back at times, to not feel okay, to not finish or start the day strong, or to not be satisfied with your efforts. It's normal. Give yourself the patience, care, and love it needs and deserves. It's easier said than done, but you'll get along just fine. Don't hesitate to ask for help when you need it, to connect with your family and friends or to a professional.

Here's to brighter days ahead of us!

Love, Joyce

[j0yceque]

Day 34: It's been months since I last wrote here.

Life had been so busy these days that I haven't been able to log a few milestones, and today, I want to put them here so I can look back on them in the future:

I celebrated my 23rd birthday on August 8.

I had my first work anniversary on August 14.

I got approved on my first loan application on August 19.

I officially got my first apartment on August 20.

These are some of the major things that may seem small to others but I'm really proud of myself that I was able to achieve them. Here's a reminder to you that you will get the things you're working hard for soon. Don't stop believing, stay inspired, and keep going. You can definitely do it!

Love, Joyce

[j0yceque]

Day 33: Finding stability in a world of chaos.

We’ve been in this pandemic for quite some time. More than a year has passed, but there are days when it feels as if nothing’s changing for the better. I can’t really say that things are looking up or they will ever be; all I’m holding on right now is the thought of how good the future must be once the pandemic’s gone and we get to make our dreams a reality (not that we can’t do this even if there’s still COVID-19).

Recently, I know that I’m in a better place than I was compared to two months ago. I don’t find myself as anxious and doubtful as I was back then. I must say that I feel like I’m getting back on my grind again. So far, I learned a lot of things from being on the positive to the negative side. There’s definitely still a long way to go, and I pray that we could all be where we want and are supposed to be. ‘Til then, let’s keep working hard to achieve our goals and take care of ourselves. 

Love always, Joyce

[j0yceque]

Day 32: After the storm comes the rainbow.

Things got rough the past few months as I go through an artist’s and writer’s block—that was especially hard given that my work revolves around those two mainly. I managed to finally get to a place where I’m more focused and understanding than I was before. I’m sure that the challenges I faced were clearly a big part of my growth and that it will probably happen again soon, but that’s only because I will keep on improving rather than getting stuck to what I know is good enough now.

I know that most creatives feel this way, I just hope that we don’t make our work as our identity. We’re not what we do nor what we create. Maybe a little, like bits and pieces of it, but not entirely—we are a whole different being and so are our creations. If you’re feeling stressed and burnt out, take a step back to breathe. Everything will get better, and that’s a fact. Let’s both hang in there.

Love always, Joyce

[j0yceque]

Day 31: Imposter syndrome getting the best of me.

For quite some time, I knew I’m going through something called “imposter syndrome,” I just didn’t know what to call it. Do you ever get the feeling you’re just a fake one in the field you’re in? As if any wrong move in any minute, you’re going to breakdown and show how pretentious you’ve been, eventually revealing how incompetent you really are.

If you do, we’re in the same boat. It sucks to always doubt yourself even though at the back of your head, you know you’re doing great so far. It’ll be a long journey to finally have that intact self-confidence, but I’ll do my best to get better every day. I hope you do the same. Let’s keep working on ourselves this 2021 and the years to come.

Love always, Joyce

[j0yceque]

Day 30: What's the point of trying to raise your voice if no one ever hears?

Recently, I’ve been more vulnerable than the usual. I used to hate crying whenever I’m going through things, but I realized I’ve hidden so much of my emotion that now, I just breakdown so easily. This season of my life, I want to make big changes—to finally embrace myself more instead of running away from it, and to put my well-being a priority instead of pouring myself out for people who wouldn’t do as much. For the longest time, I relate to Coldplay’s Ghost Story so much it hurts, and I want to change that feeling—I don’t want to keep living as a ghost in someone else’s story. I’ll be fine soon, and things will get better from here. I hope you’re all safe and alright.

Love always, Joyce

[j0yceque]

Day 29: I’m on cloud 9, but please slow down time.

The past few weeks, months maybe, has been full of changes. It’s not always accompanied by rainbows and sunshine, but it definitely helped me grow as an individual. Looking back, there were certainly times wherein I wanted to give up and come back to my comfort zone. I’m thankful that despite those challenges, I’m here—I’m taking up space, and I’m contributing something. It’s always going to be an adventure living this roller coaster ride called life. Nonetheless, I’ll be up for any of it—good and bad—with faith, love, and kindness. Spreading positivity from here to wherever you are.

Love always, Joyce

[j0yceque]

Day 28: How long has it been?

Are you resting enough lately? Did you finally start addressing your problems? It’s no doubt that this year’s been a rough season for all of us, and with that being said, please remember to prioritize your health—physical and mental—as well as your emotional state. Don’t forget to check in on your friends’ and families’ social media accounts or give them a call if you can. Let’s be a light for each other at these challenging times. 

[j0yceque]

Day 27: Being friendlier to myself through successes and failures.

Like many others, I am my own constant enemy and worst critic. It took years (maybe decades) since I actually learned to be a little bit softer to myself. Everything is still in process but soon, I know there will be a time in my life wherein I can finally say, "I could be better but it's all good. I'm still proud of myself." I hope you're being patient to yourself, too. Aside from ourselves, Someone up above sees our baby steps and helps us move forward. Let's make today a great one!

[j0yceque]

Day 26: It's been weeks since I last updated this blog!

Many of my plans came true, and I have to admit that I'm overwhelmed with all of it happening at once but I'm definitely grateful. I wish I could write about everything without oversharing but I guess to put it short, I feel purposeful at this moment. I'm doing what I like, I'm growing as an individual, and I'm trying to let things take its course without putting so much energy to have it my way all the time. In spite of all the good and bad, His plans will always be greater than any of mine and that's totally fine. This entry is also a reminder for you to stop forcing things if it's really not working out. Hang in there. All will be alright in time. Don't forget to have a great day today!

[j0yceque]

Day 25: Cheers to loving ourselves better.

It’s been a few days since I turned 22 and here’s one of the many things I learned along the way of constantly battling with myself over everything: I could choose to wallow in self-pity over things that will eventually improve later on or I could thank myself now for taking initial steps outside my comfort zone and learning new things throughout this journey. I know how much of a short-tempered person I am that I want better results immediately in everything and though that may be good at times, it’s mostly the reason why I lack confidence—I tend to associate my progress with my worth, and we all know how rocky progressions can be. It doesn’t always look great instantly, and I have to remind myself that I deserve a little pat in the back because I’m trying a lot and somehow, I’m doing enough. Please take note that you are, too. Here’s to our growth!

[j0yceque]

Day 24: Before it’s too late, try to do the plans you’ve been wanting to do.

I’m sort of overthinking doing some works I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time. Some of which are starting a podcast and a YouTube content that are close to my likes and interests: creating makeup looks, exercising and healthy dieting, making a journal and study with me, more blogging ideas, and journeying through adulthood. Hopefully I can finally start doing all of it little by little. If you’re also at a point like this, I’m cheering for you! Good luck to us!