INTRODUCTION: LIFE IS FULL OF SURPRISES, BUT IT'S WORTH LIVING!!

Hi there Hivemates!

Please call me Arriane Agudon. My close friends call me Candy, since that's my childhood nickname. My mom used to tell me that my nickname was originally Balotlot.

She said that one of her cravings was a balut (duck egg with embryo) when she was pregnant with me.

Yet, I often got sick when I was a baby. So they thought that it was a message that I might not like my nickname. So my great grandmother changed it and baptized me with the nickname Candy instead. She said that she based it on my smiley eyes whenever I smile which for her was so sweet to resist, just like how we almost couldn’t resist sweets.

True enough, my close friends described me as a sweet human, kind, and smiling face, maybe as my name suggested.

I'm the type of woman who can smile even when I am facing big challenges. This may have something to do with my growing up in the province, raised and trained by my strict grandmother.

For me, life is an adventure!

They trained me so well that even at a young age, I became independent in most ways.

At the young age of 7, I was already doing adult household chores such as cooking in an old school way via wooden fire. I would wash my own laundry at the river and fetch water from the well.

And most of all, I got to learn how to earn a living at a young age. I used to sell polovoron and yema at school. I saved up the money and used it for my school projects and tasks. I could clearly remember how I walked to school from home and vice versa. Saving up my school allowance for future needs. I knew the value of money at that young age.

These experiences taught me to be hard-working, persistent, and have grit. I grew up with these characters until now.

For example, when my mom battled with cancer, instead of having the feeling of defeat, I helped her fight it with grace. We celebrated life to the fullest.

As much as possible, we would travel to places, celebrate her special days with joy and meaningful memories. I remember tons of stories about her when she would encourage demotivated patients with different illnesses because they were very hopeless with their situations. But my mom, was really full of hope and had a high fighting spirit.

When she went back to our Creator, I firmly believed that she left me with a good legacy. She taught me how to become a warrior! To push forward no matter how life throws lemons at me. Those lessons that she passed on me would be kept in the deepest part of my soul and would not be wasted.

To live life with boldness! To fight the battle worth fighting for is truly my mantra.

A few months after her death, I gave birth to a baby whose whole life is a miracle. Our morning had turned to dancing. After 13 years of waiting, the Lord listened to my heart's desire.

It was a challenging pregnancy journey though, wherein I was on bed rest for 8 months. I felt like I was on house arrest at the time. I couldn’t move freely as I was only allowed to sit and lie down all throughout the day. Those were one of the toughest days of my life. Being an extrovert woman that I am, I couldn't imagine how I was able to make it for eight straight months without the hangouts with friends.

Here’s the back story. I experienced a lot of complications from the early stages of my pregnancy. I got a subchorionic hemorrhage in my first trimester so I experienced bleeding which terrified me the most. I was so afraid of losing my second child.

After it got healed, I faced other complications like candidiasis, gestational diabetes, hyperthyroidism. It’s crazy and I couldn’t imagine how I was able to get over it.

I was taking high dosage of meds just to prevent the pre-term labor. I could still remember the horror of crying in the middle of the night every time I see blood whenever I pee. Scared of losing my second, whom we waited for 13 years.

Lastly, I was diagnosed with placenta previa, and it would be very challenging for me to give birth via normal delivery.

I was drained emotionally, physically, and financially. Yet, heaven reminds me to keep pushing forward.

Just like what my mom would remind me, never say die and keep fighting!

And true enough, I gave birth to a healthy, full-term, and bouncing baby girl. The Lord is faithful, as she just turned one year old on August 9 of this month.

She has reached her milestone based on her age, and she's now our bundle of joy who's so dear to us.

The series of tests that I experienced became my life’s testimonies. It wasn’t an easy battle, yet it was all worth fighting for. It made me who I am today.

And with that I’m excited to live life, especially with my deepest why, my family. I know that it’s not gonna be an easy journey but through it all I made it!

Also, part of this excitement is to be a part of the Hive community which for sure would help me share my ideas and express myself more through writing and sharing photos.

I am onboarded by @antonette, we met through Facebook, and she oriented me on how Hive works. She seems to be very passionate about this community, as she has been doing it for quite a while now.

The pictures shown above were edited by Canva and taken from my Facebook account.

As a member, I see to it that I understand the Hive rules shown below:

I won’t use AI in my posts and engagements.
Big no to plagiarism
I will make sure to post and engage with quality content.
I will use my own original pictures.