Who is CHILL WITH SHANNA?

Have you ever felt like you don’t know yourself so you keep trying new things to discover who you are ?

How about the usual “What do you do?” that you get when meeting new people and all you can answer is your job and nothing more than that?

Or the “What is your purpose?” that you ask yourself when you find it hard to sleep? 🤔

When people ask me these questions before, my mind would go blank, I would stutter trying to filter and find interesting events in my life. I sometimes wouldn’t know what to say. So, I want to answer these in my introduction post here on HIVE. I want to share my story, what I currently do, and the legacy I want to leave behind.

I wouldn’t have a story and I wouldn’t be who I am if it isn’t for my complicated yet big and loving family. Yes, I say complicated because I have 2 sets of family. My mom and my dad separated when I was 5. I grew up in Cebu with my mom who is a Filipina together with her long-time partner who treats me like his own daughter. My biological father is Taiwanese and he also has his own family. I still communicate with him and visit them in Taiwan when I can. My biological father’s wife and my half siblings were all kind to me and would spoil me with trips and food. Trust me when I say I was really confused and frustrated 😩 when I was young because I never really understood our family dynamics. It took me a while to accept that I have a big family. But yeah, I guess there are things we couldn’t force nor change. My parents had reasons why it didn’t work and all I can do is respect it.

Because of my family's diversity👨‍👩‍👧, I was able to learn and experience a lot about differences in culture, beliefs and values. It helped mold who I am today because I became a mix of both, keeping values from here and there and developing an attitude and mindset that are beneficial, practical and would help me live an authentic and happy life.

As I got older and reached high school, my parents no longer forced the idea of me getting a medical degree, they were just supportive of whatever I choose to take. 🤔I wonder if it’s because of my strong personality that they wouldn’t want to impose anymore. (Oops 😝)

Months before High School graduation (2012), I had a talk with our class advisor about college application. One of my options was to take Special Education because I wanted to teach children (I love kids!👶) specifically those with special needs (and I love a challenging yet fulfilling career!). My class advisor then suggested that I research about Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) and see if I’d consider it. To those who are unfamiliar about what an SLP does, an "SLP work to prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults." (https://www.asha.org/students/speech-language-pathologists/) I really found it interesting and unique because there are only few SLPs in the Philippines!

I took it as a sign to take that course when a University here in Cebu was the first ever to offer SLP program. It made history as I was one of the pioneer graduates! I have served and provided therapy to more than 70 children with special needs and adults who suffered from illnesses. I also educate their family members about their condition and teach them activities they can do at home to further improve and reach their potential. I’ve been working as an SLP for 3 years now. 😊