Howdy! Time to share another monthly round up post for August. Not a lot, but I hope you get some value from my random updates…
Macey’s Back to School
Our little girl is now officially a first grader. The school year has officially started for Macey and her classmates on August 24 and even though they only meet online, Macey is happy to see her classmates again.
They use Zoom for their online sessions and they meet 3 times a week, MWF, from 8AM to 11PM. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the teachers assign offline work using Google Classroom.
Even if they don’t meet on TTH, Macey still follows the same 8-11AM schedule to do her assignments – same room, same routine, just different teacher – me. 🙂
Since we’re all new to this online-offline classroom setup, I also had to make some adjustments with my own schedule.
I still wake up at 5AM everyday and follow my morning routine. Then, I go down at 6:30AM to prepare our breakfast. Macey gets up at 7AM and we eat breakfast together. Then I bathe her and get her dressed for school. By 7:45AM, she’s already signed in to Zoom meeting waiting for her online class to start at 8AM.
I sit right next to her during her 3-hour MWF online class making sure she’s paying attention to her teacher and following their activities. During this time, I read a book, take online courses or listen to motivational videos on YT, and teach Melvin on the side.
Sometimes, I try to do some online work, but I find it challenging to stay focused. Hopefully, in the next few days, I’d be able to squeeze in some time for work even while I’m sitting with Macey during her online class.
A Simple Act of Kindness
Early this month, after days of consistent work, I thought I’d reward myself at least an hour a day watching a good series on Netflix. I searched for motivational/inspiring movies and I found The Kindness Diaries with Leon Logothetis.
In this series, Leon traveled from Alaska to Argentina relying on the kindness of strangers – with no money, no food, and no place to stay. His aim was to prove that kindness can change the world.
I watched 1 episode a day for 13 days and I liked how it ended with an inspiring message from Leon Logothetis himself…
I’ve been inspired by other people’s kindness. It’s changed me. Because truly the greatest gift that we have to give another human being is ourselves.
You are the final gift. Because how you show up in the world, it matters. It matters profoundly. We all have the power to change the world. Because to change the world, all you need to do is change one life. And the most beautiful and profound way to change one life… is simply to be kind. That’s it.
So my challenge is simple. The final gift of The Kindness Diaries is for you to go out into the world and give of yourself. Be kind. Share your love. And have as much fun along the way as you can. #GoBeKind
This was the message that inspired me to reflect and think of how I can go out into the world and #GoBeKind in my own little way…
After taking things into consideration (including my schedule and priorities) and after praying about it, I decided to share one act of kindness by teaching Melvin, my 15-year old cousin, the son of my mother-in-law’s kasambahay and caregiver, who is also my Tita from Samar.
Melvin came to Manila last year and attended 7th grade at the public school. But he still can’t read and write well. He can barely speak and understand English and his mom doesn’t have the ability to teach him. I know he needs help and I know it’s not going to be easy, but I took courage and started teaching him.
I’ve been teaching him for 5 weeks now and I’m glad his reading and writing skills are slowly improving.
My sister was also inspired with this simple “act of kindness” and she’s now teaching Melvin too during her spare time. Macey also shares her books and helps Melvin with his lessons.
Growing Together in Faith
We also feel incredibly blessed this month because everybody in our household (including my mom and sister who are currently staying with us) and my in-laws’ household, have started attending Worship Service every Sunday via online streaming.
My husband moved our TV near the garage where all of us could watch the service together. We are so amazed with how God is transforming each of us, slowly but surely, in His own ways.
Last Sunday, God made it possible for us to openly share anything that we felt like sharing at the moment including our current experiences and personal encounter with God, and most of us were teary-eyed while sharing.
It was just me and my husband when we started attending the online service in March. Now, by God’s grace, we’re now growing in numbers and we are grateful that we are all growing together in faith.
We pray that we continue to know God more deeply and to have a more intimate relationship with Him as our personal Lord and Savior.
TPI Blog and YT Revenues in August 2020
- The Pinay Investor Blog earned $52
- The Pinay Investor YouTube Channel earned $233
Revenues dipped a bit this month. For comparison, in July TPI blog earned $70 and TPI YouTube Channel earned $360, but in August… TPI blog earned $52 and TPI YouTube Channel earned $233. A fairly big dip.
Read my previous TPI Revenue update here.
I don’t really believe in “ghost month” but it seemed like that’s what happened with my TPI revenues this month.
In terms of content, I only published 1 blog post on my TPI blog and it was just a personal update so I guess that’s one of the reasons why my revenue decreased. And sadly, I didn’t meet my goal of publishing 10 blog posts again this month.
On the other hand, I published a total of 22 videos on my TPI YouTube Channel – the highest number of videos I’ve published in a month ever since I started my channel. So it’s a yay for being able to exceed my goal of publishing 15 videos this month.
Even if my YT revenue decreased, I’m not really worried about it. It happens. What’s important is that I planted plenty of seeds this month and I’m expecting to reap a harvest over the next few months.
By the way, I’m grateful to my dear sister for helping me edit my videos. I wouldn’t have been able to publish that much without her help. Thank you, sissy!
Am I happy with what I’m doing?
Yes, I’m happy publishing content online. It doesn’t feel like “work” to me because I enjoy doing it. I’m also glad that my content are helping people based on the comments and messages that I receive from my viewers.
But… I feel it’s not enough to make an impact. It’s not engaging enough to keep them stay in my channel.
While some of them are nice enough to like, comment, and subscribe to my channel after getting value from my content, majority of them don’t. And I can’t blame them. They don’t even know who The Pinay Investor is behind my voice over tutorials. 🙂
So, what’s the plan?
I’ve been pondering my life a lot lately which sounds very dramatic but I feel like I have something more to offer.
The books that I’ve been reading lately are mostly about finding passion and purpose.
And while I pray and seek for God’s wisdom, I’ll continue to bring value by publishing more content on my blog and YT channel. I believe God will lead me to the right path at the right time.
As I seek to discover and live my divine assignment, I will continue to hold on to God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11…
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Thank you for your time reading my post and I pray that all is well with you and your family and may God’s blessings of peace, abundance, and happiness be with you always.
If you’d like to read my other monthly personal updates, you may click HERE.