Hi!
It's been a long time since I last wrote on this platform.
It's Beyond Imaginations is definitely my first baby, and so much has happened in my life over the past few years. Honestly, I got lazy and felt like I wasn't obligated to write anymore.
I became a mom, got busy making money, and traveled a lot. Plus, blogging isn't really "in" anymore. I mean, videos have pretty much become the new blogs these days.
But yesterday, I received a notification from my Readme.me account that a hotel in Pattaya, Thailand was looking for bloggers to review their property. So I revisited my Readme account, and it reminded me why I started writing in the first place.
I never wrote because I wanted to become an "influencer" or prove something to other people. I write because I genuinely love writing. I love putting all the thoughts running around in my head into words. That's exactly why I named this website It's Beyond Imaginations—because I have way too many imaginations. LOL!
I'm not a professional writer. I don't have a degree in English or grammar, but I simply love to write.
And yes... by the time I finish this article, I'll probably run it through ChatGPT to fix my grammar and spelling.
Recap of My Life
As the trending Instagram audio goes,
"Let me introduce myself... I am..."
Well... I'm Ann.
I've introduced myself in so many different ways over the years—a mom, a wife, an OFW, a virtual freelancer, and a business owner.
But honestly?
None of those titles are as successful as they probably sound.
Wife
I've been married for four years now, and our marriage isn't perfect.
Sometimes, I feel like we're more like best friends and roommates than husband and wife.
I'm not complaining... am I?
I'm honestly not sure.
I guess we're both just trying to survive our everyday lives.
We're living in a different country, we're both working, and we have completely different work schedules. I work a regular 9-to-5 job, while my husband works the mid-shift. He clocks in at 2:00 PM and doesn't get home until around midnight.
So basically, we only get to see each other in the mornings before I leave for work and during weekends.
My husband is honestly the best.
He takes really good care of me and Aryl, our son.
I always joke that I'm treated like a queen because he doesn't have huge expectations when it comes to household chores.
And thank goodness... because I'm definitely not the ideal housewife.
I clean the house—but only when I feel like it.
I'm terrible at cooking.
I don't do the laundry either.
So yeah... definitely not the picture-perfect housewife.
But despite all that, we love each other.
And honestly, I can't imagine myself having a different husband.
Sometimes I think if I had married someone else, I'd probably feel pressured to cook more, clean more, and do all the traditional "wife duties" that I honestly don't enjoy.
We don't have huge fights.
We argue sometimes, of course, but they're usually small disagreements that don't last very long.
Right now, our marriage feels... stagnant.
Sometimes I catch myself daydreaming about how we were before we became parents.
Life felt lighter.
We had more time for each other.
We could go wherever we wanted without having to think about daycare schedules, school, work, or responsibilities.
But I guess that's just what marriage is.
You grow together.
Your priorities change.
And sometimes love isn't always about grand romantic gestures.
Sometimes, it's simply choosing each other every single day, even when life gets busy.
Mom
I have a wonderful four-year-old boy, and he is the sweetest little boy in the entire universe.
I've never really been a "kid person," but when it comes to my son, it's a completely different story.
Being a mom in a different country, with no physical support from our families, is incredibly hard.
We can't afford to hire help, so we rely on daycare, his English Program school, and sometimes the kindness of our friends whenever we need support.
But there's one struggle I rarely talk about on social media.
My son has Global Developmental Delay (GDD), specifically in the area of speech.
It was actually my dad who first noticed that something wasn't quite right.
One time, my son and I went back to the Philippines by ourselves. There wasn't a single day that he didn't cry or throw tantrums.
When we were in Thailand, he was actually a pretty calm child. The only thing that concerned us was that he still wasn't talking. At that time, he was two years old and about to turn three.
Whenever he became frustrated, he would sometimes hit or slap me because he couldn't express what he wanted.
Looking back now, I think one of the reasons was because he loved exploring.
Before we went to the Philippines, we lived in a condominium. We had huge glass windows where he could look outside, but most of the time we stayed indoors. We only went out for daycare or to run errands.
Then we arrived in my hometown.
I honestly think he became excited because, for the first time, he could simply open the door and go outside.
He wanted to explore everything.
The problem was... I kept saying, "No."
Not because I didn't want him to enjoy himself, but because his version of exploring was different.
He loved running toward the road where cars were passing.
He wanted to climb around construction materials beside our house.
He seemed to enjoy the thrill without understanding the danger.
So naturally, he cried a lot whenever I stopped him.
The tantrums became more frequent.
That's when my dad told me that I should have him checked by a developmental specialist because his behavior wasn't quite the same as other children his age.
To make a long story short, we went back to Thailand and consulted a developmental pediatrician.
That's when we found out that he had Global Developmental Delay (GDD).
When the doctor explained it to us, she said that GDD simply means a child's development is delayed compared to what's expected for their age.
As a parent, of course my mind immediately jumped to the worst-case scenarios.
I kept asking,
"Does he have autism?"
"Does he have ADHD?"
The doctor said no.
She explained that his main delay was in speech and language development.
Our next step was to start occupational therapy and speech therapy.
Fast forward to today...
My son is now four years old and is studying in Kindergarten 1 at an English Program school here in Thailand.
I honestly love his school.
There are many Filipino and foreign teachers who constantly encourage him to communicate in English.
Before this, he attended a daycare where everyone mainly spoke Thai.
Then he would come home and hear us speaking English.
Sometimes I wonder if hearing two different languages while he was still trying to develop speech made things even more confusing for him.
Of course, I'm not a doctor, so that's just a thought I've had as his mom.
The good news is that he's made so much progress.
He now knows a lot of words.
He can say short sentences.
He's becoming more expressive every year.
He still struggles with conversations, especially questions like "Why?", "How?", or "When?", but compared to where we started, we've come such a long way.
Watching him improve little by little reminds me that progress doesn't always happen overnight.
Sometimes, it's found in the smallest victories.
And as his mom, I'll celebrate every single one of them.
OFW
For those who don't know, OFW stands for Overseas Filipino Worker—Filipinos who work abroad.
I've been living in Thailand for more than ten years now, I think. Time has gone by so fast.
I'm incredibly blessed and grateful for the life and job I have here.
But am I happy?
Honestly...
No.
So why do I stay?
Money.
That's the honest answer.
I've wanted to leave Thailand for years. Sometimes I feel like I've been stuck here for a very long time. Career-wise, I don't feel like I'm growing anymore.
But every time I make plans to leave, life happens.
COVID happened.
I got unexpectedly pregnant.
Then came motherhood.
Then the countries I wanted to move to became more difficult to immigrate to.
It's like every time I have a plan, something changes.
So I gave myself an ultimatum.
I'll stay in Thailand until 2030.
After that, that's it.
I'll either move to another country or finally go back to the Philippines for good.
Only God knows where life will take me by then.
Virtual Freelancer
If we're talking about work, I would honestly say that being a virtual freelancer is what I truly love doing.
I'm currently working as a Social Media Manager, Copy and Content Writer, Graphic Designer (not super professional though!), and an Influencer Outreach Coordinator.
I genuinely enjoy working in the digital space.
I love creating graphics.
I love editing videos.
I love writing content for brands.
It never feels boring to me because every project is different.
Right now, though, freelancing is still just my part-time job.
My full-time job here in Thailand isn't enough to cover all of our family's expenses.
Even though my husband and I split the bills, it's still not enough, so I work after office hours and on weekends to earn extra income.
People often ask me if I want to become a full-time freelancer.
The answer is yes...
But not yet.
As much as I love freelancing, it's not the most secure career.
I've been working online for more than five years now and have worked with brands and companies from different parts of the world.
One thing I've learned is this:
Online jobs don't guarantee stability.
One day you have a client...
The next day, they're gone.
Sometimes clients let you go without much notice.
Sometimes salaries get delayed.
Sometimes projects suddenly end.
That's just the reality of freelancing.
I know that after 2030, I'll probably transition into full-time freelancing.
By then, I hope I'll be financially and mentally ready.
For now, I prefer keeping it as my part-time career while maintaining the security of my full-time job.
At the same time, I'm slowly building another dream.
I've started creating my own small marketing agency.
Well... it's still just an idea that's slowly becoming a reality.
My dream is to work directly with brands, have my own team, and maybe one day even have an office.
We'll create content, produce product shoots, manage social media accounts, and help businesses build their online presence.
I already have a name for it.
Right now, I'm taking baby steps.
I'm not going all in just yet because I have a child depending on me.
I can't afford to take huge risks without carefully thinking everything through.
Maybe some people would say I'm playing it too safe.
Maybe they're right.
But when you're a parent, your dreams aren't just about you anymore.
You have another little person whose future depends on every decision you make.
So I'll keep building my dream...
One step at a time.
Business Owner
This one is honestly a little embarrassing to talk about.
I always tell people that I own a small business.
Well...
I actually do.
My best friend and I started The Tribe, a small online business that sells travel bags and luggage.
We've already launched two products.
Unfortunately...
They didn't sell the way we hoped they would.
I can't really say that The Tribe is a full-fledged business because we haven't officially registered it yet or completed all the legal paperwork.
It's still very much an online business with actual products.
The hardest part?
We invested almost ₱300,000 into it.
We sold some products, but it never became the success we imagined.
Our vision was to build something similar to BEIS or Bash Manila.
I don't want to call it a failure.
Because honestly...
I still believe I can bring it back one day.
I haven't given up on it.
The business has been inactive for more than two years now.
Some of our remaining inventory is still sitting in my sister's basement back in the Philippines.
One of the biggest reasons it never took off is because neither my best friend nor I actually live in the Philippines.
I'm here in Thailand.
She's in Australia.
Yet we're trying to run a business based in the Philippines.
My sister helps us ship orders, and we're incredibly grateful for that.
But that's about it.
No one is physically there to manage the business every day.
Manufacturing has also been a challenge.
Since our supplier is in the Philippines, we can't personally inspect the products.
Everything is done through video calls, photos, and videos.
Sometimes that's enough.
Sometimes it isn't.
Even with all those setbacks...
I still can't let go of The Tribe.
Maybe because deep down, I still believe it deserves another chance.
Maybe one day...
I'll finally give it the comeback it deserves.
Final Thoughts
So...
That's pretty much the recap of my life lately.
A lot has happened.
I've been given amazing opportunities.
I've traveled to different places.
I've experienced unexpected failures, disappointments, and frustrations.
But when I look back at my younger self, I'm honestly so proud of the person I've become.
Sometimes I stop and think,
"Who would've thought?"
Who would've thought that the girl who loved writing random blogs years ago would one day become a wife, a mom, an OFW, a freelancer, and someone who's still chasing her dreams?
None of those parts of my life are perfect.
None of them are complete success stories.
I'm still figuring things out.
I'm still making mistakes.
I'm still learning.
But I'm proud that I had the courage to start.
Because I realized something...
Life isn't about having everything figured out.
Sometimes it's simply about showing up every day and doing the best you can with what you have.
And honestly?
I think that's enough.
As for this blog...
I hope this is the beginning of my comeback.
This time, I don't want to limit myself to writing only about fashion, beauty, or travel.
Don't get me wrong—I still love those topics, and I'll definitely continue writing about them.
But I also want this little corner of the internet to grow with me.
I want to write about motherhood.
About working abroad.
About freelancing.
About dreams that haven't happened yet.
About failures.
About business.
About random thoughts that pop into my head at midnight.
Basically...
I just want to write about life.
No pressure.
No pretending.
No trying to fit into a specific niche.
Just me.
Because at the end of the day, this blog has always been It's Beyond Imaginations.
It's always been a place where I can freely express what's on my mind.
And I want it to stay that way.
So, if you've made it all the way to the end...
Thank you.
Seriously.
Thank you for taking the time to read my little life update.
I hope you'll stick around because I have a feeling there are going to be a lot more stories to tell.
I'll see you in the next one.
Bye!
I'm truly proud of you ❤️❤️❤️
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